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What’s the first place you go to when you need any information? Well, Wikipedia has got you. It is the largest source of information on the internet and has been serving a global audience. From places to people to organizations to businesses, Wikipedia has information about everything you would want to know about. It is a global website that gives open access to all for reading, writing and editing any article.
If you want to know the recognition of Wikipedia, search anything on Google, and you will see a Wikipedia page listed on the top five results. The outreach of the site is more than billions of viewers over a year, and not just that, but it is listed among the top 5 most-viewed websites in the world. It has over fifty-six million articles published by people all across the world.
Moreover, all the information on Wikipedia can be translated into over 300 languages, so it is not just limited to people who understand English. The goal of Wikipedia is to become a single platform to provide all the information about everything that exists or ever existed in the world. Many people have created Wikipedia pages for themselves and their businesses to add credibility to them and their businesses.
While Wikipedia is no marketing platform, it takes your name to a global audience. So, if you think you are worthy of being on the platform, this is the time when you need to create a Wikipedia page for yourself. However, you must know that this is not going to be an easy journey.
Even though Wikipedia allows all users to edit and write articles and create pages, there is always a risk of scammers and negative content posters. Hence, to avoid that, Wikipedia has set criteria that must be followed for all pages and articles on the site. Anyone who wants to create a page for themselves or for anyone or anything else, they must meet the criteria.
To help you understand the guidelines and policies set by Wikipedia and help you in creating a Wikipedia page, Wiki Specialist Inc. has made this brief guide. Follow these 8 steps in making an article in Wikipedia as we have mentioned;
Follow These Simple 8 Steps In Making An Article In Wikipedia
Creating a Wikipedia page is a brief process. You need to follow a few steps, learn the policies and guidelines, write as per Wikipedia content policies, and finally, wait for getting it approved. But let us make it easier for you; all of this will be worth it when you see your name on the biggest encyclopedia in the world.
Step 1: Getting An Account
If you aim on entering the world of Wikipedia, you need to get a pass to move into it, and that pass is your own Wikipedia account. People with no account on Wikipedia can read the articles, but that’s it; if they want to write and edit them, they must have a verified Wikipedia account. So, for you to create a Wikipedia page for yourself, you must create your own account on Wikipedia.
When it comes to creating a Wikipedia account, it is a piece of cake, and anyone can do it. All you need to do is to get on any Wikipedia page, and you will see a tab on the top-right corner of the page with “create account” written on it. Click on that tab and fill in the asked information in the dialogue box. This information will include a username, email, password, and CAPTCHA verification.
Enter an active email because Wikipedia will send you a verification email to make sure your account gets verified. Also, it is recommended to use a nickname instead of using your real one as the username because Wikipedia does show the username of people who make changes to the existing articles or write new ones.
Lastly, wait around for four days before you start performing actions on Wikipedia, such as editing and creating articles. Because as per Wikipedia, new users can be eligible to do such tasks after four days of account creation.
Step 2: Understanding Wikipedia Policies
This is probably the most important step of your Wikipedia page creation. As we have mentioned that Wikipedia has set policies and guidelines for all Wikipedia writers and editors, and it is extremely essential that you know them. Here, we have listed a few of the most important policies for you that will help you create a top-notch page that you can get approved from Wikipedia;
- The Most Important Policy: Notability
You cannot move forward with creating your Wikipedia page if you don’t meet up the standards of this particular Wikipedia policy. The Principle of Notability by Wikipedia is the basis of all Wikipedia articles and the most important in the list of Wikipedia policies. As per the policy, only titles that have enough online visibility and are notable on different digital platforms can be a part of Wikipedia.
Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, and all the information placed on Wikipedia is always outsourced from different online forums. Hence, in order to have a page on Wikipedia, you have to be notable on other platforms. The purpose is that a subject that has a better online reach is easier to verify and gets more ranking.
If you don’t meet these notability standards, then before you get on Wikipedia, you need to build your online presence. Hire an SEO expert that will help you get yourself on various online pages and sources. And if you get on some big pages such as Business Insider, Forbes, or New York Times, then the ways of being on Wikipedia will be extremely smooth for you!
- Content Policies
The content you add to your Wikipedia page is the building block of the page because that’s what people will see. Wikipedia has a few core content policies that you must keep in mind once you start writing your article. Take a look;
- Neutrality
Wikipedia has a strong rule about writing your article with a neutral point of view. If you get biased or add your opinions to your article, this would lead to a violation of policy and might lead to a conflict of interest on Wikipedia. So, if you are making a page for yourself, you must make sure you don’t get deeply attached and start writing in a way that becomes a blog or marketing article rather than an informational one.
- No Original Research
You need to treat Wikipedia as what it originally is, an encyclopedia. It is not a debate forum or a marketing platform. Simply put, it is a place where only authentic and credible information is shared, and there is no room for personal opinions and original research. In fact, Wikipedia has a rule of no original research, according to which, you can only add that information on Wikipedia that has been sourced from published secondary sources. Any fact, allegation, statement, or theory that has not been published cannot be mentioned on Wikipedia.
Step 3: Finding Your Title
Now that you have understood the basic Wikipedia policies, it is time to move forward with creating your Wikipedia article. As you know, no article is completed without having a suitable title. So, it is time when you start searching for your own article title. Keep in mind, if Wikipedia already has an article with the title same as yours, you will not be allowed to use that title because Wikipedia does not allow two articles with the same name.
- Getting the Red Link
As you will type your title on the search bar, Wikipedia will show you a link below. It will either be in blue color or red. If it is blue, then it is unfortunate for you because this is an indication that your searched title already exists and cannot be used. If you get a red link, then you have successfully passed this step out of the 8 steps in making an article in Wikipedia because this means your given title is available for use.
Step 4: Formulating Outline
As you get a red link for your title, it means this is time that you keep on moving forward and start building up an outline for your article. This step will help you identify what things you want to add to your article. You can even say that this would be the skeleton of your article. Add pointers that you want to include in the article, create subheadings, etc.
Step 5: Writing Content
Keep on working because now you have reached the step that requires the most work; writing the content of your article. Here, keep in mind the policies we have mentioned and make sure there’s no violation. Research your subject and include all the information you can find about it on the Internet. Use all credible sources and formulate the information in a way that the reader remains interested till the end.
If you are writing about a person, include information such as their childhood, personal life, education, career, achievements, etc. If you are writing about a business, add information such as how it started, what it does, what industry it targets, who are the founders, etc. And just like that, shape your article to match your subject. Add as much information as you can find on the internet.
Step 6: Formatting & Proofreading
Congratulations! You are more than halfway ahead, and only a few simple steps are left. This one is all about formatting and proofreading your article. Format your article beautifully, create subheadings, keep your sentences short, use the right sentence structure, add images where applicable, and keep your paragraphs small. All of this formatting will increase the readability of your content. Also, it is a fact that no one likes to read up on the jargon of words. So with this formatting, the audience will actually get involved in reading and will not feel irritated.
The next phase is the proofreading of your article. This is extremely important because it is highly recommended that your article must be error-free. The reason behind this is that the articles on Wikipedia are translated into many different languages, so it needs to be error-free originally so that they will be more accurate after the translation. Give a thorough read to your article two or more times and run a grammar check to be sure of fewer errors.
Step 7: Citations and References
Once your article is completed and formatted, it is time to get to the final step of adding citations and references to your article. No Wikipedia page is completed about these two elements because this marks the credibility of your article. As we have mentioned, Wikipedia is an encyclopedia that allows only outsourced information. So, it also requires you to provide sources from where you got that information. Make sure you use reliable sources and cite them throughout the text and add the references at the end.
Wikipedia uses two kinds of citations; internal and external. The internal links are the information that has been retrieved from Wikipedia itself. These links are highlighted in the blue text and are attached to the anchor texts. While on the other hand, the external links are the information that has been taken from other internet sources and are placed at the end of the sentence in a superscript of the square bracket with a number. Both of these links are extremely important, and you need to add both as many as you can.
Don’t ignore these citations because these are extremely important for getting your Wikipedia page approved. The more citations you have, the better you look for Wikipedia.
Step 8: Submitting The Page
Finally, all your work is done by now, and it is time to submit your Wikipedia page for approval. Give it a final read and submit the page, and now wait for getting approval from Wikipedia. Also, this might take a good amount of time that might go up to months because Wikipedia already has a long list of requested articles. However, if you have followed these 8 steps in making an article on Wikipedia, as we have said, there is a good chance that your page will easily get approved.
The Bottom Line
Writing an article on Wikipedia is a lengthy task and requires both your time and energy. Not just that, but you also have to be careful about a lot of things, such as Wikipedia policies and guidelines. If you think that this would be too much for you and want to find an easy way out, we have the perfect solution for you. Get Wiki Specialist Inc. to do this job for you. We have a team of Wikipedia experts who know all the details about Wikipedia policies and guidelines and can help you create a top-notch Wikipedia page for yourself or your business. Contact us now and let us get on the work!
