Wikipedia is a term known to all individuals across the group. No matter how old you are or what gender you belong to, if you have done some internet browser, you must have come across Wikipedia more than any other website on the internet. The reason is that Wikipedia is a platform that holds all the answers an individual might have.
Whether you want to get some information about a famous celebrity or a history of a geographical location or even a few insights into your favorite TV show or movie, you will find a Wikipedia profile for it that will help you with everything you need!
There are millions of profiles and pages on Wikipedia which is considered one of the most reliable sources of information on the internet. You will even find a Wikipedia page for “Wikipedia” itself. When asked the founders, Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger about the main purpose of Wikipedia, they replied that their aim is to create a platform where all questions are answered! This is mainly why they allow everyone to create a Wikipedia profile and to publish and edit articles.
Understanding the Working Mechanisms of Wikipedia
Before we get into the details of how to get a Wikipedia profile, it is important to develop an understanding of how Wikipedia works. Consider it as a huge writing page where people from all over the world keep writing and editing about everything that might be happening, or has happened in the world. Whether it be a company, a person, a place, or a non-tangible thing, people keep on writing and reading about it.
However, Wikipedia has complete authority to allow or reject writers and editors as per Wikipedia’s rule book. Even though there is a lesser chance of a profile being rejected or a page getting deleted but Wikipedia does have strict policies regarding these things (which we will discuss later in the blog) and it is highly essential to follow these policies and guidelines to be on the platform. Even with thousands of profile requests and page publications each day, Wikipedia has a strong program that runs policy assessments of each user request for profile creation, writing articles or even making edits. So, if you think that only looking for “how do I get a Wikipedia profile” is all you need to do, you have to think more because there are a few more things that you need to take care of in order to get the most out of your Wikipedia profile.
Is it worth it to create a Wikipedia Profile?
Along with many people asking for answers to how to make a Wikipedia profile, there are many who are connected about whether or not making a Wikipedia profile is worth it or not. To answer the latter, our experience and research suggest that it is always good to have a Wikipedia profile. Whether it is for yourself or your business, if you have a published profile on Wikipedia it will identify your digital presence and prove your credibility.
The Internet is a need for survival for people these days, especially Gen Z. They are dependent on it and do not make any decision without referring to the internet and doing their research. Whether it is to explore the world or to make a purchase from a company, this generation uses the internet to influence all their decisions. They need a reliable source for verification, and Wikipedia is one of the most authentic sources to confirm that. So, having a Wikipedia profile will help you gain the trust of the audience which will eventually help you out in the future.
The Benefits to Create a Wikipedia Profile
The query of how to get a Wikipedia profile comes alongside the question of what are the benefits to have a Wikipedia profile. Here, we have listed a few of the top benefits of having a Wikipedia profile for you to help you decide whether you want to get a Wikipedia profile for yourself or your business or not;
Increased Online Visibility
This is the age of digitalization and anything that exists on the internet is worth more and gets more popularity than existing in the physical world. No matter if you are an extremely successful individual with a growing business in any part of the world, if you don’t have an online presence you might not gain as much recognition as you must.
Create a Wikipedia profile to achieve maximum levels of online visibility and let the world know about you and your business. Moreover, Wikipedia pages are highly optimized and are always ranked within the first five search results on all search engines which will mean if you have a Wikipedia profile, your online reach will increase automatically.
Added Credibility
Wikipedia is one of the most reliable information sources on the internet, being the largest online encyclopedia it has gained the trust of millions of readers around the globe. If you have a profile on Wikipedia, it would mean that you and your business are credible and authentic. Wikipedia has a specific set of standards that needs to be met before publishing a profile, which is why the authenticity and credibility of any Wikipedia profile are out of the question!
Spread Awareness
This is the twenty-first century and a technologically advanced world, you can’t expect to be famous by distributing pamphlets or posting brochures in different places. In fact, what will make you famous and renowned is your online profile, especially if you have one on Wikipedia. If you want people to know who you are and what you do, you need to have a Wikipedia profile to spread the word to a global audience.
A Guide on How to Make a Wikipedia Profile
Let’s get back to the most asked question: How do I get a Wikipedia profile, we had our team of Wikipedia experts do thorough research for you and establish the following basic guide on how to get a Wikipedia profile, take a look;
Get Started With a Wikipedia Account
Whether you want to edit an existing article on Wikipedia, write one, or want to create a Wikipedia profile for yourself or your business, the initial step will always be to create a Wikipedia account. Wikipedia only allows the accounts that are registered on the site to make changes and additions to the site.
Creating a Wikipedia account is the easiest step you have to take in your journey of how to get a Wikipedia profile. All you need to do here is click on the create account tab on any Wikipedia page, add your details, and there, it is done! Make sure to verify your email to get your account registered.
Also, please note that you will need to wait for four days before you can start with your profile completion and get access to edit or write on Wikipedia as per the policy of Wikipedia.
Understanding the Basic Concepts
In order to create a Wikipedia profile flawlessly, there are a few concepts of Wikipedia that you must understand. Keep in mind that all these terms are extremely important for your successful Wikipedia profile creation, so take them seriously, and understand them at your fingertips;
Notability
Notability is one of the most important aspects of having a Wikipedia profile, and hundreds of Wikipedia profile requests end up getting denied because of not meeting the notability standards set by Wikipedia. The notability of Wikipedia means that only a topic that exists already in the digital world and that too on reliable sources will be allowed to have a separate profile or page. If not, then it could be added to an existing Wikipedia page that might have relevance to the given topic.
Conflict Of Interest
Wikipedia does not allow biased editing or posting on any topic. You can talk in favor of things but as you start to go in the negative direction and it breaches the standard limit, Wikipedia will charge you with conflict of Interest and your request will be denied. To create a Wikipedia profile, it is highly essential to make sure that you are not using the profile to spread negative information.
Credibility and Referencing
Wikipedia only allows credible accounts to create a Wikipedia profile and publish content. If your information is not credible as per the standards mentioned in Wikipedia’s credibility guidelines, you will not be able to get your content page approved. The best way to meet Wikipedia’s credibility standards is to add reliable sources to your content. Wikipedia encourages the use of internal and external linking to reliable internet sources to add credibility to your content.
However, make sure you are using reliable sources and are not overusing them!
Be Aware of the Terms and Conditions
Throughout the blog, we have kept on mentioning that Wikipedia has a specific set of terms and conditions that must be followed by all Wikipedia profiles in order to get approved and avoid deletion on Wikipedia. Now, let’s take a deeper dive into a few of these policies that you must be aware of before you move on with how to get a Wikipedia page.
While Wikipedia has a brief set of policies including conduct policy, deletion policy, legal policy, etc. here we will be focusing on the content policy. However, it does not mean that all the other policies are not as important, in fact, they are equally important. The only reason to keep our focus just too content policy is that you need to learn this policy at your fingertips before you start writing and editing your Wikipedia profile.
Content Policy
The content policy will help you understand the basics of starting to publish and write content on your Wikipedia profile and will work as the guide for you to set your foot on the platform. Make sure you understand each point clearly and take notice to make sure all of them are followed in the content you submit to Wikipedia for approval or else it might get rejected.
There are eight main points highlighted in Wikipedia’s content policy that must be followed to get a clear way out with your Wikipedia profile’s content;
- You must use a precise, easy, and concise title for your article. It must be something that could easily be understood by average English speakers and must not have too many words.
- If your Wikipedia profile aims to publish an article or biography of a living person, you must make sure your content does not include any information that might breach the privacy of the person because that will be counted under the act of harassment by Wikipedia. Moreover, in the case of writing about a living person, you must provide reliable sources for everything you are writing.
- It is highly advised that you use only those images on Wikipedia for which you are able to provide a source. If you want to get your original image on your Wikipedia profile article, it is recommended to first upload the image on a reliable internet source and then use it on your Wikipedia post.
- The tone in which you are writing your article must be free from all biases and be neutral or else it will adhere to COI.
- Wikipedia has made it clear that it does not entertain any kind of original content. If you are adding a piece of information, you must provide a published online source for it.
- The Citations you use throughout your content will be run through a verifiability test on Wikipedia, so, make sure the links you are citing on your profile page are authentic.
- Consider Wikipedia what it is, an online encyclopedia that aims to provide information to the world. It is not a marketing platform to promote your business or sell your products.
- Finally, the content policy highlights that Wikipedia is not a dictionary to explain one-liner meanings of different vocabulary, it is a platform for briefly explaining the concepts. So, if you are explaining make sure you are not just defining!
Let Wiki Specialist Inc. Help You Out!
Creating a Wikipedia profile is an easy but brief process and if you are just starting your Wikipedia career you might feel too overwhelmed because of the policy guidelines and rules set by Wikipedia. However, we want to make this process easy and enjoyable for you as much as possible. Hire Wiki Specialist Inc. services to help you create your Wikipedia profile with ease. Moreover, our experts know all about Wikipedia guidelines, so getting your profile approved will not be a problem! Contact us now!