Being the world’s largest encyclopedia, Wikipedia is the most recognized source of information in the world. Millions of people access the site every day in search of relevant information and it reaches up to billions of views each year. Not only that, but currently, Wikipedia is home to almost fifty-eight million articles published by writers from all across the globe. Yes, that’s right! Anyone from anywhere on earth can make a Wikipedia page and publish an article of their choice.
Moreover, Wikipedia allows the account holders to even edit the existing pages. Now, this might take you to think in the negative direction, and you might build a misconception that since anyone can write and edit on Wikipedia, there are good chances that there would be false and biased information on most of the pages. Well, to make it clear to you, let us tell you that this is not true. While anyone can edit or create a Wikipedia article, nobody gets it approved until they follow the Wikipedia community guidelines.
It is an encyclopedia that runs on user-generated content, which means that both the writer and reader is the user of the site. This is one of the top reasons why Wikipedia has answers to all questions asked. Not only that, but Wikipedia also has articles written in up to 300 different languages to make it more accessible for the audience who does not have a good hold of the English language.
However, there’s a catch, while anyone can write and edit the articles on Wikipedia, they still require Wikipedia’s approval for the change. Now, the question that comes after this point is how to get a Wikipedia page approved?
Well, to answer your question, Wiki Specialist Inc. has created this detailed guide for you. It covers all the information you would need, from who can get a Wikipedia page to how to get a Wikipedia page approved! So, let’s take a look;
Things To Do To Get Your Wikipedia Page Approved!
In order to learn how to get a Wikipedia page approved, one must take notice of the following few guidelines that are considered as the highlighting factors to influence Wikipedia page approval;
Understanding the Notability Clause
Before you begin to make a Wikipedia page, you need to make sure you have briefly understood the notability guidelines set by Wikipedia. Notability is an important aspect of all Wikipedia pages, and failure to meet Wikipedia’s notability standards could lead up to rejection at the first stage, i.e., page creation.
As per the notability criteria set by Wikipedia, a Wikipedia page can only be created for people, businesses, places, etc., who have enough notable online visibility. So, before you try to get on Wikipedia, you need to get noticed on different online platforms to show your credibility.
To get approved on Wikipedia, you need to show your existence to at least 6-7 credible internet sources. Also, please note that the Wikipedia notability criterion is for the subject and the title of a particular page and is not applicable to the content it contains. If the subject of your Wikipedia page does not meet the notability criteria, it will not matter if you add all credible and notable sources to your content or even create highly optimized or resourceful content because it will all go in veins. No improvement to the content can increase the notability of the subject, and lack of notability directly means failure to get Wikipedia approval.
Going Through Wikipedia Page Creation
We have further divided the Wikipedia page creation into two simple steps for you to help you better understand the details of how to make a Wikipedia page;
– Start With the Account
You cannot make a Wikipedia page until you create a Wikipedia account. This is the first step in your Wikipedia journey, and you cannot perform any action on Wikipedia unless you have a registered account. So, whether you want to create a Wikipedia article or edit the existing one, what’s the thing that’s necessary? Creating a Wikipedia account.
Simply go to the Wikipedia create account tab, fill in your information, verify your email, and there, you have your own Wikipedia account. But make sure you wait four days before you start editing pages on Wikipedia because that’s a Wikipedia rule!
– Is Your Page Title Available?
The next step that you need to follow in order to make a Wikipedia page is to check the availability of your required title. Wikipedia has millions of articles published, but it has a strict rule that no two articles can have the same title. Hence, each article published on Wikipedia has a unique and different article title.
So, if you want to create a Wikipedia article, you need to come up with a title that has not been used on Wikipedia yet. Go to the create page section and add the title of your page in the search box. Once you type your title, Wikipedia will show either a blue link or a red link beneath the bar. If you get a blue link, this would mean the title you are searching for already exists, and you need to check for something else. However, if you get a red link, consider it as a green signal to move forward, as this would mean that the title you have searched for is unique and can be worked on.
Learning Content Guidelines
Now that you have learned to make a Wikipedia page, it is time to get to the next phase of learning how to get a Wikipedia page approved, i.e., the content you put on the page. Wikipedia has a few detailed content guidelines that need to be followed in all content published on the site. Here are a few things you need to look out for when creating content for your Wikipedia page;
– No Original Research
The first thing you need to keep in mind while writing your page content is to make sure you are not using any kind of original research. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia that only shares information that has been proved and published and does not allow for entertaining original content and opinions.
If you want to state any fact or add any information, you must find a credible source for it, or else it will be rejected by Wikipedia. Now, since you need to use already published information, this does not give you permission to copy-paste content from other sources on the internet. You still need to publish unplagiarized content.
– Neutral Point of View
While you begin to create a Wikipedia article, make sure the tone you are using to write the content is neutral and free from all kinds of biased opinions. Writing with a neutral point of view is one of Wikipedia’s fundamental principles and comes under the three core Wikipedia content policies. This is a non-negotiable policy and must be followed in order to get a Wikipedia page approved.
While writing, you need to understand that the purpose of Wikipedia is to provide information to people, not influence them to believe or follow something. The information must not be overshadowed by your personal opinions and must be free from any kinds of editorial bias.
Here are a few tips to help you write unbiased and neutral content;
- Don’t shape opinions as facts. For example, if you are writing an article on wars, you must come across many sources that would define wars from different perspectives, and if you will use one of them, it would mean that you are biased toward that perspective. So, instead of using such opinions as information, use them as examples.
- Avoid using conflict-creating opinions even if they have reliable sources. If you know there are two major options and choosing one would mean taking sides, it is better to state about them both and not pass a concluding statement of choosing one. What you can do is use different opinions on both options to explain it better, but treat opinions as opinions, not facts!
- Avoid using judgmental and biased phrases, and make sure you are not using any words that might be offensive to anyone. Now, here you need to be a little more careful as you have a global audience.
– No Promotions
If you want to create a Wikipedia page for your business, there are no restrictions; you can. However, make sure you know that Wikipedia is an encyclopedia and not a marketing platform. Hence, the content you are adding to your Wikipedia page must not include any kinds of promotions and must not market your business. It could include your story, the products you offer, and even information about yourself as the owner. However, one CTA to your brand’s page or anything that might seem like a promotion could cause you rejection on Wikipedia.
– Citations
One of the most important aspects of writing content for a Wikipedia page is the citations. Scroll down any Wikipedia page, and you will see a long list of references. Not only that, but throughout the Wikipedia page, you can see two kinds of linking, the in-bound links (the words written in blue font color) and the out-bound links (the numbers written in the square brackets and as the superscripts at the end of sentences). All of these are citations and are highly important to add credibility and reliability to your content.
The more citations you add to your content, the more credible it will rate on Wikipedia. However, make sure that the citations and references you are using are reliable because Wikipedia does run a reference check on all pages.
– Formatting and Grammar
Once you are done with all these steps to create a Wikipedia article and have your content ready with you, it is time to do the formatting and run a grammar check to ensure that your article is error-free. While adding adequate information is important, it is also good to look out for how your content looks. If all you will do is add up the jargon of words, not only will it look ugly on the page, but it will also make the readers lose interest.
Format your article by dividing your content into paragraphs, headings, and subheadings. Also, a tip here is to break your sentences and use small sentences. The usage of small sentences will increase your readability and will help keep the audience engaged! Once you have well-formatted your article, the next thing to do is to proofread the article to check for errors. To increase your chances at getting your Wikipedia page approved, you need to make sure your content has no errors.
Information Credibility
Now, as we have already mentioned that citations and references are extremely important for Wikipedia. They are necessary. Any information that you are adding to your content must have a credible source to back up, or else it will not pass the credibility test run by Wikipedia.
If you don’t provide a credible source for your information, it would be considered as the original content, which will straight go to the rejection of the page by Wikipedia.
Submission for Approval
Now, suppose you have checked all the above boxes, and you think that your page meets all the guidelines and policies mentioned by Wikipedia and there have been no violations. In that case, you can submit your article to Wikipedia. Now, your part is done, and it is on Wikipedia whether to approve the page or not.
All you need to do now is to wait for an indefinite amount of time. It could either be approved immediately or could take up to months; you can never tell. The reason for the delay is that there are hundreds of user requests every day, and Wikipedia cannot run checks on them all on the same day.
The Bottom Line
Getting a page approved on Wikipedia is all about getting aware of the guidelines and policies set by the platform. If you are a master at them and know everything about them, getting any page approved on Wikipedia will never be a problem for you! So, all you need to do is to keep your focus on the Wikipedia policies and guidelines and learn them by heart to ensure your page approval!
However, it might be a little too much work, so how about we tell you a shortcut? Contact us at Wiki Specialist Inc. and let us do all the work for you. We have a team of Wikipedia experts who know all these guidelines and policies and can create a Wikipedia page for you following them all, ensuring high chances of approval! Visit us now!
