Wikipedia is the treasure trove for information of all kinds, with contributions of articles, pages and general knowledge from people all over that world. Digital users access Wikipedia over 10 billion times per month, statistics show. The importance of having a wikipedia page is huge and major benefits include: gaining access to a global audience, establishing credibility for your brand and increased chances of high search engine rankings.
- Understanding Wikipedia’s Notability Guidelines
As with any website, Wikipedia’s Page Creation Services also outline a specific set of guidelines that are to be followed if you want to create your own. It is to be noted that adherence to these rules is imperative if you want to become part of the most popular digital source of knowledge.
- What is Notability?
Wikiipedia’s concept of notability implies that a topic can be considered “notable” only if it has been of great importance for people/organizations that can be considered as secondary reliable sources. It is not at all an easy task to collect relevant information that will assist you in passing the notability test. You’ll only get the green signal to create a page once your topic is deemed as authentic in light of Wikipedia’s policies, otherwise not.
- Criteria for Notability
Wikipedia has outlined specific criteria for notability separately for people, organizations and events. In the case of notability for people, the criteria is that the person in question must have several reliable published writings available about them. They also fit the criteria if they have made a noteworthy contribution or received an award in their particular field, including but not limited to academics, entertainers, politicians and sports professionals. For an event to be considered notable, it must have been widely covered by the media, have a large scope geographically and possess lasting effects. News events that have become a part of routine, like most crimes and political news, are usually not considered notable. The notability of organizations and companies relies on them being considered significant by several sources not related to them in any way, for example a scholarly article.
- Preparing Your Content
The content for your Wikipedia article needs to be faultless and verifiable. A page containing high quality, thoroughly researched and credible content is likely to gain popularity with the general public and thus, rank high on Google.
- Conducting Thorough Research
Once your topic has successfully passed the first criteria, notability, you can now go ahead and initiate research. It is absolutely crucial for the sources that you choose for your article to be 100% authentic. The more reliable your page proves to be, the higher will be its position on search rankings. There should not be a single loophole in your credibility. You can turn to books, journals and various online platforms to find references that can be verified and then cite them accordingly.
- Writing A Neutral Point of View (POV) Article
There is no room for personal opinions or biased judgements on Wikipedia. Any topic that you choose to create a page for needs to be written from a completely neutral point of view. In the case of a company wikipedia page, the tone of the writing should not be aggressive since this might give a promotional outlook to the page rather than informative. This trick here is to think of yourself as a non-member of the event/organization looking on the inside. The language used should be strictly objective and the content unbiased. Wikipedia’s Conflict of Interest guidelines will assist you in maintaining objectivity.
- Creating a Wikipedia Account
Creating an account on Wikipedia is by far the most straightforward part of the entire process. Having an account on the platform will allow you to create a new page, edit an existing one without hassle and interact with fellow Wikipedians.
- Why You Need An Account
Despite the fact that Wikipedia doesn’t necessitate having an account to create a new article, it is beneficial in the long run to have one. Wikipedia offers multiple advantages for account holders including the opportunity to create a userpage and username unique to you, access to advanced editing tools, ease of communication with other users and more. To begin, you simply need to log onto the site and click the “Create an Account” button, fill in your personal details including name, password and email address. The Wikipedia policies should be kept in mind while choosing a username (no tolerance for promotional or offensive usernames). Find the confirmation email in your inbox and follow the redirect link in order to complete the process and there, you have successfully set up your Wikipedia account.
- Setting Up Your User Page
After creating an account, the next step is creating your user page which will serve as your profile on Wikipedia. Here, you can mention your personal information including your country/city of origin, your job title, areas of interest related to your Wikipedia article topic. A well-presented and to-the-point user page will give a good impression and will allow other users the comfort to reach out to you if need be.
- Drafting Your Article
Every good piece of writing depends on a well researched draft. Clearly laying down all your key points and references in one place helps you make better sense of them and structure them in a way that is both cohesive and easy to read.
- Using Wikipedia Sandbox
When creating a draft, a tool named Wikipedia Sandbox comes in handy. Here, you can create the basic skeleton of your article, make edits and adjust until you are satisfied with the final product. Studying Wikipedia’s Manual of Style will give users an idea of the requirement in terms of style and structure. In order to get a practical idea of what your Wikipedia page should look like, it’s best to go through an existing Wikipedia page of a topic similar to yours.
- Formatting Your Article
Wikipedia has provided formatting guidelines for users who are unsure about the syntax of their draft which will ultimately be their Wikipedia article. A comprehensive list of rules about capitalization, spelling and punctuation, abbreviations, dates and numbers can be found for reference. Once you’re satisfied with the content and structure of your sandbox draft, you can submit it for review.
- Submitting Your Article For Review
Once you are certain that your article is in line with all the rules and policies, you can move onto the next stage. However, before your article is ready to face the world, it needs to pass through a reviewing process. Once cleared, it can be made live on the world wide web.
- Wikipedia’s Article Wizard
A finished draft is sent to Wikipedia volunteers for reviewing and this process is done using the Wikipedia Article Wizard. When you send your page for review, there is no way to know when exactly you will get it back, however it is known to take a couple of months. In the case of an error-free Wikipedia page, it will be immediately published but if it is found to have mistakes, then you will have to go through it once again and make any necessary revisions.
- Responding to Feedback
It is important to not lose hope and give up if your Wikipedia article gets rejected a few times before it finally receives the green light for publishing. You will become an expert over time if you keep creating and editing pages. You will also establish a name for yourself, which will result in your contributions being taken as the authoritative source for that particular topic(s).
- Maintaining Your Wikipedia Page
A Wikipedia page requires consistent attention from its creator in that it needs to be up-to-date at all times. Since Wikipedia is used as the #1 source for all information, outdated pages need to be edited timely to make necessary changes in line with any new details recently discovered.
- Monitoring Changes and Updating Information
If your wikipedia page is about a person/event/organization, then chances are, there will be developments from time to time that you will need to keep tabs on. Also, since Wikipedia pages are free and openly accessible to the general public, they need to be regularly gone through in order to preserve them from the wrongdoings of mischief makers who might alter the content. Wikipedia provides guidelines on how to make edits and updates, a few of which include: adopting a positive and welcoming attitude towards other editors, ignoring platform rules if done for the sake of improvement and keeping in mind that the sole purpose of Wikipedia is to inform, not win against other Wikipedians.
- Engaging with the Wikipedia Community
The collaborative nature of the Wikipedia platform makes it easy for users (contributors and editors) to interact and share ideas, feedback and suggestions with one another. If you are creating a page about your business, for example, you can reach out to users who have existing business pages in their Wikipedia contributions. They might help clear any confusions you might have and share tips with you on how you can improve your page in terms of accuracy and relevance.
To Conclude
Following these 6 steps will lead you to success of creating a Wikipedia page: adhering to the guidelines and policies of Wikipedia, carefully preparing your content, creating an account on on the site, producing a draft and getting it reviewed and finally, revising and updating your page constantly to make it as accurate as possible. Staying in the loop with the Wikipedia community will prove beneficial for a contributor in the long run and might end up making you one of the most credible sources of knowledge for the digital community.