This step-by-step guide brings together some of the best resources to help you get started in Wikipedia. It is based off of a guide originally created by User:LoriLee for middle and high school students to edit Wikipedia. If they can do it, you can!
If you would like more general information on why you should contribute to Wikipedia, please see GLAM:Contribute
Get started
Create your account
Decide on a username that is not your institution's real name.
Note that sharing an account is not allowed in Wikipedia, so you should not create an account for your organization as a whole.
Click on the blue link "Create Account" in the top right corner.
Click on the blue link "Create One" in the sign in box.
Fill out the information on the page (email is not necessary) and click the "Create Account" button.
Your username will now appear in red in the top right corner.
Wikipedia tutorial
Begin this tutorial to get you started on basic editing, formatting, and citation guidelines. If you learn better in interactive tutorials, we recommend doing the gamified Wikipedia Adventure
Introduction
Editing: After you finish reading this tab, be sure to Try Editing in the Sandbox as they suggest.
Formatting: After you finish reading this tab, try to add bolding, italics & headings in the Sandbox.
Wikipedia Links: After you finish reading this tab, try to add some links and categories in the Sandbox.
Citations: After you finish reading this tab, try out using the reference markup code in the sandbox.
Creating a user page will be your first time editing in Wikipedia!
The “Creating a userpage” document will walk you through the steps involved in setting up your userpage.
Use the WikiMarkup Cheat Sheet as you begin your edits.
Make sure you're signed in.
Click on your user name, which is a red link, in the top right corner.
Click the “Edit” tab (located between “Read” and “View History”) to make several edits to your userpage.
Include as little or as much information about yourself as you would like. It's often a good idea to state your interests and what you'll be working on, including any declarations of possible conflicts of interest (for example, where you work, if you're comfortable sharing.)
Create a draft/sandbox
A sandbox is a subpage of your userpage that can be used for drafting articles.
These pages are not live articles, so they do not have to meet all of the Manual of Style requirements.
When you are logged-in, look in the upper-right hand corner and you will see a link to your sandbox.
When you click on this link, it will bring up the Edit box. You can type something in here and click Save, which will create your draft page. You can use this space for testing and practice.
You can also create additional sandbox pages:
Edit your user page and type the following: [[User:You/Draft]]. Be sure to exchange "You" for your username, which is what will make it be a subpage of your own userpage. This will create the sandbox. You can also change "Draft" to anything you like, as long as you include the slash.
Click Save to save your edit screen and take you back to your user page. The link will be red, which means that the page does not exist yet.
Click on the link, and it will bring up a screen that says "Wikipedia does not have a user page with this exact name."
Type something in the Edit box and click Save. This will create your draft page.
Compile your research
Add the GLAM article template
GLAM stands for Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums. If you are creating an article about an object, you can use this template so that the formatting corresponds with other artifact articles.
You can use the GLAM Article Template as a way to automatically add headings and an infobox to your draft and article.
The template includes an empty Infobox to be filled out and detailed suggestions for the content to be placed under each heading
Copy the following text and paste it into your new subpage: {{subst:GLAM Article}}
Save the page and include a note in the Edit summary such as "GLAM template". You'll notice that the page now has new headings.
Edit your draft again to see the template code, which includes suggestions in brackets that look like <!-- this-->. Do not put your content in between these brackets or it will not appear when you save it. The information in the brackets is just there to remind you what to put where.
Remove all of the suggestions and brackets (<!-- content-->) after you've added your research and filled out the infobox. Only the research, references, and WikiMarkup that you added should remain (in addition to the headings and Infobox).
Add your research and references
You can now flesh out your article on your draft page before making it live. You can add your research and references as you review them.
Don't forget the WikiMarkup Cheatsheet as you begin to edit your draft.
Begin to add your notes under the appropriate headings in the article draft.
Click on the Cite button at the top of the Edit window to add Citations into your article. Be sure to add a citation for every fact.
Make your article live
Create your article's page
Your article may not be complete; that's fine! As long as you've filled out the InfoBox, added to some of the headings, and don't have grammatical errors, your article can go live.
If you have now edited a significant amount of content, you may be able to Move your draft to make it live. If the Move button appears on the right hand side of your article draft, click it and follow the instructions.
If not, create a new link on your user page using the appropriate title for the article. Be sure to consider Wikipedia naming conventions before creating an article.
Save your user page and when you return, you'll see the red link of your not yet created article.
Now go to your article draft and click Edit on your article draft page.
Copy all of the code off of the page.
Click on the red link of your new (not yet created) article.
Paste the code from your article draft into the Edit box and click Save. Your article is now live!
Add tags and categories
Adding tags and categories will prevent your article from being tagged an orphan.
Find any appropriate categories to add to your article. If you don't add a category it will be considered an "orphan" and possibly deleted. In the Wikipedia search box type Category: followed by whatever category topic you are searching for. If the category exists, add it. (Example: Dinosaurs, Archaeology, Public Art).
On your article's main page click Edit.
Add the category code (for example:[[Category:The Children's Museum of Indianapolis]]) to the bottom of the article. These should appear on the article's main page (not the Talk Page).
It is preferred that you include the most specific category possible (for example: "Glass artworks" instead of "artwork".)
Add an image
There are many concerns about copyright that need to be considered before uploading a new image to Wikipedia or Wikimedia Commons.
Images should be added to your article only after it is live, not when it is still in draft form.
Check the Commons for images already uploaded of your topic.
Click on your image to bring up its page in Commons.
Click "Use this file" next to the Wikipedia symbol, located above the image.
Copy the top option, which will look like [[File:Baby Louie oviraptorid.jpg|thumb|Baby Louie oviraptorid]].
Click on the Edit tab of your article.
Paste the image code into the InfoBox after the words Image =.
In the code, replace the word thumb with 300px to make it the appropriate size for an InfoBox.
Add an edit summary such as "Added image" and click Save.
Edit and add more
Now that your article is live, check to make sure that your article uses citations correctly and has no major grammar issues.
Wikipedia articles can always be added to! They are never actually "done."
Read through your article to make sure that it flows well, sentences are clear, and information is under the heading that makes the most sense.
Remove headings that you didn't use (such as possibly Artist), or combine headings that are too short. If one heading seems long, you can add a subheading under it if it makes sense to.
Make sure that each fact has a citation immediately following it.
Share your work
Now that you've worked so hard to research and share information on Wikipedia, make sure people see it!
Link your article: Go to other Wikipedia articles that mention your topic and make sure they link to your article.
Did You Know: If your article is new, or you expanded the content of an article by five (known as "five times expanded"), your article is eligible for the Did You Know column on the Wikipedia Main Page.
Starting a sandbox article tutorial (2 min 11 sec)
Article creation tutorial (7 min 50 sec)
Copyright licenses involved in uploading files (3 min 28 sec)
HotCat and categories explanation (5 min 43 sec)
Ready to find more resources?
Find a listing of guides and outreach materials relevant to the U.S. cultural sector on the GLAM Bookshelf. Resources include handouts, presentations, Wikipedia how-to guides, and videos.
