5 steps to get yourself on Wikipedia
by The Author on June 27, 2019
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A collaborative project of the users: it is the basic principle of the encyclopedia online Wikipedia which is in free access as well for reading as for writing. The articles are indeed developed and completed jointly by the users with their knowledge. Since Wikipedia contributions often appear at the top of search results on Google, it is understandable that many companies also want to benefit from the far-reaching by contributing directly to the online encyclopedia. But how to create your own Wikipedia articles and what should you consider?
The fact that each user can create a Wikipedia page for an artist or for his own Wikipedia page does not mean that he can write anything and on any subject. Wikipedia will indeed carefully examine the written content, moreover, the relevance (or notoriety) of the subject also plays a vital role. Thus, to avoid that your contribution is removed, it is advisable to take into account certain basic criteria well before the drafting phase. We tell you how to properly contribute to Wikipedia step by step.
Creating an account
To be able to freely contribute to Wikipedia, you need a user account, but it is easy and quick to create. To do this, open the Wikipedia home page and click on the "Create an account" tab at the top right of the page. To register, Wikipedia just asks for a username or username and a password.
Choose the subject and make sure the theme is notorious
Before you start writing your Wikipedia article, you must make sure that the content you have planned is not already included in an existing page. Enter the subject of your article in the search bar of Wikipedia. If there is not yet a page that deals with this specific topic, you can create a new page via “Create Page “.
The respect of the criteria of relevance and notoriety is just as important as the categorization of the subject, the theme. Wikipedia has in fact established detailed and precise criteria to define the relevance or not of a subject. In general, a subject, an event (or a person) is considered "relevant" for Wikipedia when its public awareness is sustainable. Individual criteria must be taken into account for the different categories of topics, for example, social events or companies. Wikipedia has detailed these criteria of relevance in a separate article.
You will also find a page dedicated to the reputation of companies for professionals who want to create a page for their company. For example, Wikipedia classifies companies with at least 1,000 full-time employees as relevant. The platform can also take into account known rankings or the share price of the company to judge the reputation of a company.
Search for content and sources
If your topic is relevant to Wikipedia's criteria, then you can fully begin or continue your search. It is important that the entire content of your article is verifiable, that is, sufficiently documented. It is therefore recommended to record the relevant sources during the search. If you write your Wikipedia article later, then you will need to assign all used sources to the corresponding content. If you are writing an article on Wikipedia for the first time, then it may be useful to compare it before publication with other published articles.
Bonus tip
Check if your article or topic already exists in another language. After a detailed review of the content, you may be able to transfer and translate information as needed.
Write a contribution
In principle, every registered user has the right to create or edit articles and contributions on Wikipedia. Since the online encyclopedia is nevertheless known for its uniform format, article authors must consider a number of elements. On this subject, the platform provides advice on the writing of a Wikipedia page in the article How to write a good article. It is primarily intended for novice users who do not have previous journalistic experience.
The accuracy of the facts (verifiability from sources) and the general clarity (architecture of the article) are important. You must also comply with the structural specifications detailed under the heading "article structure". Style and tone references provide a good orientation to the appropriate and desirable language for a Wikipedia publication. There may also be other guidelines depending on the theme of the subject.
Bonus
Familiarize yourself with editing and writing articles via the Sandbox tool. Here you can test without having to create an account.
Publish your contribution
After creating your Wikipedia page, publish it by clicking “Save Article “. With "Preview", you can preview it. Users who have already contributed will automatically be notified when the article is published. Beforehand, Wikipedia performs a check to ensure compliance codes where your contribution is verified and where possible defects are sought. If you are then informed of suggestions to improve or correct it, please accept the changes as soon as possible to avoid deleting the article.
AUTHOR: Eliza Martin
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