First, review our
guideline on notability,
our policy on Verifiability, and
our general notability guideline (GNG). Consider whether your subjectclearly meets the standards listed there. Also, check if the topic is already covered, perhaps under a different spelling or in a section of an article about a wider topic. You will waste a lot of time, if you create a new article, and then find that the encyclopedia already has an article about that.
Third, If you have any connection or affiliation with the subject, disclose it in accordance with
our guideline on Conflict of interest. If you have been or expect to be paid for making edits, or are making them as part of your job, disclose this according to the strict rules of the
Paid-contribution disclosure. This is absolutely required; omitting it can result in you being blocked from further editing.
Fourth, gather sources. You want
independent, professionally published,
reliable sources with each discussing the subject in
some detail. If you can't find several such sources, stop; an article will not be created! Sources do NOT need to be online, or in English, although it is helpful if at least some are. The "independent" part is vital. Wikipedia does not consider as independent sources such as press releases, or news stories based on press releases, or anything published by the subject itself or an affiliate of the subject. Strictly local coverage is also not preferred. Regional or national newspapers or magazines, books published by mainstream publishers (not self-published), or scholarly journals are usually good. So are online equivalents of these. (Additional sources may verify particular statements but not discuss the subject in detail. But those significant detailed sources are needed first.)
Sixth, use the sources gathered before (and other sources you may find along the way) to write the article.
Cite all significant statements to sources. Do not express opinions or judgements, unless they are explicitly attributed to named people or entities, preferably in a direct quotation, and cited to a source. Do not use
puffery or marketing-speak. Provide page numbers, dates, authors and titles for sources to the extent these are available. A title is always needed. Submit the draft when you think it is ready for review. Be prepared to wait a while for a review (several weeks or more).
Seventh, when (well perhaps if) your draft is declined, pay attention to the comments of the reviewer, and correct the draft and resubmit it. During this whole process, if you face any unresolvable editing hurdles, or cannot comprehend any editing issue, feel free to post a request at the
Teahouse or the
help desk and ask the regulars. Repeat this until the draft passes review.
Congratulations, you have now created a valid Wikipedia article
.
This template is used to provide user-friendly information to editors wanting to know how to create a new article. It is intended for use at the
Teahouse, on the
Help desk, on another discussion page, or on a user's talk page.
Usage
This template should be subst'd and signed.
This template creates a bulleted list of items, with zero or 1 additional indents.
If used on the Teahouse, the link to the Teahouse in step seven is replaced by "this page".
If used on the Help desk, the link to the Help desk in step seven is replaced by "this page".
Syntax
{{subst:Steps to Article|type=<SubjectType> |paid=Yes |indent=Yes}} ~~~~
Parameters
All parameters for this template are optional.
type
specifies the kind of article under discussion and the specific notability guideline linked to. Supported values are:
(The codes may be all caps, all lower case, or with an initial capital.)
indent
If this is yes (or any non-empty value), an extra level of indentation is added, as appropriate for a reply to a post on a talk page. If this is blank or omitted no indent is added.
paid
If this is yes (or any non-empty value), it is assumed that the editor has admitted being a paid contributor, and appropriate changes in step three are made.
Examples
{{subst:Steps to Article|type=ORG |indent=Yes}} ~~~~ (For a reply on a discussion page about proposed article on a non-business organization)
{{subst:Steps to Article|type=BIO |paid=Yes}} ~~~~ (For an initial message, say on a user talk page, about a proposed biography article by an editor who has admitted being paid)