How to Create a Wikipedia Page: A Step-by-Step Guide
This guide covers every stage of creating a Wikipedia page — from confirming your subject's notability through drafting, submission, and post-publication monitoring. If you discover your subject qualifies but the process is complex, we offer professional Wikipedia page creation services.
What Is a Wikipedia Page and Who Can Create One?
A Wikipedia page is a neutral, sourced encyclopedia article maintained by the Wikipedia community — not a profile, marketing page, or press release. The Wikimedia Foundation hosts Wikipedia but does not write or approve articles. Volunteer editors create, review, and delete content based on published editorial policies.
Every article must demonstrate notability: verifiable significance established through independent, reliable sources. Articles that fail this standard are declined during review or deleted after publication. The Wikipedia community enforces these standards collectively, and no single editor or organization controls what stays.
This guide covers each step of the creation process in detail, from account setup through post-publication monitoring.
Can anyone create a Wikipedia page?
Technically, anyone with a Wikipedia account can create an article. Unregistered editors can submit drafts through the Articles for Creation (AfC) process without an account. Registered users who reach autoconfirmed status — 4 days of account age plus 10 edits — can create articles directly in mainspace.
The ability to create an article does not mean the article will survive. Wikipedia's community reviews every new page against notability, sourcing, and neutrality standards. Articles that fail any of these checks are declined, tagged, or deleted — regardless of who created them.
What types of topics qualify for their own Wikipedia page?
- Companies and organizations — governed by Wikipedia's Notability guidelines for organizations (WP:CORP), requiring significant independent press coverage beyond routine business filings.
- Individual public figures — governed by Notability guidelines for biographies (WP:BIO), requiring substantial third-party coverage in reliable publications.
- Musicians and bands — governed by Notability guidelines for music (WP:MUSIC and WP:BAND), requiring chart positions, critical reviews, or major label releases.
- Films, books, and creative works — governed by Notability guidelines for films (WP:FILM) and related policies, requiring independent critical reception coverage.
- Athletes — governed by Notability guidelines for sports (WP:ATHLETE), requiring participation in major professional leagues or significant competitive achievements.
- Events — requiring substantial coverage from multiple independent sources documenting the event's significance.
- Geographic locations — typically notable by default for recognized municipalities, but require sourcing for lesser-known places.
- Scientific concepts and academic topics — requiring peer-reviewed publication history and independent secondary coverage.
Every category above requires independent sourcing from reliable publications. The specific notability guidelines differ by subject type, but the universal requirement — significant coverage in sources not connected to the subject — applies to all.
Does Your Subject Qualify? Understanding Wikipedia's Notability Requirements
Notability is the single most important gate in the Wikipedia page creation process. More articles fail at this stage than at any other. Wikipedia's General Notability Guideline (WP:GNG) sets the standard: a topic is presumed notable if it has received significant coverage in multiple reliable sources that are independent of the subject.
No amount of skilled writing, perfect formatting, or policy compliance compensates for a subject that lacks sufficient independent coverage. Confirm notability first — everything else follows from that foundation.
Before writing a single word, confirm your subject can meet Wikipedia's full notability requirements.
What are Wikipedia's General Notability Guidelines (GNG)?
The General Notability Guideline (WP:GNG) states that a topic is presumed notable if it has received significant coverage in multiple reliable sources that are independent of the subject. Two tests determine whether coverage qualifies.
The first test is significance: coverage must be in-depth, not a passing mention. A one-sentence reference in a larger article does not satisfy the GNG. A dedicated profile, feature article, or extended discussion of the subject does. The second test is independence: the source must have no financial, organizational, or editorial connection to the subject. Company press releases, sponsored content, and self-published materials fail the independence test regardless of where they appear.
Wikipedia notability requires significant coverage in independent reliable sources — not volume of mentions, but depth and editorial separation from the subject.
What counts as a reliable source for Wikipedia notability?
- Major daily newspapers — publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Guardian, with full-time editorial staff and fact-checking processes.
- Wire services and international news agencies — Reuters, Associated Press, and BBC qualify as independent, editorially rigorous sources.
- Industry and trade publications — publications with independent editorial oversight covering a specific sector, such as TechCrunch for technology or Variety for entertainment.
- Academic and peer-reviewed journals — scholarly publications indexed in databases like JSTOR, PubMed, or Google Scholar.
- Books from established publishers — works published by recognized publishing houses with editorial review processes, not self-published or vanity press titles.
- Broadcast media transcripts — documented segments from television or radio programs produced by major networks, available through LexisNexis or Factiva.
- Long-form magazine features — in-depth articles from publications such as The Atlantic, Wired, or The New Yorker, where editorial standards match or exceed daily newspaper requirements.
Every source cited for notability must be independent of the subject. Coverage published by the subject's own organization, paid for by the subject, or produced under the subject's editorial control does not count — even when published on a third-party platform.
What sources do NOT count toward Wikipedia notability?
- Press releases — self-published by definition, with no independent editorial oversight or fact-checking.
- Company or personal websites — primary sources controlled by the subject, failing the independence requirement entirely.
- Social media posts — self-published content on Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram carries no editorial verification.
- Business directory listings — entries on Crunchbase, LinkedIn company pages, or Bloomberg company profiles are database records, not editorial coverage.
- Paid press distribution services — articles distributed through PR Newswire, BusinessWire, or similar services are paid placements, not independent journalism.
- Controlled interviews — interviews where the subject selected the publication, approved questions, or reviewed content before publication lack editorial independence.
If most of your coverage comes from sources you created or paid for, your subject likely does not qualify for Wikipedia yet.
Step 1: Create a Wikipedia Account and Build Your Editing History
Go to Wikipedia.org and register a free account with a username, email address, and password. Avoid using a company name or brand as your username — Wikipedia's username policy blocks promotional account names. Start this step before beginning source research, because the autoconfirmed threshold takes time to reach.
New accounts earn autoconfirmed status after 4 days of account age and 10 total edits. Until that threshold is met, article creation is limited to the Articles for Creation (AfC) draft submission process. Editing existing articles first builds both your edit count and your familiarity with wikitext formatting.
Why autoconfirmed status matters for Wikipedia page creation
Autoconfirmed status is an automatic trust level granted by Wikipedia after an account reaches 4 days old and accumulates 10 total edits. Before reaching autoconfirmed, editors can only submit new articles through Articles for Creation (AfC) — the draft review queue staffed by volunteer reviewers.
After reaching autoconfirmed, editors gain the ability to create articles directly in mainspace without AfC review. Wikipedia:Autoconfirmed users documents the full permission set. AfC submission remains recommended even for autoconfirmed editors, particularly for borderline-notability subjects or first-time article creators, because AfC review catches policy issues before an article faces community scrutiny in mainspace.
How to build your Wikipedia editing history before creating an article
- Fix typos and grammar errors in existing articles — low-risk edits that demonstrate good-faith participation.
- Add or improve a citation using
{{cite web}}or{{cite news}}templates to source an unsourced claim in an existing article. - Expand a stub article by adding one or two sourced sentences that extend coverage with a supporting reliable source.
- Correct a factual error in an existing article and cite the correction to a reliable, independent publication.
- Join a WikiProject relevant to a topic you know well — WikiProjects provide editing guidelines, quality standards, and a community of editors focused on specific subjects.
Ten thoughtful edits to existing articles will teach you more about Wikipedia formatting than any tutorial.
Step 2: Research and Compile Independent Reliable Sources
Source research is the make-or-break step in Wikipedia page creation. If independent, reliable coverage of your subject does not exist in sufficient depth, no amount of skilled writing will get the article approved. Professional source research tools — LexisNexis, Factiva, Google News, and ProQuest — provide access to archives that free web searches miss entirely.
This step is where most DIY attempts stall — not because Wikipedia is unfair, but because many subjects simply haven't been covered yet.
How to find sources that establish Wikipedia notability
- Search Google News archives for the subject's name across multiple date ranges to identify historical and recent coverage.
- Run a LexisNexis or Factiva database search to find print and broadcast coverage not indexed by standard web search engines.
- Search Google Scholar for academic citations — relevant for professionals, researchers, and subjects with scholarly significance.
- Check Newspapers.com or ProQuest for historical print archives, particularly useful for subjects with coverage predating online publishing.
- Search specific major publications directly — Forbes, TechCrunch, The Wall Street Journal, and sector-relevant outlets — using their internal search tools.
- Search industry trade publications relevant to the subject's field for specialized coverage that general news databases may not index.
All sources must predate the Wikipedia article submission. Creating new press coverage to retroactively establish notability does not satisfy Wikipedia's standards — reviewers check publication dates against article creation dates.
How many reliable sources does a Wikipedia article need?
The General Notability Guideline (WP:GNG) does not specify a minimum source count. Community practice sets the functional threshold: 2–3 substantial, independent, reliable sources represent the minimum for a basic article to survive review. Articles supported by 5 or more qualifying sources face significantly lower decline and deletion risk.
"Substantial" means in-depth coverage — a dedicated profile, feature article, or extended discussion of the subject. A one-sentence mention in a broader story does not qualify. A Wikipedia article's survival depends on the depth and independence of its cited sources, not the raw number of citations listed.
Step 3: Write Your Wikipedia Article Draft
Wikipedia articles are written in wikitext — a markup language specific to the MediaWiki platform. Draft your article in a personal Wikipedia sandbox (accessible from your user page) or directly in the Draft namespace before submitting for review. Wikipedia's Article Wizard guides first-time creators through the formatting basics.
Every sentence in the draft must comply with the Neutral Point of View policy (WP:NPOV). Promotional language, marketing claims, and evaluative adjectives trigger immediate review flags — or outright deletion under G11 speedy deletion criteria.
How to write in Wikipedia's Neutral Point of View (NPOV)
The Neutral Point of View policy (WP:NPOV) requires presenting facts as documented by reliable sources, without advocacy, promotion, or editorial framing. Every evaluative adjective — "leading," "innovative," "award-winning," "groundbreaking" — must be either removed or directly attributed to a named source.
Promotional example: "XYZ Corp is a market-leading innovator in enterprise software, known for its groundbreaking solutions."
NPOV rewrite: "XYZ Corp, founded in 2010, develops enterprise resource planning software. The company has been covered in TechCrunch and Forbes."
NPOV violations are the primary trigger for G11 speedy deletion — a process that removes promotional articles without the standard community discussion period. Articles flagged as promotional are deleted faster than articles with any other policy issue. Writing in Wikipedia's neutral voice from the first draft eliminates the most common single cause of article rejection.
What structure does a properly formatted Wikipedia article include?
| Section | Description | Required? |
|---|---|---|
| Lead paragraph | Opening summary of the subject in 2–4 sentences, establishing who/what the subject is | Yes |
| Infobox | Right-aligned structured data box displaying key facts (founding date, industry, headquarters, etc.) | Recommended |
| History / Background | Foundational context covering origin, founding, or early career sourced to independent publications | Recommended |
| Main content section | Primary subject coverage (e.g., Products, Career, Discography, Work) — title varies by subject type | Yes |
| Reception / Impact | Critical reception, public impact, industry recognition as documented in reliable sources | Recommended |
| See also | Internal Wikipedia links to related articles on the same topic or category | Optional |
| References | All inline citations compiled automatically via the {{Reflist}} template | Yes |
| External links | Relevant external websites — limited to official site and select authoritative resources | Optional |
| Categories | Topic categories assigned at the bottom of the article for Wikipedia's internal navigation | Yes |
The exact section structure varies by subject type — biographies use different section names than company articles, and creative works follow their own conventions.
How to format citations and inline references in Wikipedia
Wikipedia uses citation templates to format inline references: {{cite web}} for online sources, {{cite news}} for newspaper and magazine articles, and {{cite book}} for published books. Every factual claim requires an inline citation — unsourced sentences are tagged with [citation needed] or removed by other editors. Wikipedia's VisualEditor can auto-fill citation fields from a URL.
A standard {{cite news}} template:
{{cite news
| title = Company Name Raises $50M in Series B Funding
| url = https://www.example-news.com/article/12345
| newspaper = The Example Times
| date = 2025-03-15
| access-date = 2025-04-01
}}Step 4: Submit Your Draft Through Articles for Creation (AfC)
Articles for Creation (Wikipedia:Articles for Creation) is the official review pathway for new Wikipedia article drafts. AfC routes your draft to experienced volunteer reviewers who evaluate notability, sourcing, neutrality, and formatting before deciding whether to publish the article to mainspace.
AfC submission is recommended even for autoconfirmed editors. Borderline-notability subjects and first-time creators benefit from structured reviewer feedback before an article faces open community scrutiny. The process is volunteer-run — AfC reviewers are experienced Wikipedia editors, not Wikimedia Foundation staff.
How the Articles for Creation review process works
- Move your draft to the Draft namespace — create the article at Draft:Article Title, keeping it separate from published Wikipedia articles during review.
- Add the AfC submission template — place
{{subst:submit}}at the top of the draft to register the article in the review queue. - Draft enters the review queue — wait time ranges from days to months depending on the current backlog of pending submissions.
- A volunteer reviewer evaluates the draft — the reviewer checks notability evidence, source quality and independence, NPOV compliance, and article formatting.
- Outcome: accept or decline — accepted articles move to mainspace as published Wikipedia pages. Declined articles receive specific written feedback identifying what must be fixed.
Reviewers apply Wikipedia policy, not personal preference. A decline is not a judgment — it is specific feedback about what the article needs to meet Wikipedia's published standards.
How long does AfC review take?
AfC review typically takes 2–10 weeks, depending on volunteer reviewer backlog and draft quality. Well-sourced articles with clear notability evidence tend to move through the queue faster. Articles with marginal sourcing or unclear notability may sit longer as reviewers prioritize stronger submissions.
AfC declines approximately 70–80% of initial submissions. Most first drafts require at least one round of revision before acceptance. AfC review time varies based on volunteer reviewer backlog and draft quality — not on the importance of the subject or the urgency of the submitter.
Why do Wikipedia drafts get declined — and how to fix them
| Decline Reason | What It Means | How to Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Notability not established | Sources are too few, too thin, or not independent of the subject | Find additional substantial independent coverage from reliable publications; 2–3 in-depth sources minimum |
| Promotional or non-neutral tone (WP:PROMO) | Article reads like marketing copy, not an encyclopedia entry | Rewrite in NPOV; remove evaluative adjectives; attribute every claim to an independent source |
| Insufficient sourcing | Factual claims lack inline citations from reliable sources | Add {{cite news}} or {{cite web}} templates to every verifiable claim in the article |
| Primary sources only | All cited sources are from the subject itself — company website, press releases, social media | Replace with independent third-party coverage from publications with editorial oversight |
| Subject too minor | Reviewer determines the subject does not meet notability thresholds based on available evidence | Build more independent media coverage before resubmitting; the subject may not yet qualify |
| G13 abandonment (WP:G13) | Draft had no editing activity for 6+ consecutive months and was automatically deleted | Request restoration from an administrator and resubmit before the next 6-month window; set a calendar reminder |
G11 speedy deletion (WP:G11) applies to articles so promotional that they bypass the standard decline process entirely. Drafts flagged under G11 are deleted without reviewer feedback.
Paid Editing and Conflict of Interest: What Wikipedia Requires You to Disclose
The Paid Editing Disclosure policy (WP:PAID) applies to every person or organization compensated to create or edit Wikipedia content. Agencies, freelancers, in-house marketing teams, PR firms, and company employees editing their employer's page all fall under this policy. WP:PAID is not a guideline — it is a requirement under the Wikimedia Foundation Terms of Use.
Failure to disclose paid editing is a Terms of Use violation, not merely a policy infraction. The distinction matters: Terms of Use violations carry legal weight and result in permanent enforcement action. Wikipedia's editing community treats undisclosed paid editing as one of the most serious compliance failures an editor can commit.
What is WP:PAID — and does it apply to you?
WP:PAID (Wikipedia's Paid-contribution disclosure policy) requires anyone receiving compensation — money, goods, or services — to edit Wikipedia content to declare that relationship on-wiki. Paid Wikipedia editing requires disclosure on both your user page and the article's talk page before any edit is submitted.
WP:PAID applies to agencies creating articles for clients, freelancers paid per article, company employees editing their employer's page, PR firms managing client Wikipedia presence, and marketing staff adding content about their organization. The related policy Wikipedia:Conflict of interest (WP:COI) extends this framework to anyone with a financial or personal stake in an article's content, even without direct payment.
Both disclosures — user page and talk page — are mandatory. Filing one without the other does not satisfy the requirement.
What happens if you fail to disclose paid editing?
The Conflict of Interest Noticeboard (Wikipedia:COIN) investigates suspected undisclosed paid editing. COIN investigations are initiated by community editors who identify suspicious editing patterns — accounts that only edit articles related to commercial subjects, edits that track press release timing, or accounts with no independent editing history.
Penalties for confirmed undisclosed paid editing include permanent account blocks, retroactive tagging or deletion of all articles edited by the account, and lasting reputational damage for the agency or individual involved. Wikipedia administrators act on both on-wiki evidence and off-wiki evidence when investigating paid editing violations.
To ensure your article is never at risk, you can work with a Wikipedia service that discloses on your behalf.
Creating Wikipedia Pages for Different Types of Subjects
The core Wikipedia page creation process — notability verification, source research, neutral drafting, and AfC submission — applies universally. What changes by subject type is the specific notability criteria and what qualifies as "significant coverage." Each section below covers the relevant Wikipedia guidelines and links to a dedicated guide for that subject category.
How to create a Wikipedia page for yourself
Wikipedia's autobiographical policy (WP:AUTO) strongly discourages creating a Wikipedia page about yourself. Self-created articles are not prohibited, but AfC reviewers and community editors treat them with heightened scrutiny. The conflict of interest is inherent — writing neutrally about yourself is functionally impossible, and most self-created articles are declined on COI grounds even when the subject is genuinely notable.
A Wikipedia article about a notable individual is stronger, more likely to be accepted, and more long-term stable when written by an editor with no direct connection to the subject. Third-party editors produce more neutral drafts and avoid the automatic COI flags that self-created articles trigger.
For detailed eligibility criteria and step-by-step instructions, read our full guide to creating a Wikipedia page for yourself.
How to create a Wikipedia page for a business or company
Wikipedia's Notability guidelines for organizations (WP:CORP) require that a company has received significant independent coverage in reliable sources to qualify for a Wikipedia article. Wikipedia:Notability (organizations) sets the standard: the coverage must demonstrate why the organization is notable, not merely confirm that the organization exists.
The most common mistake in company Wikipedia articles is treating business registration, employee count, revenue, or customer base as evidence of notability. Wikipedia does not accept operational metrics as notability evidence. Independent editorial coverage — journalists writing about the company without the company's involvement — is the only qualifying evidence. Promotional content describing what a company does is routinely deleted under G11 speedy deletion.
For the full WP:CORP criteria and process, see our complete guide to creating a Wikipedia page for a company.
How to create a Wikipedia page for a public figure or executive
Wikipedia's Notability guidelines for biographies (WP:BIO) require significant independent coverage of the individual — not just their association with a notable organization. An executive at a well-known company does not automatically qualify for a Wikipedia article. The individual must have personal independent coverage separate from their employer's press.
The Biographies of Living Persons policy (WP:BLP) adds strict accuracy standards for articles about living people. Unsourced or poorly sourced negative claims in BLP articles can be removed immediately without standard discussion. BLP protections make biographical articles both safer for subjects and more demanding for editors. Every claim about a living person requires exceptional sourcing from independent reliable publications.
For biographical notability criteria and BLP policy, follow our guide to creating a Wikipedia page for a person or public figure.
How to create a Wikipedia page for an artist or musician
Wikipedia's Notability guidelines for music (WP:MUSIC) and bands (WP:BAND) set specific criteria for musicians, solo artists, and musical groups. Musicians must demonstrate critical coverage from mainstream publications beyond self-released material. Bands typically need chart positions on recognized music charts, critical reviews in major publications, or a release through a major or significant independent label.
Self-released music, SoundCloud plays, Spotify stream counts, YouTube views, and social media follower counts do not establish Wikipedia notability. These metrics demonstrate audience reach, not the independent editorial coverage Wikipedia requires. Chart placement and critical reception in publications with editorial oversight are the qualifying evidence.
For artist-specific notability criteria, read our dedicated guide on creating a Wikipedia page for an artist or musician.
After Your Page Goes Live: Monitoring and Protecting Your Wikipedia Article
Publication on Wikipedia is the beginning of ongoing maintenance, not the end of the process. Any registered Wikipedia editor can edit, challenge, or nominate a published article for deletion at any time. Vandalism — unsourced negative claims, promotional insertions, or content deletion — can appear on any article without warning.
The Wikipedia watchlist is the primary monitoring tool. Adding your article to your watchlist triggers email alerts whenever any editor modifies the page. Articles that were well-sourced, neutrally written, and properly formatted at publication face significantly less post-publication disruption than articles published with minimal sourcing or marginal notability.
How to protect your Wikipedia page from vandalism
Wikipedia vandalism takes several forms: promotional content insertions, defamatory claims added without sources, deletion of legitimate content, and external link spam. The following tactics reduce vulnerability and response time:
- Add the article to your Wikipedia watchlist — this enables email notifications for every edit, allowing you to detect unauthorized changes within hours.
- Maintain a registered Wikipedia account — a watchlist requires a logged-in account, and registered editors carry more weight when reverting disruptive edits.
- Revert disruptive edits promptly using the "Undo" function in the article's edit history — fast response prevents vandalism from persisting in search engine caches.
- Request semi-protection from an administrator under Wikipedia:Protection policy — semi-protection restricts editing to autoconfirmed accounts, blocking unregistered vandals.
Can a published Wikipedia page still be deleted after going live?
Yes — published Wikipedia articles are not permanent. Three deletion mechanisms apply post-publication: Articles for Deletion (WP:AfD), where community editors vote on whether to keep or remove an article; Proposed Deletion (WP:PROD), a less formal process for uncontested removals; and Speedy Deletion (WP:CSD), for articles that clearly violate specific criteria.
Common post-publication triggers include promotional edits added after publication, loss of notability as a subject ceases public activity, and discovery of sourcing deficiencies missed during AfC review. The strongest protection against post-publication deletion is a well-sourced, NPOV-compliant article at the time of creation.
If your article faces a deletion challenge, learn what your options are in our guide to handling Wikipedia page deletion and recovery.
When DIY Isn't the Right Choice: Working With a Professional Wikipedia Editor
DIY Wikipedia page creation works when the subject is clearly notable with abundant independent coverage, you are willing to learn wikitext markup and Wikipedia formatting conventions, you can comply with WP:PAID disclosure requirements if applicable, and you have 10–18 weeks available for the full process from research through AfC review and revision.
Professional assistance becomes the more practical path when notability is borderline or uncertain, a prior article submission was declined, the subject has limited media coverage requiring professional source research tools, or time and technical complexity exceed what a first-time editor can manage effectively.
If you're ready to skip the learning curve, explore how to get a Wikipedia page created and approved professionally. The decision between DIY and professional service depends on honest assessment of your subject's notability strength and your own capacity for the process.
What a professional Wikipedia page creation service does differently
- Professional source research — access to LexisNexis, Factiva, and ProQuest databases that most individuals lack, enabling discovery of coverage invisible to standard web searches.
- Notability pre-screening — assessment completed before any project begins, protecting clients from investing in articles that cannot survive Wikipedia review.
- WP:PAID disclosure — professional editors file paid editing declarations on their user page and each article's talk page as required by the Wikimedia Foundation Terms of Use.
- NPOV-native drafting — writers trained to compose in Wikipedia's neutral editorial voice from the first sentence, avoiding the promotional language that triggers G11 deletion.
- AfC revision and resubmission management — team handles decline feedback, revises drafts against specific reviewer objections, and resubmits until the article meets acceptance criteria.
- Post-publication watchlist monitoring — article is placed on active watchlists for ongoing protection against vandalism, unauthorized edits, and content decay.
The core value is not writing speed — it is knowing what Wikipedia will and won't accept before a word is written. To review editor qualifications and service scope, you can hire an experienced Wikipedia editor for your project.
How to evaluate a Wikipedia service for compliance and legitimacy
Four criteria separate legitimate Wikipedia editing services from non-compliant providers:
- Editor accounts are publicly visible on Wikipedia with a verifiable editing history — you can check this yourself on Wikipedia.
- The service discloses WP:PAID status on editor user pages and article talk pages, with declarations visible on-wiki before editing begins.
- The service does not guarantee AfC acceptance — any agency that promises guaranteed Wikipedia article approval is either uninformed about how Wikipedia works or deliberately misleading.
- Notability pre-screening happens before payment — legitimate services assess whether your subject qualifies before accepting a project, not after collecting fees.
Frequently Asked Questions About Creating a Wikipedia Page
Here are answers to the most common questions about the Wikipedia page creation process.
How long does it take to create a Wikipedia page from start to finish?
The total timeline is typically 10–18 weeks. Source research takes 1–2 weeks, article drafting takes 1–3 weeks, the AfC review queue takes 4–10 weeks, and revisions after a decline add 2–4 additional weeks. Timeline varies significantly based on AfC backlog and how well-sourced the article is at submission.
What happens to a Wikipedia draft that hasn't been touched for 6 months?
Wikipedia's G13 speedy deletion criterion removes drafts with no editing activity for 6 consecutive months. The deletion is not permanent — an administrator can restore the draft — but a full new AfC submission is required after restoration. Set a calendar reminder to submit or update your draft within 5 months to prevent G13 deletion.
Can a Wikipedia page be created in a language other than English?
Yes — Wikipedia operates in over 300 language editions, each with its own editorial community and notability standards. An article can exist in multiple language editions simultaneously. Professional Wikipedia translation requires separate expertise in each language edition's community norms, policies, and editorial conventions.
Can you request that inaccurate information be removed from a Wikipedia article?
Yes — several correction mechanisms exist. Flag the inaccuracy on the article's Talk page with a reliable source disproving the claim. Edit the article directly and replace the incorrect content with a sourced correction. If edits are reverted, open a formal dispute through Wikipedia:Dispute resolution. For Biographies of Living Persons (WP:BLP), unsourced negative claims qualify for expedited removal without standard discussion.
Does having a Wikipedia page help your Google search rankings?
Indirectly, yes. Wikipedia pages rank prominently for branded search queries and contribute to triggering a Google Knowledge Panel. Wikipedia's external links are nofollow — they carry no direct PageRank value. The primary benefit is brand credibility and public record establishment, not technical link equity. For a full breakdown, see our analysis of how Wikipedia pages affect SEO and Google rankings.
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