Help:Starting a new page
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- If you are looking for the list of most recently created articles, check Special:Newpages.
Anyone, including you, can write for Wikipedia! Just type a title in the box below, click "Create page", and start writing:
The system can be configured to allow only logged-in editors to create new pages. This is currently enabled on the English Wikipedia. If you would like to create a new page, but aren't logged in or don't have an account, you can do so here.
'Create article' takes you to an edit page to enter the new text. Of course, the title of the page is important, and un-doing mistakes can take time, so it's always a good idea to do a little homework first. (See General principles below.)
The edit page has a link for Editing help near the "save page" button, so you won't be lost. For general editing matters and details on the markup language of the wikitext, see Help:Editing. If you want to experiment, please use the sandbox first.
A new page can also be started by following a link to a non-existent page, which will take you to an edit page. See Starting a page through the URL below.
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Starting a page from an existing link, after creating one, or after a search
To start a new page, you can click a link to the new page. This directs to edit mode of the non-existing blank page, which allows you to add your information, thereby creating a new page.
Another way to start a new page, on the English Wikipedia, which uses the w:MediaWiki:Nogomatch option, is to perform a search for the new title with the Go button. When the search finds nothing, click on "create the article".
Links to non-existing pages are common. They are typically created in preparation of creating the page, or to encourage other people to do so. Links are not only convenient for navigation, but also make people aware of the new page (those who read a related page and also those who watch the related page). New page links are not really broken, as long as the name correctly identifies the intended content. (A new page link with a "wrong" or misspelled name, or that duplicates content found under another name is "broken", but in a different sense.)
New page links typically look different from links to existing pages. Depending on settings, a different color or a question mark is used. (Sometimes links to new pages are called "red links", the display option of one of the settings). Links to non-existent pages are created with [[New page name]] from the wiki editor. (In this case, the empty page "New page name" would be created).
Of course, you can also create the link yourself, in a related page, index page, or your user page. However, it is recommended to wait until after creating the new page before creating links, especially if the new link replaces one to an existing page. In this case, create the link but press Preview, instead of Save. From preview area, clicking the new link will create the new page (without updating the referring page).
Starting a page through the URL
Using the browser address bar to enter a URL to a new page is an easy way to start the new page process. Easier still is editing the pagename part of a URL for an existing page. Using the URL for the new page displays the default 'no article' message (see MediaWiki:Noarticletext). The default page has the usual Edit this page link, which can be used to begin adding content.
An interwiki link to a non-existent page gives the same result, but is not recommended.
To get access to a MediaWiki project page, with the links at the edges but without the superfluous loading of a page, use a bookmark to a non-existing page. The default 'no article' page will display the edge links.
Creating an empty page
A new page is distinguished from a blank page: the latter has a page history. However, creating a new page is just like editing a blank page, except that a new page displays the text from MediaWiki:Newarticletext (which may vary by project).
Occasionally it is useful to create an empty page - For example a template can be made such that, depending on the parameter, it produces either just standard text or also an additional text. This is done by having it call another template, of which the name is a parameter; one version of the other template contains the additional text, the other version is blank. See optional text.
To create an empty page, save a page with the wikitext __END__. This code will not be saved, it just prevents refusal by the system to create an empty page. Alternatively, you could first create a non-empty page, e.g. with just one character, then edit the page to make it empty. A page with one or more blank spaces at the end, including a page only containing one or more blank spaces, is not possible.
Using the sandbox and user sub-pages
The sandbox can be used for temporary experimentation. However, the information entered is emptied on a regular basis. For persistent draft material, use your user account sub-pages, and move the sub-page to the main article namespace when ready. (Requires a user account). To create a user sub-page, use a reference (title) like: 'User:UserName/New sub page' (or, on your user page, simply '/New sub page'.) User sub-pages can also be used for testing new template material with the syntax {{User:UserName/Sub page name}}. For more about sub pages, see Wikipedia:Subpages.
Using text from some other editing environment
Although pasting existing text into the wiki is often the simplest way to start, you may want to try converting from Word or HTML to wiki markup.
