How to Create a Biography Page On Wikipedia

The Ultimate Guide for Spreading Information to the World

Information is an essential need of human life. The makers of Wikipedia have identified this need and hence they created this world’s largest user-generated site that has been providing reliable information for two decades now. Wikipedia has proved to be the best online encyclopedia by differing from the majority of the typical encyclopedias. As mentioned, it is a user-generated site, which means that unlike traditional encyclopedias, the content is not bound with specific people (researchers or writers), anyone can anytime access the platform and be a part of this global informative medium instantly.

With more than 53 million articles and 52 million pages, Wikipedia has secured a place in the list of top fifteen most visited sites in the world by Alexa.  However, one of the major reasons for its success and high likeability ratio by people is the language options. Wikipedia allows one to read content and upload it in exactly 304 languages of the world. Nonetheless, another big reason is that the platform has an easy accessibility option to information with or without an account. What else does one need to gain knowledge?

An interesting thing about Wikipedia is that despite of giving such easy accessibility options, it never compromises on quality and authenticity of the information. It has a rigid set of rules in the form of community guidelines that everyone has to follow before they start the how to add a biography on Wikipedia process. Hence if you have ever been curious about questions such as ‘how to put biography on Wikipedia’ or ‘can I create a page on Wikipedia’ then yes, you can.

Things to Do Before You Create a Biography On Wikipedia  

Before you begin the process of how to add your biography on Wikipedia, it is very important to get these two things clear. You have to make sure you do the homework prior to appearing for the exam.

Know the Person by Researching  

Without having adequate knowledge about the personality, you will not be able to make a good biography page. It is a necessity to know about the person first by thorough research and then make your next move. Dig out every possible lead of information that can get you to understand the personality even more. The closer you know the personality, the better your page will be.

Decide the Audience and Aim of the Page

Once you know about the person, it is time that you figure out the audience and the aim of your page. Deciding the aim will push you to research about the audience and their reading demands. Make sure that everything you do has authentic information for the reader, otherwise the page is going to be futile.

8-Step Guide on Wikipedia Biography Creation

For a detailed answer on how to create a Wikipedia biography, these are the steps you need to follow.

Step 1: Start with Wikipedia Account Creation

This is the first step of the long ladder you need to climb. For instance, if you have a test to take, you will first prepare for it by buying the book or the PDFs. Similarly, for a seamless Wikipedia page, you need a Wikipedia account. It is the passport to enter the largest informative site in the world. Once you are a registered user, you can move towards the next steps.

The Process to Make a Wikipedia Account

The process to create a Wikipedia page is this.

• Start by visiting the Wikipedia homepage at wikipedia.org
• Choose your language
• Click on the option of ‘create an account’

• Fill the appearing registration form
• Confirm your email address
• Log in to your account again

Step 2: Show that you Exist by Developing Positive Reputation

Getting on a platform is just not enough. You have to now prove to the authorities that you exist and you have the capabilities to have a biography page on Wikipedia. To do so, you have to develop credibility and notability on the platform and generate a positive reputation. For this purpose, you are supposed to publish a minimum of 7 authentic edits on the relevant type of pages. Furthermore, your account has to be four days old at least for doing the edits. An interesting fact about this site is that it goes through 1.9 edits every second of the day.

The Process to Edit a Wikipedia Page

• Open any accessible Wikipedia page
• Go to the right side and click on the ‘edit’

• In the Wikitext box post the content
• Cite every edit source
• Preview changes and submit the edit

Step 3: Choose the Title for the Page

Keep one thing in mind that anything which is not unique is not going to stay in limelight for longer (that too if it gets to capture attention in the first place). Therefore, you need to make sure that the title of the page is unique but simple. It should be something out of the box but also a title that can appear in many user searches. Make sure you choose the right title that is easily affiliated with the name and also gives it a distinctive standing in the crowd or similar pages.

Step 4: Check if the Proposed Title is Available

When you are done finalizing the name, you are asked to look for the availability of the title by checking the red link. This is going to be the signal for you to move ahead in the process.

TERMS TO KNOW

Red link: It appears on the screen when a title does not exist on Wikipedia and you can make the page with it.

Blue Link: It appears when the title already exists on Wikipedia, this means you have to choose another title.

Four Methods to find the Red Link

The four ways of finding the red link are listed below, you can use any one of these for verifying your proposed title.

1.       Search on the homepage

• Visit Wikipedia homepage
• Choose the language
• Opt for the search bar and write your title and press enter
• The screen will either show you a red or a blue link

2.       Use the preview method

• Visit any page that you can access on Wikipedia
• Opt for the edit option
• Write your proposed title in double brackets
• Click on the preview option
• The screen will either show you a red or a blue link

3.       Save a Red Link Method

• Visit the user talk page on the Wikipedia
• Write the proposed title in double brackets
• Publish changes
• The red link will be revealed

4.       Change the URL Method

• Visit any page that you can access on Wikipedia
• Click on edit and go to the URL bar
• Edit the title name in the URL
• The screen will either show you a red or a blue link

Step 5: Create Biography Page On Wikipedia

Right beside the red link, you will see the option of ‘ask for the page to be created’. All you have to do is click on it and proceed further. This is actually the simplest step in the entire process. After clicking the option, you will see a screen with all the rules and regulations of Wikipedia.

Step 6: Write the Content for the Page

You have come down a long way. This is now the most important part of the page creation process. You are supposed to write the content of the page. For that, have two options to choose from. Either you write it directly in the ‘Article Wizard’ which is going to appear on the Guidelines page. Or you have the chance to practice the content on Sandbox.

How to Write a Wikipedia Biography?

For the biography, you have to make sure you accommodate these features in the content. You can also follow the biography template for further clearance.

–          Early Life

When writing a biography, you are advised to talk about the early life of the personality. Where were they born, where did they grew up, and other similar sorts of questions. This ignites the reader’s curiosity and encourages them to read more.

–          Life Description

Description about what the person has done, how their life has been, what were the challenges in the life, etc. write down all of it with complete details.

–          Married Life and Kids

People really get curious when it comes to the personal lives of the person they are reading about. Talking about marriage and kids will add an interesting element to the page.

–          Education

What has the person studied, why is that person so popular, and what made them take their life decisions, talk about it all. The more information you provide, the more it will attract the reader’s attention.

–          Awards and Accomplishment

This part makes any biography page just perfect. Informing people about the achievement and accomplishments of the person will add weightage to the content. This point justifies why the personality needs to be known by the people.

–          Political and Philosophical Views

Wikipedia does prohibit any kind of unethical or political content. However, when you are writing about a specific person, it is appreciated if you share their opinion on philosophy and politics. This gives an even clearer picture of the personality of the people.

–          Bibliography and Referencing

Remember nothing on Wikipedia can go forward without proper referencing and bibliography. You are obliged to cite every little detail you have written on the biography page. From the early life of a person to their death, everything has to be backed up by proper citations from authentic sources. If you fail to do so, then your page can get rejected right away.

Step 7: Review the Content and Finalize

Make a draft of the content with all the points in mind. However, prior to any further step, check for mistakes and errors in the content. From the structure to the sources. Check everything. Hence, if there are any errors, correct them right away. At last, finalize the content.

Step 8:  Time to Submit the Page for Approval

You have performed all the steps smoothly so far. The last option is to submit it for approval. You have to click on the submit button and wait for acceptance. However, since there are thousands of page requests on the site, the Wikipedia biography page approval time is going to take anywhere from 3 months to 6 months. Nonetheless, the time will not exceed six months.

Step 9: Keep Maintaining the Page with Time

You may think about how is maintaining a page a part of the page creation process. It is because that your responsibility does not end at the page creation only; in order to gain the right traffic on the page, you have to keep updating the page with fresh information. For instance, the age of the person will increase every year, you have to make sure you update it on the site.

How to get my biography on Wikipedia?

In order to get a Wikipedia biography page for you, you will have to follow the instructions of creating a normal biography. Also, make sure that your page has interesting but valid content to attract the audience.

How can you get a Wikipedia Biography page approved?

To get your Wikipedia biography page approved, you need to follow the community guidelines such as the content should be unique, it should not be unethical, and there should proper citation of each source. One more important thing is to avoid vandalism at each step.

How can you make a Wikipedia biography page interesting?

You can make a Wikipedia biography page interesting by adding personal information and achievements of the personality. Also, talking about their life challenges will motivate the readers.