How to Create a Wikipedia Page: Notability, Drafts and Review

Creating a Wikipedia page starts with checking notability: the subject needs significant coverage in several reliable, published sources that are independent of it. If it qualifies, you write a neutral draft summarizing what those sources say, and, as a new editor, submit it through Articles for Creation so an experienced volunteer can review it before it goes live. Many people and companies don’t qualify, and if the article would be about you, your employer or a client, Wikipedia’s rules ask you to disclose that connection and let independent editors decide.

This guide covers how to test notability honestly, how to write and submit a draft, why drafts get declined or deleted, and the conflict-of-interest rules. For businesses specifically, our guide on whether you should have a company Wikipedia page goes deeper on the corporate notability guideline.

Step 1: Check whether the subject is notable

Notability is the gatekeeper. It isn’t about how important or successful the subject is; it’s about whether independent sources have already written about it in depth. Wikipedia’s general notability guideline looks for coverage that is:

• Significant: it addresses the subject directly and in detail, not in a passing mention.
• Reliable: from publications with editorial oversight, such as established newspapers, magazines, academic journals and reputable books.
• Independent: not written, commissioned or supplied by the subject. Press releases, sponsored posts, the subject’s own website and interviews where the subject mostly talks about themselves don’t count toward notability.
• Multiple: more than one such source, generally from different publications.

There are also subject-specific guidelines, such as those for people, organizations and companies, academics, authors, musicians and athletes. The one for companies is notably strict about excluding routine coverage like funding announcements and product launches.

An honest self-test

List every source you’d use. Cross out anything the subject wrote, paid for or supplied. Cross out passing mentions, directory entries, social media and “top 10” lists. If you’re left with fewer than a few in-depth, independent articles from recognizable publications, the article is unlikely to be accepted, and the better investment is in the work that earns coverage.

Step 2: Check whether an article already exists

Search Wikipedia for the subject’s name and common variations. Also check whether an article was deleted in the past; the search results or a deletion log may show it. If an earlier article was deleted after a deletion discussion, a new one needs clearly better sources to survive, and recreating substantially the same content can be deleted quickly.

If an article exists and is wrong or out of date, you don’t need a new one. Our guide on how to edit Wikipedia explains how to correct it, including the talk page process for people with a connection to the subject.

Step 3: Understand the conflict of interest rules before you write

This is the step most people skip, and it’s where most trouble starts.

• Conflict of interest. Wikipedia’s conflict of interest guideline covers writing about yourself, relatives, your employer, clients, or anything you have a financial or personal stake in. It strongly discourages people with a conflict from editing affected articles directly, and asks them to submit new articles through Articles for Creation rather than publishing them.
• Paid editing. The Wikimedia Foundation’s Terms of Use require anyone paid for their contributions, including employees editing as part of their job and agencies hired to write articles, to disclose their employer, client and affiliation.
• Autobiography. Writing about yourself is strongly discouraged. If you’re notable, it’s far better for an independent editor to write the article.

None of these rules can be sidestepped by using a second account, asking a friend to publish for you, or hiring someone who won’t disclose. Those are sockpuppetry, meatpuppetry and undisclosed paid editing, and they lead to blocks, deletion and, sometimes, press coverage about the attempt.

Step 4: Gather and read your sources

Wikipedia articles summarize what reliable sources say. They don’t add new information, personal knowledge or your own analysis. So before writing a word, collect the independent sources and read them fully. Note the facts each one supports: dates, roles, key events, how critics and reviewers have described the subject.

Include critical coverage. The neutral point of view policy requires articles to represent significant views in proportion to their coverage in reliable sources. A draft that leaves out a well-reported controversy is likely to be declined, and if it isn’t, another editor may add it later.

Step 5: Write the draft

1. Create an account if you don’t have one.
2. Start a draft. On English Wikipedia, the Article Wizard walks you through creating a page in the Draft namespace, where it isn’t yet a live article.
3. Write a lead. One or two short paragraphs that say what the subject is and why it’s covered, in plain, neutral language.
4. Add body sections that follow the sources, such as early life and career for a person, or history and operations for an organization.
5. Cite every substantive claim to a reliable source using inline citations.
6. Cut promotional language. Words like “leading”, “innovative”, “renowned” and “award-winning” either need a strong independent source or should go. Stick to what the sources say, attributed where it’s an opinion.
7. Add an infobox and categories if you’re comfortable, or leave them for reviewers.

Step 6: Submit it for review

Submit the draft through Articles for Creation. A volunteer reviewer checks notability, sourcing and tone, then either accepts it into the main encyclopedia or declines it with comments. Declined drafts can be improved and resubmitted. Review can take a long time because it depends on volunteers, and there’s no way to buy or speed up a slot.

On English Wikipedia, accounts that are autoconfirmed (generally at least four days old with at least ten edits) can create articles directly. Even so, going through review is sensible for anyone new, and it’s the expected route for anyone with a conflict of interest.

Drafts that sit unedited for six months can be deleted as abandoned, so keep working on a declined draft or let it go.

Why new pages get declined or deleted

Reason	What it usually means
Notability not shown	The sources are routine, passing or not independent.
Reads like an advertisement	Promotional tone breaks the neutral point of view policy. Unambiguous promotion can be speedily deleted.
Unsourced or poorly sourced claims	Especially serious in biographies of living people, where contentious unsourced material is removed promptly.
Undisclosed conflict of interest	Editors notice patterns in paid and self-written articles. Discovery tends to bring deletion and blocks.
Recreated after deletion	Reposting a deleted article without new, stronger sources.

Articles that reach the main encyclopedia can still be proposed for deletion, or sent to a deletion discussion where editors debate whether the subject is notable. And once live, the article isn’t yours: anyone can edit it, including to add well-sourced criticism.

A worked example

This is an illustrative scenario, not a real client. A historian, “Dr. Colm Ashworth”, published a book that was reviewed in two major newspapers and a scholarly journal, and a regional magazine ran a long profile of him. A graduate student who has read his work but has no connection to him wants to write an article.

• She checks the sources against the guidelines: the reviews and profile are independent and in depth. His university faculty page and publisher’s blurb are useful for a few basic facts but don’t establish notability.
• She writes a short, neutral draft covering his career, the book and how reviewers received it, including one reviewer’s criticism of his methodology.
• She submits it through Articles for Creation. A reviewer asks for a citation on his birth year; she removes it because no reliable source gives it. The draft is accepted.

Now suppose Dr. Ashworth’s publicist had asked to write the article instead. The right path would be to disclose that she’s paid by the publisher, submit a draft through Articles for Creation, and accept whatever the reviewer decides. Or, better still, to leave it for an independent editor.

What to do if you don’t qualify yet

Most people and small businesses don’t have the coverage Wikipedia requires, and that’s normal. The reasons people want a Wikipedia page, credibility and a clear name search, can usually be met other ways:

• A strong About page and consistent profiles, which also help with a Google knowledge panel.
• Structured facts in Wikidata, where the notability bar is different, though the same disclosure rules apply.
• Genuine press coverage about something newsworthy, which is also what eventually makes a subject notable.

If what you really need is a better first page of search results for your name, our personal reputation management service works on exactly that, without shortcuts that would put a Wikipedia article at risk.

Common mistakes

• Starting with the writing, not the sources. If the sources aren’t there, no amount of good writing will help.
• Treating it like a website bio. Wikipedia summarizes others’ coverage; it isn’t a profile you control.
• Leaving out criticism. One-sided drafts are declined or rebalanced.
• Publishing directly with a conflict of interest. Use Articles for Creation and disclose.
• Resubmitting unchanged drafts. Address the reviewer’s comments or wait until new coverage exists.

Frequently asked questions

Can I create a Wikipedia page about myself?

Wikipedia strongly discourages autobiographies. If you believe you’re notable, the recommended route is to let an independent editor write the article. If you do submit a draft, disclose your connection and use Articles for Creation so a volunteer reviews it.

How long does it take to get a Wikipedia page approved?

It varies. Articles for Creation depends on volunteer reviewers, so a draft can wait anywhere from days to months. There’s no paid or fast-track option, and a draft can be declined and need more work.

Can I pay someone to create a Wikipedia page?

Paid editing is allowed only with disclosure under the Wikimedia Terms of Use, and paid editors are expected to submit drafts for review rather than publish them. No one can promise that an article will be accepted or stay up.

What sources count for Wikipedia notability?

In-depth coverage from reliable, independent publications, such as established newspapers, magazines, academic journals and reputable books. Press releases, your own website, social media, directory listings and paid placements don’t establish notability.