Create your own Personal Page on Wikipedia

Creating Your Personal Wikipedia Page

Wikipedia is one of the most visited websites in the world, and having your own Wikipedia page can significantly boost your online presence and credibility. However, creating and maintaining a Wikipedia page requires understanding Wikipedia’s guidelines and community standards. This guide walks you through the process.

Important Prerequisites

Before attempting to create a Wikipedia page about yourself, consider these requirements:

Notability Guidelines

Wikipedia has strict notability requirements. You must meet at least one of these criteria:

For individuals:

  • Significant coverage in multiple reliable, independent sources
  • Notable achievements in your field
  • Recognition through major awards or honors
  • Significant contributions to society, arts, science, politics, etc.

Types of notable people:

  • Authors with published books from major publishers
  • Academics with significant research or positions
  • Artists with major exhibitions or commercial success
  • Business leaders of major companies
  • Politicians holding significant offices
  • Athletes competing at high levels
  • Entertainers with mainstream success

Sources Required

You need multiple independent, reliable sources:

Good sources:

  • Major newspapers and magazines
  • Academic journals
  • Books from established publishers
  • Reputable news websites
  • Official government records

Bad sources:

  • Social media
  • Personal blogs
  • Press releases
  • Self-published materials
  • Your own website

Minimum requirement: At least 3-5 significant, independent sources with substantial coverage about you.

Should You Create Your Own Page?

Conflict of Interest

Wikipedia strongly discourages creating articles about yourself due to conflict of interest (COI).

Problems with self-creation:

  • Bias: Difficult to remain neutral about yourself
  • Promotion: Temptation to overstate accomplishments
  • Credibility: Community skeptical of self-created articles
  • Deletion risk: Higher scrutiny and deletion likelihood

Better Alternatives

1. Request article creation:

2. Hire a Wikipedia editor:

  • Professional Wikipedia editors (paid)
  • They follow all guidelines and policies
  • Disclosure of paid editing required

3. Wait for others:

  • If you’re truly notable, someone will create a page
  • Natural creation has more credibility

Creating the Article (If You Must)

If you still want to proceed despite COI concerns:

Step 1: Create Wikipedia Account

  1. Go to Wikipedia.org
  2. Click Create account
  3. Choose a username (preferably not your real name if creating page about yourself)
  4. Provide email address
  5. Complete registration

Tip: Wait a few days and make some edits to other articles before creating your own page. New accounts creating articles about themselves face immediate scrutiny.

Step 2: Practice in Your Sandbox

Don’t create the article directly. Use your sandbox first:

  1. Go to your user page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:YourUsername
  2. Create sandbox: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:YourUsername/sandbox
  3. Draft your article there
  4. Get feedback before publishing

Step 3: Research and Gather Sources

Compile reliable sources:

  • News articles about you
  • Academic publications
  • Books mentioning you
  • Awards and recognitions
  • Official records

Format source information:

  • URL
  • Publication name
  • Author
  • Date
  • Article title
  • Access date

Step 4: Write the Article

Basic structure:

'''Your Name''' (born Month Day, Year) is a [profession] known for [primary notability].

==Early life and education==
Born in [location], [surname] attended [schools]. 

==Career==
[Career highlights and achievements]

==Awards and recognition==
* Award 1 (Year)
* Award 2 (Year)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [Official website]

[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Your profession]]
[[Category:Birth year births]]

Wikipedia markup basics:

Bold text (for first mention of name):

'''John Smith'''

Section headers:

==Main Section==
===Subsection===

Links:

[[Wikipedia Article]]
[[Article|Display Text]]
[http://example.com External Link]

Citations:

<ref>{{cite web |url=https://example.com/article |title=Article Title |author=Author Name |date=2021-01-01 |website=Website Name |access-date=2021-06-01}}</ref>

Lists:

* Item 1
* Item 2
* Item 3

Step 5: Add Inline Citations

Every significant claim must be cited.

Citation formats:

Web source:

<ref>{{cite web 
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/article 
|title=Article Title 
|author=Smith, John 
|date=2021-05-30 
|website=The New York Times 
|access-date=2021-06-01}}</ref>

Book:

<ref>{{cite book 
|last=Author 
|first=Name 
|title=Book Title 
|publisher=Publisher 
|year=2020 
|isbn=978-1234567890 
|pages=45-47}}</ref>

News article:

<ref>{{cite news 
|last=Reporter 
|first=Name 
|title=Article Title 
|newspaper=Newspaper Name 
|date=2021-03-15 
|url=https://example.com/news}}</ref>

References section at bottom:

==References==
{{Reflist}}

Step 6: Add Infobox

Infoboxes provide quick facts:

{{Infobox person
| name = Your Name
| image = 
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}}
| birth_place = City, Country
| occupation = Your Profession
| years_active = YYYY–present
| website = {{URL|yourwebsite.com}}
}}

Step 7: Categorize

Add relevant categories at the bottom:

[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:21st-century American writers]]
[[Category:Harvard University alumni]]
[[Category:1980 births]]
[[Category:People from New York City]]

Step 8: Submit for Review

Using Articles for Creation (AfC):

  1. Save your draft in sandbox
  2. Add to top: {{subst:submit}}
  3. Submit for review
  4. Wait for reviewer feedback (can take weeks)
  5. Address reviewer comments
  6. Resubmit if needed

Direct creation (risky for new editors):

  1. Go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Your_Name
  2. Click Create this page
  3. Paste your article
  4. Add edit summary: “Created article with reliable sources”
  5. Click Publish changes

After Publication

Watch for Issues

Common problems:

  • Speedy deletion nominations
  • Notability challenges
  • Neutral point of view disputes
  • Verification requests

Respond to Tags

If your article gets tagged:

{{notability}}: Add more sources proving notability {{coi}}: Disclose conflict of interest, seek independent editors {{primary sources}}: Replace with secondary sources {{unreliable sources}}: Replace with reliable sources

Improve the Article

  • Add more citations
  • Expand sections
  • Add images (must be freely licensed)
  • Remove promotional language
  • Maintain neutral tone

Dealing with Deletion

Types of Deletion

Proposed deletion (PROD):

  • 7-day warning before deletion
  • Remove tag and explain why article should stay
  • Improve article quickly

Articles for Deletion (AfD):

  • Community discussion (usually 7 days)
  • Participate in discussion
  • Provide additional sources
  • Make case for notability

Speedy deletion:

  • Immediate removal for clear violations
  • Contest if applied inappropriately
  • Common reasons: spam, copyright violation, no indication of importance

How to Contest

  1. Go to article’s discussion page
  2. Explain why article meets notability
  3. Provide additional reliable sources
  4. Be professional and factual
  5. Accept community consensus

Maintaining Your Page

What You Can Do

  • Fix factual errors
  • Add new achievements (with sources)
  • Update outdated information
  • Improve writing quality
  • Add relevant citations

What You Cannot Do

  • Remove sourced criticism
  • Add promotional language
  • Remove notability tags inappropriately
  • Add unsourced claims
  • Advertise products/services

Best Practices

  1. Declare COI: On talk page, disclose you’re the subject
  2. Request edits: Instead of editing directly, request changes on talk page
  3. Be neutral: Write as if about someone else
  4. Accept criticism: Don’t remove negative but sourced content
  5. Follow consensus: Accept community decisions
  6. Stay updated: Keep up with Wikipedia policies

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  1. Over-promotion: Avoid marketing language
  2. Insufficient sources: Need multiple reliable sources
  3. Peacock terms: Avoid “leading,” “renowned,” “world-famous”
  4. Primary sources: Don’t rely solely on your own work
  5. Copyright violation: Don’t copy from other websites
  6. External links spam: Limit to official website
  7. Ignoring feedback: Address reviewer comments
  8. Edit warring: Don’t repeatedly restore removed content
  9. Sockpuppeting: Don’t create multiple accounts
  10. Paid editing without disclosure: Must disclose paid editing

Alternative Platforms

If Wikipedia isn’t right for you:

Wikidata:

  • Structured data about people
  • Lower notability threshold
  • Linked to Wikipedia

Wikimedia Commons:

  • Upload freely-licensed images
  • Can be used in future Wikipedia article

Personal website:

  • Full control over content
  • No notability requirements
  • Better for self-promotion

LinkedIn:

  • Professional networking
  • Accepted platform for self-promotion
  • Widely recognized

Other online encyclopedias:

  • Everipedia (blockchain-based)
  • WikiTree (genealogy focus)
  • DBpedia

Hiring Professional Help

If you need assistance:

Wikipedia consultants:

  • Experienced Wikipedia editors
  • Understand policies and guidelines
  • Can navigate community

What they do:

  • Assess notability
  • Draft article
  • Submit for review
  • Respond to feedback
  • Monitor and maintain

Cost:

  • Ranges from $500 to $5,000+
  • Depends on complexity
  • No guarantee of acceptance

Important: Any paid editing must be disclosed per Wikipedia policy.

Conclusion

Creating a Wikipedia page about yourself is challenging and often discouraged due to conflict of interest. Before proceeding:

  1. Verify notability: Ensure you meet Wikipedia’s standards
  2. Gather sources: Multiple reliable, independent sources required
  3. Consider alternatives: Request creation or wait for natural inclusion
  4. Follow guidelines: If creating, adhere strictly to policies
  5. Maintain neutrality: Write objectively without promotion
  6. Accept feedback: Work with the community

Remember: Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, not a promotional platform. If you’re truly notable, someone will eventually create a page about you.

Quick Checklist

Before creating article:

  • Multiple reliable sources (3-5 minimum)
  • Independent coverage (not self-published)
  • Meet notability guidelines
  • Wikipedia account created
  • Practiced editing other articles
  • Drafted in sandbox
  • All claims cited
  • Neutral point of view
  • No promotional language
  • Declared conflict of interest

Useful Resources