Help:Contents

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Wikipedia help.png

This page provides assistance with the most common questions about Wikipedia.

To start, please click on a relevant link to what you want assistance for below, or simply search for other available help pages that are not linked here using the search box to the right.

I want info about browsing or searching

The Readers' FAQ and our "About" page contain the most commonly sought information about Wikipedia.

There is a search box in the upper-right corner of every page with the word "Search" in it. Just type what you are looking for in there and then press Enter. See Help:Searching for more details.

There are other ways to browse and explore Wikipedia articles, many can be found at Portal:Contents. Also see our disclaimers for cautions about Wikipedia's limitations.

I want to edit Wikipedia

Contributing is easy: see how to edit a page or contributing to Wikipedia. For a quick summary on participating, see the Plain and simple guide. The Cheatsheet will remind you of basic wiki markup. You can practice editing and experiment in a sandbox. Or play the Wikipedia Adventure to learn to edit in an hour.

Be bold in improving articles! When adding facts, please provide references so others may verify them. If you are affiliated with the article subject, please see our conflict of interest guideline.

If you're looking for places you can help out, the Community portal is the place to go.

I want to report a problem with an article

If you have a problem or question with an article about yourself, a family member, friend or colleague, please add a discussion to the Biographies of Living Persons' Noticeboard.

If you spot a problem with an article, you can fix it directly, by clicking on the "Edit" link at the beginning of that page. See the "I want to edit Wikipedia" section of this page for more information.

If you don't feel ready or qualified to fix the article yourself, please post a message on the article's talk page. This will bring the matter to the attention of others who work on that article. There is a "Talk" link at the beginning of every article page.

Alternatively you can contact us. If it's an article about you or your organization, see Contact us - Subjects.

I want to create a new article or upload media

Check Your first article to see if your topic is appropriate, then the Article wizard will walk you through creating the article.

Once you have created an article, see Writing better articles for guidance on how to improve it and what to include (like reference citations).

For contributing images, audio or video files, see the Introduction to uploading images. Then the Upload wizard will guide you through that process.

I have a factual question

If searching Wikipedia has not answered your question (for example, questions like "Which country has the world's largest fishing fleet?"), try the Reference Desk. Volunteers there will attempt to answer your questions on any topic, or point you towards the information you need.

I'm stuck

For your convenience, answers have been recorded for the most frequently asked questions.

You can find also where to ask questions or make comments.

You can ask questions about using Wikipedia at the Help desk or at the Teahouse. Volunteers will respond as soon as possible.

Or ask for help on your talk page and a volunteer will visit you there!

You can get live help with editing in the help chatroom.

I'm looking for help with something specific

Additional searches

Search Frequently Asked Questions
Search the help desk archives

The blue bar that follows is a navigation box for many of the help pages. Click "show" on the right to expand it.
The navigation box below provides many useful policy and guideline links