Help:New page

To do on this page:
 * check W:c:starter:Help:New_page to integrate any good info.
 * possibly split the page up? to make it simpler.



What should I know first?
Creating a new page is the lifeblood of every Wikia. Finding new and better ways to make this easy for visitors ensures that your Wikia will continue to grow and expand in content, so there are several different methods that will work.

Please remember to perform a search before starting a new page to see whether someone has written a similar page already.



Method 1: Click a red link
A red link in a page's content tells you that the Wikia does not yet have an article at that title. This means that whoever created the page expected that a useful article could be created there, and that you are welcome to create one.

Simply clicking the red link will take you to an edit page where you can begin typing your new article.

Method 2: Create a red link in an article
You can also edit any page to add a link to the page title you want to create, in a way that's useful to the wiki.


 * Example: if you are reading a page about asthma, and you want to add a page about inhalers, you could find a mention of the word "inhaler" in the existing text, and make it a link by surrounding it with double brackets, like this: inhaler .   If there is no existing mention of the word, you could add a sentence such as "Doctors sometimes prescribe inhaler devices to help deliver medicine to the lungs."

Adding links this way gives you a red link to click on, and also ensures that future readers of the existing page will be able to find your new article.

To keep your new article from being an "orphan page" that cannot be found except by searching, you should also find and edit other related articles and lists, and add a link to your page from them.

Method 3: Use an input box
Create an article here on the  Wikia:

Many Wikia have an article creation box on their main page. You can simply type the title into the form and you will be taken to the edit page for the new article, just as if you had clicked on a red link.

See Help:Inputbox for more information on adding article creation boxes to your main page, your user page, or any other page on your wiki.

There are a few more methods for creating pages, if you're curious.



I created a page, and now I can't find it!

 * Page titles are case sensitive: In the database, "My page" and "My Page" are considered different pages, so if you are searching for or linking to the wrong one, you might not be able to find it.


 * Check your user contributions: The "my contributions" link in your personal toolbar (or at Special:Contributions) will allow you to see a list of every edit you have made on the Wikia -- this can help you find something you were working on yesterday, or last week.  This can be especially helpful if you are misremembering or misspelling the page title.


 * Special:Recentchanges and Special:Newpages are other lists which can help you locate recently created articles. Both can always be accessed from any Wikia through the "Special pages" link in the toolbox.


 * Page may have been deleted: If the content of your page was against the polices of the Wikia, it's possible that an administrator has deleted it. If so, there will be a small notice at the top of the page mentioning "deleted edits".  Check this link, or Special:Log/Deletion, to learn which administrator performed the deletion.  Discussing the issue politely on the admin's talk page is the best way to learn what the problem was, and possibly to get your work undeleted if there was a misunderstanding.


 * Page is not yet in the search index: Although Wikia is quicker about this than Wikipedia, it can still take some time for new pages to be added to the search index and become available through the search box. If you are sure you are spelling the title correctly (remember that page titles are case-sensitive), then you may need to use your contributions list or Recentchanges to find the article instead.

I created the article with the wrong title!

 * A page can be renamed by moving it, using the "move" tab. See Help:Moving pages for more information.



Where can I learn more?

 * ''What other topics might this one lead to?



How do I change the text that appears above all new pages on my wiki?

 * An admin can edit w:c:YOURWIKI:MediaWiki:Newarticletext.

How do I create preloaded templates for visitors to fill in?

 * See...

How do I....

 * What other expert topics might his one lead to?



What else can I see for help?

 * MetaWikipedia:Help:Starting a new page, on which this page was based.