Wikivoyage:How to start a new page

Sometimes you need to start a new article for Wikivoyage -- for example, a new destination, or a new itinerary. This help page tells you how to do it.

Do I need to create a new page?

Check that the page you want does not already exist, or that the information doesn't already exist on another page. Do a search for the name of your proposed new page, and see what is returned.

We do not include pages for individual hotels, restaurants or attractions - see Wikivoyage:What is an article? for guidelines about what topics get their own articles, and Wikivoyage:Where you can stick it for a discussion of where to place information that should not be in its own article.

How to start a new page

The frustrating thing for most people is that our software does not have a "Start new page" command anywhere on the screen. This is actually by design, not a mistake. The theory is that new pages should be linked from older pages, and be part of the cohesive whole of the Wikivoyage site, not isolated and on their own.

The best way to start a new page, then, is to create a link to that page from an existing page, and then follow that link to edit the page. We prefer that you start at the Main Page and browse around, or use the search functionality, to find a related topic. For example, if you're going to write about a city, you might search for the guide for the country or province where that city is, and make your link there.

If there's really just nothing related to link from, just enter the page name into the search box, you will get an option to create the page.

To create a new link using Wiki markup, type the title of the new page -- preferably conforming to our article naming conventions -- somewhere on the screen, placing it between double brackets, [[Like this]]. This will create a link to a new blank page with the title you specified between the brackets.

Something is better than nothing

Don't feel like you have to cover your entire subject in one go. It's OK to just get started even with just a small amount of information. To add an outline template to your new article automatically, just click on the "City", "Region" etc links at the top of the page.

If you make a stub to start the article, other people will follow your lead and add more information. Something is better than nothing, so plunge forward and start that page!

Wikimedia Commons

Commons is a handy source for maps and pictures which may be used in Wikivoyage guides; follow the instructions in Wikivoyage:How to add an image. In many cases, Wikipedia already has an encyclopaedia article not only about any notable city but also pages about individual landmarks; these usually already use Commons as a source for images. Those images are available for re-use here.