My WikiHow Experience

WikiHow is an exceptional community based forum for how- to guides. According to WikiHow “Everyone is an expert at something.” This website allows these normal people to become experts and publish, simple and straightforward step by step “How To” articles. From everything on “How to Sew a Button” to “How to survive in The Wilderness” there are no limits to what can be posted. The popularity of WikiHow is due to not only how easy it is to post but also the fact that anyone can contribute to articles.

 There are some policies you have to follow in order to get a WikiHow published. Don’t be worried because there are editors to help you! You can expect your article to be changed and edited almost as soon as you click publish.

The first step of writing a WikiHow is to check to see if the topic has already been published. If it has, look for a way to put a twist on the article. For example if you search a recipe “how to make chocolate cake” and the article has been published, perhaps you could make a “healthy” chocolate cake recipe or add an ingredient that hasn’t already been used. It’s best to think of topics that you are an expert in or have done before. If you are an expert in binge watching Netflix, write a how to about binge watching. The possibilities are endless which is why the site contains over 200,000 articles.

Once a topic has been chosen, it needs to be in a step by step format. These steps need to be short, no more than 5 sentences.  Be sure to include steps that may seem like common sense, because for the reader they may not be. Although short, it is important to be somewhat detailed to inform the reader of exactly needs to occur for that specific step. Each step should star with a verb like “pour” or “close.” Avoid starting with “First” or “Then.”  The number indicated before each step will is enough and writing anything besides a verb is too repetitive. It is best to write the process in word before getting into WikiHow.

When creating each step a picture or video needs to accompany each one. These pictures MUST be given credit to the photographer or your article will not be published. It is also important to have these pictures “web ready” at a proper resolution.  Along with writing in a step by step format, there are sections to the article. For example introduction, steps, tips, and warnings. This helps keeps the article organized and easy to read. If you are making a recipe, make sure you take a picture of EVERY step. This makes the article easier to follow.

Another guideline of WikiHow is not making your article too promotional. Your article is simply a How To, not an advertisement. Keeping that in mind, you may use Wegmans brand ingredients but you couldn’t say “only use Wegmans organic Vanilla Almond Milk,” you would write “Vanilla Almond Milk” not Wegmans or any brand specifically. Make sure to pay attention to any copyright infringements as well.

Another resource to include in the article are resources or other WikiHow links. Including links provides the reader with more information to what is in the article. For example if you are writing a “Healthy Chocolate Cake” recipe, you may want to include a WikiHow on the health benefits of cacoa, a nutritious chocolate substitute.

Tips and Warnings are a great way to communicate a few extra details into your WikiHow article. Tips provide the reader with insight on your personal experience of creating the subject of your article. For example if you made a chocolate cake and thought it was best to refrigerate before frosting, share this with the reader. Information such as “don’t know if your cake is cooked? Put a toothpick in the center” may seem obvious but the more detail the better. Your personal insight is valuable to the article and will give the reader the best product possible. Include at least 3 Warnings in your article as well.

Once the steps, pictures and links are completed, there are two ways of creating an article. The first is publishing on a step by step basis on the website. This is simply typing in each section of your article. Although this is easy, coding is the best way to publish an article. For example “warnings” are at the end of the article and if you are making a recipe “ingredients” would be at the top because you need to know what supplies you need before making the recipe.  Replacing a # with a number and * for a bullet-point allows you to format the article to your liking.  Coding is somewhat complicated although WikiHow does of course have an article explaining how to code. If there are any mistakes after you publish, editors will go into the article and fix them.

If you don’t feel ready to publish your article, there is a draft option. In order to save a draft make sure you are in “advanced editing” otherwise your work will be deleted. As soon as you click “Publish” your article is posted and made visible to the public.

Once your article is submitted, it is sent to a boosting team to review. Editors work to fix and errors. Other readers may also add to the article or comment. If the article is not publish it could be due to a number of reasons. First, the topic may have already been published, second, the article may have violated copy right laws and third, the article needs a heavy amount of editing. If the article is deleted, WikiHow will notify you on the reasons why.

WikiHow is extremely user friendly and anyone with or without computer skills can publish an article. The ways in which your subject is communicated on WikiHow with step by step, pictures and links allows for the reader to follow the article in a simplistic manner.

http://www.wikihow.com/index.php?title=Make-Matcha-Green-Tea-Chia-Pudding&new=1