What is the process for creating a new Wikipedia page?

Creating a Wikipedia article is a structured five-step sequence, not a single event. Each step has its own quality bar; trying to compress them produces the predictable failures, rejections, deletions, and community disputes, that give the process an undeserved reputation for arbitrariness.

Step 1: Source phase

Before any drafting begins, catalog the existing third-party coverage and measure it against Wikipedia’s notability standard. Identify gaps that must be filled before submission and assemble the source set the article will rely on. Independent reliable secondary sources, not press releases, wire-service syndications, or the company’s own materials, are the foundation on which every subsequent step rests.

Step 2: Drafting (sandbox or AfC draft)

Build the article in the editor’s personal sandbox (User:[username]/sandbox) or in an Articles for Creation draft. Structure the content to Wikipedia’s encyclopedic conventions: inline citations, neutral encyclopedic voice, and Manual of Style formatting. The sandbox is not visible in mainspace, so the draft can be refined through internal review before any community eyes see it.

Step 3: Submission with COI disclosed

Submit the draft through Articles for Creation. The paid or affiliated relationship must be disclosed on the editor’s user page and on the draft’s Talk page before submission, in compliance with the Wikimedia Foundation’s terms of use. An undisclosed COI causes the submission to be flagged and often declined regardless of other merits.

Step 4: Community review

An uninvolved reviewer evaluates the draft against Wikipedia’s notability and content policies. Reviewers frequently return drafts with feedback requesting additional sources, neutral rewriting, or structural changes. This feedback must be addressed substantively, not argued against, before resubmission. Review timelines range from days to several months depending on the reviewer queue and the complexity of the sourcing questions.

Step 5: Publication, or AfD response

If the reviewer accepts the draft, the article moves to mainspace and becomes a live Wikipedia article. If the article is later nominated for deletion through Articles for Deletion (AfD), the discussion runs approximately seven days, with editors arguing keep, delete, merge, or redirect. An uninvolved administrator closes the AfD by reading consensus rather than counting votes. Engaging the AfD discussion through editors who can speak to the article’s notability and policy compliance is the appropriate response.