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WM:BASICS

This page is a simple, beginner-friendly guide to the Wikimedia movement — what it is, what its projects are, and how to start (or refresh) your editing journey. It is written for newcomers, but experienced editors are welcome to use it as a quick refresher, a workshop handout, or a page to point new community members to. It is loaded with videos, courses, and official documentation for every major project.

What is Wikimedia?

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Wikimedia is the name of the global movement and the nonprofit organization (the Wikimedia Foundation) that supports a family of free knowledge projects — the most famous being Wikipedia. All Wikimedia projects share three big ideas:

  • Free – content is free to read, reuse, and share.
  • Open – anyone can contribute, and edits are visible to everyone.
  • Collaborative – built by volunteers working together, not paid staff writing content.

Overview reading:

The Wikimedia projects, with resources for each

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Wikipedia — the free encyclopedia

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The flagship project, available in 300+ languages.

Start here (official tutorials):

Videos:

Where to get help while editing:

Wikimedia Commons — the shared media library

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A repository of 100+ million free images, sounds, and videos used across all Wikimedia projects.

Start here:

Videos:

Wikidata — the structured data project

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A free knowledge base of facts that both humans and machines (and the other Wikimedia projects) can query and reuse.

Start here:

Videos:

Wiktionary — the free dictionary

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Wikisource — the free library of source texts

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Wikiquote — the collection of quotations

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Wikivoyage — the free travel guide

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Wikinews — collaborative journalism

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Wikibooks — free textbooks and manuals

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Wikiversity — learning materials and courses

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Wikispecies — the directory of species

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Wikifunctions — the library of reusable functions

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Meta-Wiki — this wiki, the movement's town hall

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MediaWiki — the software behind every wiki

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How to get started editing (step by step)

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  1. Create an account. You don't need one to read, but you need one to build a track record, use user rights, and be part of the community.
  2. Use the Sandbox. Every project has a personal or general sandbox page — a safe space to practice edits without affecting real content.
  3. Learn basic wikitext. A few essentials:
    • ''italic'' → italic
    • '''bold''' → bold
    • [[Article name]] → link to another page
    • [https://example.com Link text] → external link
    • == Heading == → section heading
    • * item → bullet list
    • <ref>Source here</ref> → footnote/citation
    • Full reference: Help:Wikitext
  4. Or use VisualEditor. A word-processor-style editor that hides the wikitext — good for beginners; see "Become a Wikipedian in 30 minutes" transcript for a walkthrough of switching it on.
  5. Make small edits first. Fix a typo, add a category, improve a sentence.
  6. Learn to cite sources. Claims should be backed by reliable, published sources — see Help:Referencing for beginners.
  7. Use talk pages. Every article/page has a "Talk" page for discussing changes with other editors.

Core principles to remember

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  • Neutral point of view (NPOV) – present topics fairly, without personal opinion or bias.
  • Verifiability – information should be traceable to a reliable published source.
  • No original research – don't add your own unpublished ideas, analysis, or conclusions.
  • Be civil – disagreements happen; keep discussions respectful.
  • Assume good faith – treat other editors as trying to help, not to harm.
  • Full summary: Core content policies and Five pillars

Structured courses and training libraries

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These are full, guided courses — good for self-study or for running a workshop.

Understanding the community structure

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  • Affiliates – official Wikimedia groups: chapters (country-based), thematic organizations, and user groups (smaller, flexible groups — like many across Africa). See Wikimedia movement affiliates.
  • WikiProjects – informal teams of editors focused on a topic area.
  • Village pumps – community discussion boards on each project for questions, proposals, and announcements.
  • Meta-Wiki – where movement-wide discussions, grant requests, and cross-project policies live.
  • Programs & Events Dashboard (outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org) – the tool most user groups use to track edit-a-thons, editing campaigns, and participant progress.

Where to get help

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  • Teahouse (Wikipedia) – a friendly space for newcomer questions.
  • Help desks – each project has one; search "[project]:Help desk".
  • Local user groups / affiliates – many countries and regions have Wikimedia community groups offering training, mentorship, and events. (E.g., Wikimedia Community User Group South Sudan.)
  • IRC / Discord / Telegram – real-time chat spaces where volunteers help each other.
  • Learning and Evaluation – for program-related questions and evaluation support.

Refresher checklist for experienced editors

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  • Are your citations still meeting current reliability standards?
  • Have you checked for updated policies or guideline changes lately?
  • Are you mentoring or welcoming newcomers when you see them?
  • Have you explored a project you don't usually edit (e.g., a Wikidata or Commons contribution)?
  • Are you engaging with your local affiliate/user group's activities and reporting via the Programs & Events Dashboard?
  • Have you revisited the Five Pillars and core content policies recently?

Further reading

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This page is intended as a living resource — feel free to expand, correct, add local-language resources, or translate it for your community.

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