Wikipedia:Build the web

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This page documents an English Wikipedia editing guideline. It is a generally accepted standard that editors should attempt to follow, though it is best treated with common sense and the occasional exception. Any substantive edit to this page should reflect consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on the talk page.

Shortcuts: WP:BTW WP:BUILD

This page in a nutshell: Link articles sideways to neighbours, upwards to categories and contexts, and downwards to sub-articles to create a useful web of information.

Wikipedia guidelines
Content
Conflict of interest Do not copy sources Disambiguation Do not create hoaxes Patent nonsense Reliable sources User page
Article Inclusion
Notability
Classification
Subpages Cats, lists, templates Lists Categories
Editing
Be bold Build the web Edit summary Article size
Discussion
Talk page guidelines Sign on talk pages
Behavior
Etiquette Assume good faith Do not disrupt Wikipedia to illustrate a point Do not bite the newcomers Do not "game the system"
Style
Manual of Style See also policies

Build the Web is the idea of connecting relevant topics throughout an article since all articles in the encyclopedia are nodes in a hypertext system. Do not just write the article, but also consider its place in the web. Make upward links to categories and contexts (Charles Darwin was a biologist; Sahara is a desert in Africa; the Enlightenment happened in the 18th century). Make sideways links to neighboring articles (for proton see also electron, Oregon borders on California). Introduce links from related articles to avoid orphaning the article. Do not build category trees too deep and narrow, or too flat. Writing category directories first (top-down) will help ensure that subcategory articles get useful names.

Think carefully before you remove a link altogether (apart from the case of a duplicate link). Remember that what may seem like an irrelevant link to you may actually be useful to other readers.

Don't be afraid to create links to articles which don't exist yet. If you think there should be an article with that title, then be bold and make the link. Of course, the best way to build the web is to then go ahead and write that article.

Remember that a link can also be useful when applying the "What links here" feature from the target page. If you feel that a certain link does not belong in the body of the text, consider moving it to a "See also" section at the bottom of the article. This keeps the web intact while removing overlinking.

[edit] See also

• Wikipedia:Manual of Style
• Wikipedia:Manual of Style (links)
• Wikipedia:Only make links that are relevant to the context
• Wikipedia:Red link
• Wikipedia:External links
• Wikipedia:WikiProject Integration
• Wikipedia:Dead-end pages
• Wikipedia:Wikiproject Orphanage
• Wikipedia:Walled garden
• Wikipedia:Allwiki
• Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information
• Template:Deadend
• Template:Wikify

v • d • e Key Wikipedia policies and guidelines Overview Policies and guidelines · List of policies · List of guidelines Global principles What Wikipedia is not · Consensus · Dispute resolution · Ignore all rules Article standards policies Neutral point of view · Verifiability · No original research · Biographies of living persons · Deletion policy Behavioral policies Civility · Edit warring · No personal attacks · No legal threats · Ownership of articles · Three-revert rule · Sock-puppetry Behavioral guidelines Assume good faith · Etiquette · Do not disrupt Wikipedia to illustrate a point · Please do not bite the newcomers · Gaming the system Classification guidelines Subpages · Categories, lists, and navigation templates · Lists · Categorization · Template namespace Content guidelines Conflict of interest · Do not include copies of primary sources · Disambiguation · Do not create hoaxes · Notability · Patent nonsense Editing guidelines Be bold · Build the web · Edit summary · Editing policy · Signatures · Talk page guidelines · User page Style conventions Article size · Manual of Style · Naming conventions