In January 2005, wikiHow launched as an open-source site that would become the world’s most popular “how to” guide. Today, it’s a trusted knowledge resource that reaches 150 million monthly visitors.
It’s a place where everyone can contribute their knowledge, creating step-by-step guides on just about anything. This community of contributors has turned wikiHow into a global phenomenon.
How wikiHow started
wikiHow founder Jack Herrick was inspired to create a website with extensive how-to manuals on every imaginable topic in multiple languages. He envisioned a site that would help millions of people worldwide learn how to do anything they wanted.
He based his business model on the non-profit, open source encyclopedia Wikipedia, where content is collaboratively created by volunteers. The community of unpaid editors and writers that makes up wikiHow is key to its success.
Unlike other ‘how-to’ sites, which rely on search engine traffic, wikiHow has maintained a steady stream of visitors by investing in the long-term growth of the site through its hybrid organizational structure and low-cost volunteer system. In this way, wikiHow is able to maintain high quality and a strong sense of community.
What is wikiHow?
wikiHow is an online wiki-style publication featuring how-to articles on a variety of topics. Founded in 2005 by Internet entrepreneur Jack Herrick, it’s a hybrid organization: a for-profit company run for a social mission.
wikiHow has grown to become one of the world’s leading information platforms, with more than 235,000 how-to articles and 2.5 million registered users. It’s a trusted knowledge resource for over 150 million monthly visitors spanning 230 countries.
Getting started on wikiHow
wikiHow is a massive online how-to guide database, built on the ‘wiki’ method of open collaboration. Founded by Jack Herrick in 2005, the site features step-by-step instructions on an array of topics.
Herrick explains that he wants to make it easy for anyone, anywhere to contribute their knowledge to the wikiHow community. The website’s open-source software makes it incredibly flexible and fun, with a kaizen approach that allows new articles to be reviewed and changed multiple times before they’re published.
To get started on wikiHow, think of a problem you encounter in your life that you would like to help others solve. Then, write an article that addresses that problem in an easy-to-understand and helpful way.
Creating an article on wikiHow
Before you begin writing, you should create an outline that breaks down which information goes where. This will help you make sure you aren’t writing too much or too little.
wikiHow is a website that offers how-to guides written by users. It has a goal to provide the most accurate and helpful how-to articles possible.
Creating an article on wikiHow is simple, but it can take some time to get the right content and structure in place. The most important thing is to make your article clear and concise.
Editing an article on wikiHow
When editing an article on wikiHow, it is important to keep the quality of your edits high. Make sure that your edits are accurate, well-formatted, and correct in spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
You should also write a note in the Edit Summary, at the bottom of the article, to explain your changes so that patrollers can understand why you made them.
Open editing, as wikiHow calls it, attracts a fair amount of nonsense and vandalism. Fortunately, most volunteer editors quickly roll back such edits.
Getting involved on wikiHow
wikiHow is an online wiki-style community that includes an extensive database of how-to guides. Founded in 2005, the website uses the wiki model of open collaboration to allow users to add and modify content.
wikiHow is one of the world’s most visited websites, boasting a user base of over 150 million monthly unique visitors. This is a lot of people, and it’s a challenge for the site to keep up with the pace. Thankfully, Fastly’s edge cloud network helps wikiHow to meet the demands of its ever-growing user base. It also helps them to monitor their performance in real time, so they can quickly make changes if needed.
