Wikipedia is more than just an encyclopedia. It is a world-wide community of people who volunteer their time and share knowledge in order to make the world a better place. You are welcome to join us in this important mission...

Getting an account[edit]

Why create an account? (to get more privileges and to make communication easier)

Choosing a username

How to log in

Teamwork[edit]

Who writes Wikipedia? (Anyone with Internet access)

We are Wikipedians

Talk pages — how to communicate in Wikipedia

WikiProjects — collaborate with others to develop your favorite subject areas

Quick directory/Department directory

Getting started[edit]

Just go for it! — the easiest and fastest way to get involved is to click on the edit tab at the top of an article that interests you, and improve the article in the editor that appears.

Keep in mind...: The Five Pillars (the core rules)

Tutorials

Main tutorial — will help anyone become a Wikipedia contributor.
Editing — almost every page has an "Edit" tab.
Formatting — the basics on coding.
Links — the basics on internal links.
Sources — the basics on adding references.
Talk pages — the basics on how to communicate with others.
Policies — there are some things to keep in mind when editing Wikipedia.
Registration — registering a username is optional, but encouraged.
Graphics — the basics on how to use graphics.
Images — the basics on how to use images.
IRC (live chat) — to access the freenode IRC servers, follow the directions here.

((tutorials)) — place this on your user page to display a navigation box with helpful links

Overviews: Plain and simple — the basic mechanics of Wikipedia; Primer for newcomers — an overview for new contributors; Advice for parents

Where to next?[edit]

For comprehensive help, see The Missing Manual and the Help directory
If you wish to express an opinion or make a comment, Where to ask questions will point you in the correct direction.
If you're looking for things to edit, the Community portal has lists of open tasks, or you can join a subject-specific WikiProject.
If you would like to create a new article, Starting an article will explain how to create a new page, with tips for success and a link to Wikipedia's Article Wizard, which can guide you through the process of submitting a new article to Wikipedia.

v t e Wikipedia help pages
*Visit the Teahouse* or the Help desk for an interactive Q & A forum. FAQs (?) Reference desks (?) Noticeboards (?) Cheatsheet (?) Directories (?)**
About Wikipedia (?)	Administration Purpose Principles Policies and guidelines What Wikipedia is not Disclaimer (parental advice) Making requests Who writes Wikipedia?
Help for readers (?)	FAQ Books Copyright Glossary Mobile access Navigation Other languages Searching Students Viewing media
Contributing to Wikipedia (?)	Advice for young editors Avoiding common mistakes Etiquette Simplified Manual of Style Simplified rule-set "Ignore all rules" "The rules are principles" Style-tips Tip of the day Your first article (article wizard)
Getting started (?)	Why create an account? Introductions by topic Graphics tutorials Picture tutorial IRC (live chat) tutorial VisualEditor user guide
Dos and don'ts (?)	Accessibility Biographies Biographies (living) Categorization Consensus Discussions Disambiguation Images Leads Links Lists References Tables Titles (of articles)
How-to pages and information pages (?)	Appealing blocks Article deletion Categories Citations/references Referencing for beginners Citation Style 1 Cite errors References and page numbers Convert Diff Editing Minor edit toolbar edit conflict Find sources Files Footnotes Image deletion Infoboxes Linking (link color) Logging in Merging Page name Renaming pages Redirect Passwords Email confirmation Reverting Simple vandalism cleanup Talk pages (archiving simple archiving) User contributions WP search protocol
Coding (?)	Wiki markup Barcharts Calculations Characters Columns Elevation Hidden text HTML Lists Magic words Music symbols Sections Sounds Tables Templates Transclusion URL Visual files
Directories (?)	Abbreviations Contents (Encyclopedia proper) Departments Editor's index Essays FAQs Glossary Guidelines Manual of Style Policies Tasks Tips Tools
Missing Manual Ask for help on your talk page (?)