Most new articles are created shortly after a corresponding reference to them is entered into the system.
Spinellis and Louridas, "The Collaborative Organization of Knowledge"[1]
A red link, like this example, signifies that the linked-to page does not exist—it either never existed, or previously existed but has been deleted.
Add red links to articles to indicate that a page will be created soon or that an article should be created for the topic because the subject is notable and verifiable. Red links help Wikipedia grow.[1] The creation of red links prevents new pages from being orphaned from the start.[2] Good red links help Wikipedia—they encourage new contributors in useful directions, and remind us that Wikipedia is far from finished.
In general, a red link should remain in an article if there is a reasonable expectation that the article in question will eventually be created (either as its own article or as a redirect); remove red links if and only if Wikipedia should not have any coverage on the subject. It may be possible to turn the red link into a redirect to an article section where the subject is covered as part of a broader topic (see Notability – Whether to create standalone pages). But please do not "kill" red links by redirect because their red color (annoying to some readers) seems to scream for a fix. It is easy to turn any red link blue by creating a redirect, but valid red links exist for a reason, and they are the "buds" from which new Wikipedia articles grow. A valid red link should be left in place if the reader agrees on need for a future article with that best name, but does not want to provide one.
Articles should not contain red links to files, to templates, or to topics that do not warrant an article, such as a celebrity's romantic interest who is not notable in their own right. Red links should not routinely be made to every chapter in a book, or to all the people mentioned in an article. Red links should not be made to articles deleted because the topic was judged unencyclopedic or lacking notability. Red links may sometimes be created to articles deleted for some other reason. In addition, even if a page has been deleted because it does not meet Wikipedia's guidelines, you may make a red link to the term if you intend to write an article about an entirely different topic that happens to have the same title.
Creating red links
A red link appears whenever double square brackets [[ ]]
are placed around a word or phrase for which Wikipedia does not have an article, disambiguation page or redirect.
When to create red links
Create red links whenever a non-existent article with more information would help a reader understand the content of the article in which the red link will appear. An easy example is a technical term that merits a treatment beyond its dictionary definition, to help support its role for its existing context. A technical term could qualify because it is probably "notable" and should have that obvious title.
Before adding a red link, make sure that its subject does not already exist under a different page name. The topic may well be covered in a section of another article; it could even be buried in several paragraphs nearby. So it is the responsibility of the person who creates a red link to scan for the topic's coverage. The category links at the bottom of that page will link to virtually all related articles, and the search engine provides features for advanced queries that can pinpoint matching text anywhere on Wikipedia. Both search methods employ MediaWiki features crafted to find information on Wikipedia. They can help us build Wikipedia, red link by red link.
Take care when creating a red link that it has a valid title and that its subject meets notability guidelines for topics (including those for people (WP:BIO), web content (WP:WEB), businesses (WP:CORP), etc.).
After creating an article, (a) use What links here to find any red links that your new article turned blue, (b) check whether those links refer to the topic of your new article, and (c) change any links that refer to a different topic.
Avoiding creation of certain types of red links
Do not create red links to:
- Articles that are unlikely to be created and retained on Wikipedia, including articles that do not comply with Wikipedia's naming conventions.
- Categories that do not exist. Either the category should be created, or the non-existent category link should be removed or changed to one that already exists.
- Templates that do not exist. Templates should only be added to a page if and after they have been created.
- Wikipedia files that do not exist. Such red links are categorized for cleanup at Category:Articles with missing files.
Because they are useless as navigation aids, do not create red links in:
- Templates such as
{{Main}}
,{{Details}}
,{{Further}}
, and{{Seealso}}
, which are intended to direct readers to existing articles. - See also sections (see WP:NOTSEEALSO).
{{About}}
and{{Otheruses}}
hatnotes.- Redirect pages.
Red links may be used in navboxes which also contain links to existing articles, but they cannot be excessive. Editors who add excessive red links to navboxes are expected to actively work on building those articles, or the links may be removed from the template.
Red links are not to be shown on the Main Page.