Help:Growth/Tools/Add a link

The following procedure is only applicable where Link recommendation is available.

Note that most Wikipedia language editions offer two types of link-related Suggested Edits, which can be managed through Community Configuration. This page specifically addresses the 'Add a link' (Structured Task).

Add a link allow users to review links that are suggested by the wiki. These links can be accurate, or not be the one matching the article. As a user, your role is to determine if the links are the right ones, depending on the context.

Where can I find these links?

"Add a link" has been added to the wikis starting in June 2021.

"Add a link" is available on both mobile and desktop. As other Growth features, "Add a link" is not available on Android and iOS apps.

These links can be found on the Homepage.

Let us know if you have any question or feedback about this tool.

How does this system work?

Links are suggested by a machine. And machines aren't perfect! Suggested links are about 75% correct but they need to be reviewed. You will decide whether to add suggested links to the article. The suggestions might be on words that don’t need them, or might link to the wrong article. Use your judgment to decide whether they are right or wrong. Each task will provide between 2 and 10 links to review.

How to add links

Step 1: Go to your Homepage; The homepage is the central place where are all Suggested edits are shown.

Step 2: If not already done, enable "Suggested edits".

Step 3: In Suggested Edits, select "Add links between articles".; You can select the topic you want to work on.

Step 4: Find an article you'd like to work on.

Explanation of "Add a link"

Step 5: The article opens in "Suggested edits" mode.; You will see a small explanation panel, that summarizes how "Add a link" works. The guideline says:

Adding links will help people learn faster.
You will decide whether words in one MediaWiki article should link to other MediaWiki articles.
Example sentence
The moon is the only natural satellite that orbits around the Earth.
No special knowledge about the article is needed to do this task.

Suggested links are machine-generated, and can be incorrect.
The suggestions might be on words that don’t need them, or might link to the wrong article. Use your judgment to decide whether they are right or wrong.
Guidelines

Link concepts that a reader might want to learn more about.
Make sure the link is going to the right article.
Don't link common words, years, or dates.
If you're not sure, skip.

Step 6: It is time to choose if suggested links should be added.; Suggested links are machine-generated, and can be incorrect.

Review each link carefully. Does it fits the context? Is it the right article to link to?

Step 7

Review each link carefully.

You have two choices:

yes (it adds the link)
no (it won't add the link)

When you have made your choice, you can click on "next".

If you click on "next" without selecting "yes" or "no", it won't add the suggested link.

Some guidelines:

Link concepts that a reader might want to learn more about.

Make sure the link is going to the right article.

Don't link common words, years, or dates.

If you're not sure, skip.

If you skip all links (by clicking on "next"), you will be asked if you'd like to review your selection.

Save your changes: this summarizes which links you have added.

What you see if you've skipped all suggestions

Step 8: Review and save; When all suggested links have been reviewed, a summary is displayed. It shows your choices.; If you are satisfied with your choice, click on "Publish changes…"; If you want to change your selection, click on the cross.; If you want to see how the links are inserted into the article's body, click on "Review your changes". It will return you to step 7.

Done!: You have successfully added links to Wikipedia!; Your edit is immediately visible in Wikipedia's recent changes page. It has been tagged as a Suggested Edit.

Troubleshooting

These features are available for new accounts. Older accounts need to enable the Homepage and the Help panel in their preferences. Discover how to enable these features.

Learn more

"Add a link" is part of the "Structured tasks" project, from the Growth team.

Add a link adds a new standard way to edit the wikis. Before, users could use "wikitext editing" or "visual editing". Add a link adds a new edit mode "suggested editing".

To learn more about the project, and the system that finds links to suggest, please visit the project page.