Problem
New and small wikis face a steep onboarding curve. When a language community starts a new Wikipedia, they encounter a fragmented set of tools, unclear next steps, and limited access to guidance. There is no single place that helps a new wiki understand what to do, track progress, or connect with the broader Wikimedia community. The gap is most visible in three areas: technical setup, content direction, and community isolation.
Example: The Tyap Wikipedia (kcg) has 78 articles and 5 active editors. To become a recognized Small Wiki, it needs 1,000 articles. Without a structured roadmap or support system, communities like this risk stagnation.
Proposed design
Introduce a Starter Kit landing page and dashboard that gives new wiki communities a central place to manage their early growth. The dashboard is split into two primary tabs:
- Dashboard - for day-to-day activity and guidance
- Customize Main Page - houses a homepage customization wizard
Essential tasks
A curated, prioritised list of approximately 20 tasks that guide a new wiki through its first phase of growth. Tasks span three categories: editing, moderation, and outreach. Each task is linked to a specific tool or process.
Example tasks:
- Install HotCat and add categories to articles missing them
- Translate the Five Pillars policy page using Content Translation
- Import an infobox template from another Wikipedia
- Use RecentChanges to patrol and review 10 recent edits
- Customize the main page using the Starter Kit homepage feature
- Install and configure InternetArchiveBot to archive dead links
- Translate 5 articles from the 1,000 articles every Wikipedia should have
- Translate core interface messages on Translatewiki.net
- Organise a local outreach event using the Outreach Dashboard
Design considerations:
- Tasks display category badge, tool name, and difficulty level (Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced)
- Each task is expandable to show a short description and a direct call-to-action link
- A progress bar reflects completion against the full set of 20 tasks
- Tasks can be filtered by category
Community & collaboration
A panel that connects wiki communities with the people and organisations that can help them grow. Organised into three sub-tabs:
Mentors - A list of experienced Wikipedians who speak the wiki's language and can provide guidance on content growth, translation, moderation, or outreach. Mentors can be contacted directly from the panel.
Specialists - Global teams and networks that provide structured support to small and new wikis. Proposed initial list:
- Wikimedia Language Diversity Hub
- Small Wiki Monitoring Team (SWMT)
- WMF Language Team
Village Pump - A lightweight feed of recent activity on the wiki's Village Pump, including automated notifications triggered by Starter Kit events (e.g. milestone reached, bot configured, main page published) and messages from mentors or specialists.
Recruit native speakers - A button within the Community panel that opens a sharing modal, allowing wiki administrators to recruit editors and native speakers through social channels and messaging apps. The modal provides:
- One-click sharing to WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, X, and email
- A pre-written, editable invite message in both the target language and English
Activity & growth
A full-width panel at the bottom of the dashboard that tracks wiki health and progress toward key milestones. Structured in two parts:
Metric indicators - Four expandable cards, each covering a key health signal:
- Active editors - number of editors with at least one edit in the last 30 days. Expanding shows a monthly bar chart of active editor counts over the past six months
- New vs. deleted articles - net article growth for the current month. Expanding shows a grouped bar chart of articles created and deleted per month
- Top reader topics - most-read subject areas for the current week. Expanding shows a ranked horizontal bar chart with a suggestion to create more articles in high-demand areas
- Top editor topics - most-edited subject areas for the current month. Expanding shows a ranked horizontal bar chart with a note on gaps between editor activity and reader demand
Milestone roadmap - A visual timeline showing the wiki's progress through key article count milestones on the path to Small Wiki status:
- 10 articles → 50 articles → 100 articles → 500 articles → 1,000 articles (Small Wiki)
Status bar
A persistent bar at the top of the interface displaying the wiki's current name, article count, active editor count, and admin count at a glance. A compact status pill indicates how far the wiki is from the next tier (e.g. "922 articles · 2 admins away from Small Wiki").
Future iterations
- Onboarding flow for brand new wikis, guiding administrators through first-time setup before reaching the dashboard
- Notification system that alerts administrators when a milestone is approaching or when a mentor or specialist has sent a message
- WikiProject tracking - adding the formation of WikiProjects as a milestone, with guidance on how to start one
- Grant and funding guidance - surfacing relevant Wikimedia grant opportunities based on the wiki's current stage and activity
- Automated milestone acknowledgements - a bot that leaves a congratulatory message on the Village Pump when a community hits a key milestone, and optionally notifies the WMF Language Team or relevant specialists
- Expanded recruit feature - ability to create a landing page for the wiki in the target language that can be shared with potential contributors
Design artifacts
- Interactive prototype
- Mockups and screenshots: