FamilySearch Wiki:Standardized Wiki Pages

Wiki Manual of Style

Standardized Wiki Pages

Standardization of Wiki Pages

We are standardizing specific types of pages on the Wiki to improve the Wiki experience for all users including those new to our website. The following is a list of pages affected and details and standardization regarding the information on that page.

Until further notice, all new pages in the Wiki must be coordinated with Wiki Administration.

All Wiki Pages

Online Databases Found on Wiki Pages

• Use the Manual of Style regarding formatting of databases on the Wiki
• Following these guidelines will assist users to understand the information listed and bring uniformity to the pages
• Manual of Style: Databases - Formatting Links

Protected Pages

• Some types of WIki pages are protected and only certain roles in the Wiki can edit them.
• This is to improve consistency of content and to preserve material that is deemed complete or to prevent misrepresentation of complex topics as determined necessary by Wiki Administration.
• Pages that are protected or use the permissions extension are:

• Country pages
• Guided Research pages
• Getting Started pages
• Online Genealogy Records pages
• Online Learning pages

Content Allowed under Online Resources Heading

Online Resources headings are to be composed of online websites, record collections, or other sources that provide users access to pertinent genealogy records. Exceptions may be made to include links to websites/online sources that provide a researcher with significant information about a record type or strategy, even if they don't contain record access.

Locality Pages

Master List of Record Type Headings

• List of Record Type Headings

1st Jurisdiction - Level 0

Layout

• Level 0 Layout (Country Page)

Guidelines

• Level 0 Jurisdiction Guidelines

Items to be Standardized on Country Pages

The following should be on each Country page and should not be changeExample]] - draftdebar (see below)

• Paragraph at the top of the page, sometimes called SEO paragraph
• Section Headings, for example, "Getting Started" and "Country Information"
• Category for: [Country] (example: England)
• Completed Example: England Genealogy

Items to be Standardized on Country Sidebars

The following should be on each Country sidebar and should not be changed:

• Flags
• Headings, for example, "Beginning Research"
• Category for: [Country]; Category:Sidebar templates

2nd Jurisdiction - Level 1

This locality page is the next jurisdiction from the country level 0 and is labeled Level 1. For example, counties are Level 1 in England.

Layout

• Admin Level 1 Layout - draft

Guidelines

• Level 1 Jurisdiction Guidelines

3rd/4th Jurisdiction - Level 2/3

This locality page is the next 2 jurisdictions down from a Level 1. For example, parishes in England, Level 0, counties (Level 2) is the 2nd jurisdiction. For the country, Chile, regions are Level 1, provinces are Level 2, and communes are Level 3.

Layout

• Admin Level 2/3 Layout

Guidelines

• Level 2/3 Jurisdiction Guidelines

Additional Jurisdiction Pages

Layout

• Admin Additional Jurisdiction Page Layouts

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Types of Locality Pages

United States State Pages

Items to be standardized on United States State Pages

The following should be on each US state page and should not be changed:

• Breadcrumb trail
• Statement at the top of the page, sometimes called SEO statement
• Section Headings, for example, "Getting Started" and "State Information"
• Category for: [State] (example: Indiana, United States); Category:States of the United States
• Example: Indiana, United States Genealogy

Items to be Standardized on State Sidebars

The following should be on each state sidebars and should not be changed:

• Flags
• Headings, for example, "Beginning Research"
• Category for: State; Category:Sidebar templates

Page Layouts for U.S. Topic Pages

• State Pages for Native American Research

United States County Pages

• Specific details regarding content allowed are on the United States County Wiki page - still in progress.
• County pages include information about databases and records for the whole county (thus, statewide collections can be found there)
• Links to state topic pages should be included on the county page to save restating information about a topic that applies to the state level and every county
• Example: Franklin County, Indiana Genealogy

Items to be Standardized on US County Pages

The following should be on each US county page and should not be changed:

• Breadcrumb trail
• Table of Contents
• Template:Infobox U.S. County 2016
• Headings as found on this example county page: Franklin County, Indiana Genealogy
• Category for: [County]; [State] Counties (example, California Counties)

Miscellaneous U.S. Locality Pages

• Plantation Page Layout (does not apply to Maine Plantations)
• County Cemetery Page Layout
• County Church Records Page Layout
• County Compiled Records Page Layout

NOTE: The County Transfer Project currently is restructuring every county in the United States to fit the above parameters.

Non-United States Locality Pages

The parameters below are to be used for municipality/parish/town, etc. pages in countries excluding the United States.

Items to be Standardized on Locality Pages

• Locality page template

The following should be on each locality page and should not be changed:

• Breadcrumb trail
• Statement at the top of the page, sometimes called "SEO statement"
• Section headings
  • On the page template above, headings appearing in bold in the table of contents (e.g. History, Resources, etc.) are required headings on each locality page. All other headings are approved for use as they apply to the specific locality.
    • Though the History, Resources, etc. headings appear bolded in the Table of Contents in the page template above, the headings are not to be bolded on an actual locality page. They are bolded on this template purely for user reference.
• Place Names format
  • As some localities contain many additional places, villages, etc., when those large lists are added to a locality page, they are to be formatted using the wikitext code shown on the page template shown above. Model all place name lists after the page template above, as well as the Jerslev Parish example below.
• Category/categories of jurisdictional information, e.g. "Hjørring County, Denmark"
• Example: Jerslev Parish, Hjørring, Denmark Genealogy

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Locality Topic Pages

Instructions for Creating Country Topic pages

• Go to the CountrySidebar Form page
• Click on the "Add CountrySidebar" button
• For a topic page, click on topic
• From the "Country" dropdown, select the country by typing it in
• From "Type" select "Topic", this changes the options
• From "Topic Type" select the correct option
• A list of topic pages will appear. Select the correct one.
• From "Rating" select whatever is appropriate (Standardized, Acceptable, In-Progress, Blank).
• Save the page, it will create the page with the correct format.
• You can add the Free text or before or after saving with the form.
  

Checklist

• After doing above, also do the following:

• Add Breadcrumb
• Add the category for record type - the country topic will be added when the page is created
• Add corresponding topic page layout

• See Standardized Wiki Pages for more information.
  

A typical locality topic page should include:

• "Resources" or "Online Resources" heading at the top of the article listing all online databases and resources available for that record type for that location in chronological order by year.
• All country topic pages should follow the corresponding page layout listed below.
• Website and database links can be repeated in the body of the article as needed.
• Topic pages for record types should include:
  • What the record is/history of record
  • Information typically on the record
  • How to access the record
  • Coverage and compliance of the record type
  • Other unique information reference to the record type
• All information on the topic page should be pertinent to locating records for ancestors.
• Substitute records SHOULD NOT be listed as resources for the topic and will be removed.
• Example: Ohio Naturalization and Citizenship

Items to be Standardized on Locality Topic Pages

The following should be on each Locality Topic page and should not be changed:

• Breadcrumb trail
• Locality sidebar
• Table of Contents
• "Online Resources" heading 2 at the top of the page when all resources mentioned are online
• Use "Resources" heading 2 when listing "Online Resources" and "Print Publications" subheadings 3 on a topic page; Example
• Category for: location (example: England) and record type (example: Civil Registration) or combination of both (example: England Civil Registration)

Exceptions

Some topic pages have a unique or adjusted layout from what is listed above:

• Church Records; example: Ohio Church Records

Standardized Beginning Research Page Layouts

When a new topic page is created, the following page layouts should be used for conformity purposes.

• Online Learning

Standardized Record Type Page Layouts

• How to request a new country topic page

When a new topic page is created, the following headings in page layouts should be used for conformity purposes. As with other Wiki content, adhere to practices outlined in the Manual of Style. It is strongly recommended to create any new record type pages in a user sandbox before content is verified and published live.

• Adoption
• Bible Records
• Business and Occupations
• Cemeteries (Example)
• Census (Example 1), (Example 2), (Example 3)
• Church Directories
• Church Records (Example)
• Civil Registration (Example)
• Colonial Records
• Compiled Genealogies (Example)
• Court Records (Example)
• Crime and Punishment
• Diaspora (Example)
• Directories
• Divorce Records
• Emigration and Immigration (Example 1, Example 2)
• Funeral Records
• Guardianship Records
• Heraldry (Example)
• National Identification Number
• Jewish Records
• Land and Property (Example)
• Loyalist Records
• Medical Records
• Medieval Records
• Military Records (Example)
• Naturalization and Citizenship
• Newspapers (Example)
• Nobility (Example)
• Notarial Records
• Obituaries
• Oral Genealogies
• Orphans and Orphanages
• Poor Law and Poorhouses
• Probate Records (Example)
• Public Records (Example)
• Religious Records (Example)
• Schools and Education
• Slavery and Bondage
• Social Organizations
• Social Welfare
• Social Security Administration Records
• Taxation (Example)
• Town Records
• Tribes and Clans
• Vital Records
• Voting Records

Standardized Background Page Layouts

• How to request a new country topic page

When a new topic page is created, the following headings in page layouts should be used for conformity purposes. As with other Wiki content, adhere to practices outlined in the Manual of Style. It is strongly recommended to create any new record type pages in a user sandbox before content is verified and published live.

• Biographies
• Church History
• Dates & Calendars (Example)
• For Further Reading
• Gazetteers
• Handwriting
• Historical Geography
• History
• Jurisdictions
• Languages
• Law & Legislation
• Maps
• Naming Customs
• Periodicals
• Place Names
• Social Life & Customs
• Individual Cultural Group (Example)
• Archives and Libraries
• Societies

Underserved Country Topic Page Templates

The Underserved Country Topic page is a project that focuses on populating topic pages for countries that have very little information in the Wiki.
Structure layout and instructions on some topic pages are found here: Underserved Countries project

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Historical Records Pages

This page is to:

• Specifically for FamilySearch Historical Records Collections (published or scheduled) at FamiliySearch.org
• Describes the collection and what records contain
• Some articles include coverage tables
• Gives other resources to assist in locating additional information on the collection or topic
• These pages are created and maintained by FamilySearch staff

Items to be Standardized on Historical Records Collections Pages

• The FamilySearch Wiki Historical Records team creates, maintains, and determines layout of all Historical Records Collections pages.

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Record Finder Wiki Pages

This page is to:

• Assist the researcher in determining record types that contain the information they are looking for in that locality.
• Links to other Wiki pages containing information about how to locate the records, including databases online and repositories
• Example: Austria Record Finder

Items to be Standardized on Record Finder Wiki Page

The following should be on each Record Finder page and should not be changed:

• Breadcrumb trail
• Locality sidebar
• Table of Contents
• Tables listing topics
• Category for: Category:Record Finder; location (example: England) and Category:Research Strategies or combination of both (example: England Research Strategies)

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Research Tips and Strategies Pages

This page contains:

• Links to specific research strategies for the locality
• General tips and other resources for finding ancestors
• Is not a strategy article, but an article listing to other strategy articles or websites
• Example: Germany Research Tips and Strategies

Items to be Standardized on Research Tips and Strategies Page

The following should be on each Record Finder page and should not be changed:

• Breadcrumb trail
• Locality sidebar
• Table of Contents
• Purpose of Research Tips and Strategies Wiki Page notice
• Category for: Category:Research Tips and Strategies; location (example: England) and Category:Research Strategies or combination of both (example: England Research Strategies)

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Guided Research Pages

• A list of prioritized databases for a specific country/locality
• Focuses on birth, marriage, and death information
• Links to both free and subscription databases and websites
• Has What Else You can Try pages to assist in problem solving when you do not locate your ancestor in the databases provided
• Created for researchers who were beginning research in a new locality to find the very best resources
• Are protected pages and can only be edited by FamilySearch staff
• For more information:
• Example: England Guided Research

Items to be Standardized on Guided Research Pages

• The FamilySearch Wiki Content team creates, maintains, and determines layout of all Guided Research pages.

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Online Genealogy Records (OGR) Pages

• Found: Online Genealogy Records by Location
• Online Genealogy Records blue buttons link to corresponding page and are on country/locality pages throughout the Wiki
• Lists databases that cover the entire country/region; smaller jurisdiction databases should be listed on the corresponding locality page

• Exception: emerging countries with newly created databases covering parts of the country may be included but must be clearly identified regarding the region the database covers

• Lists abbreviated versions of a database link to save space and for easier readability
• Example: Austria Online Genealogy Records

Items to be Standardized on Online Genealogy Records Pages

The following should be on each Record Finder page and should not be changed:

• Breadcrumb trail
• Locality sidebar
• Paragraph at the top of the page, sometimes called SEO paragraph
• Category for: Category:Online Genealogy Records; location (example: England)

Formatting Databases on Online Genealogy Record Pages

Databases listed on the Online Genealogy Record pages should be abbreviated to save space on the Wiki page and for usability purposes.
Examples:

• 1809-1950: Alabama, County Marriages at FamilySearch; index & images
• 1761-2005: British Nationals Armed Forces Births at Findmypast; index ($)

Example of multiple websites with the same collection:

• 1581-1919: Austria, Upper Austria, Catholic Church Records (Österreich, Oberösterreich, Katholische Kirchenbücher) at FamilySearch; index & images, incomplete; Also at: Ancestry.com ($), MyHeritage ($)
  

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FamilySearch Centers

CENTER WIKI PAGES WILL BE REMOVED ON JULY 1, 2024

• With the release of the new FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator Map, FamilySearch center Wiki pages in the English Wiki will no longer be needed except for the centers mentioned below.
• All information necessary to communicate with the public will be housed on the Map.

Exceptions to Deletion of Center Wiki pages

• Large FamilySearch Center pages will be deleted once their new Brightspot webpage is available.
• Small Centers that believe they need a webpage instead of just the map can request to have a Brightspot webpage. It will be provided later in 2024.

• Request Form for a Brightspot webpage
• Only Centers requesting a Brightspot webpage before 1 July 2024 will still have their Wiki pages available.

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FamilySearch Affiliate Library Pages

• Creating an Affiliate Library Page - instructions of what how to create a new library page

Policies

• Locality Pages: Library (not a series of branches) information can be added to a corresponding locality page, such as a U.S. county page under the heading, Repositories.
• Examples: Libraries, breadcrumbs, and categories
• Branch Libraries: Branch libraries that are part of a library system cannot have their own separate Wiki page. Information about a branch, such as contact information and collections specific to the branch will be included on the main library Wiki page. Example Wiki Page

Items to be Standardized on FS Affiliate Library Pages

• Breadcrumb trail back to the state or country
• Format of address and other contact information
• Category may include: [locality] Archives and Libraries (example: New York Archives and Libraries); county or other location the library is in (Example: Westchester County, New York)

Libraries and Societies Pages

• These pages are used to give information about either a specific library or society
• Use Template:Repository for new library pages
• Use Template:Societies B for new society pages

Items to be Standardized on Libraries and Societies Pages

• Breadcrumb trail back to the state or country it is in
• Format of address and other contact information
• Category may include: [locality] Archives and Libraries or Societies (example: New York Archives and Libraries; New York Societies); OR county or other location the library or society is in (Example: Westchester County, New York)

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Naming New Articles

• Most new Wiki articles in the Main namespace are created by Wiki Administration. Contact them when creating a new article.

Guidelines

• Unique Titles: No two articles may have the same title.
  
• Avoid Duplication of Wiki Pages: If an article already exists for the same topic, edit the existing article rather than creating a new article.
• Specific and Short Titles: Titles should be as short as possible but specific enough that users can identify the topic of the article when it appears in the search results. Avoid clever but unclear titles as they will be difficult to find using the search feature. Remove unnecessary words or punctuation.
• Standardized Topic Page Titles: Topic pages linked from the sidebar should only be limited to these topic names: Template:Topic list. All other topic pages can be descriptive and be linked to from country topic pages, and not the country sidebar.

• More information

Capitalization in Article Titles

In article titles, capitalize the first word of the title. Also, capitalize nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and the first word after a colon. Conjunctions and prepositions should not be capitalized.

Correct	Incorrect
Finding Newspaper Records	Finding newspaper records
Cemetery Records for St. Joseph County, Michigan	Cemetery records for St. Joseph County, Michigan
Canada Ontario Births (FamilySearch Historical Records)	Canada Ontario births (FamilySearch historical records)

Other rules apply when citing sources within wiki articles. See FamilySearch Wiki:Source Citation Format.

Naming Locality Pages

• FamilySearch Wiki:Naming a Page or Article

Please review the information found in the above article as it gives much more details about the process. Below is only an abbreviated version.

Guidelines

• Various Jurisdiction Pages Created: There are many pages for localities/sub-jurisdictions within various countries in the Wiki, such as pages for states, provinces, counties, duchies, departments, etc.
• Places Listed in Ascending Order: All locality page titles are to be structured from the smallest jurisdiction level up to the country level in order, in ascending order (smallest place to largest).

Correct: Cook County, Illinois Genealogy

Incorrect: Illinois, Cook County Genealogy

Exception: The titles of historical records collections in FamilySearch.org list places in descending order.

Correct: Canada Ontario Births (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Incorrect: Ontario Canada Births (FamilySearch Historical Records)

• Country Name Included in Title: The country should be listed in any locality page to clarify where the locality page is.

Exceptions:

• "United States" should not be included in the title of county locality pages, but should be included in the breadcrumb

Correct: Warren County, Ohio Genealogy

Incorrect: Warren County, Ohio, United States Genealogy

• Territories and islands belonging to a specific county should not include the country in the title of the locality page, but should be included in the breadcrumb

Correct: Réunion Island Genealogy

Incorrect: Réunion Island, France Genealogy

• "Genealogy" in Title: All locality articles will end with the word "Genealogy".

Correct: Hume, Berwickshire, Scotland Genealogy

Incorrect: Hume, Berwickshire, Scotland

• Places that have had Different Names or Jurisdictions: If a place has had more than one name or been in more than one jurisdiction (county, state, province, country, and so on), the current name and jurisdiction should be used in the title. If the article gives information about the place only when it had a specific name or jurisdiction, use those in the title. Redirects can be used to make sure users will find the article regardless of the name or jurisdiction they search for.
• English Version of Country Names: All country pages must remain in English and not use diacritics.

Correct: Germany

Incorrect: Deutschland

• Native Language Version of Sub-Jurisdictions: If the native language(s) of a country is something other than English, all locality/sub-jurisdiction levels are to be written in the native language of the country in question in the page title. Redirects can be used to make sure users will find the article regardless of which spelling is used. English translations/variations of the names of provinces/parishes/states/departments, etc. are not to be used in page titles, though they may be referred to elsewhere on the page to help readers with context.

Correct: Livorno, Toscana, Italy Genealogy

Incorrect: Livorno, Tuscany, Italy Genealogy

• County, Parish, Canton, Region, Department: These jurisdiction designations should not be included in any of the locality page titles.

Exceptions: United States, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Greenland, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Chile, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Bolivia, Costa Rica

Miscellaneous

Buttons on the Wiki

• Buttons are to be used sparingly on Wiki pages and are only used for specific situations.
• Assigned button colors:
  • Blue: Online Genealogy Records pages
  • Purple: Ask the Community - can be linked to FamilySearch Community for that location or the FamilySearch Genealogy Research Groups page listing all known Community groups and Facebook groups
• Unassigned FamilySearch branded button colors:
  • Green
  • Red
  • Brown
  • Orange
  • Gray
• Wiki Buttons - more information

Navigation Templates

• Navigation templates previously used before the refinement of sidebars are now discontinued. The refined sidebars now automatically link to new standardized articles where navigation templates must be updated manually.

See...More...

Topic Pages and Locality Pages

• Depending on the heading on the topic page, use the following phrase to send users to related topic pages when appropriate:

*''See [[United States Military Records|U.S. Military Records]] for more resources.''

or

*''See [[Gazetteers|Gazetteers]] for more information.''

Guidelines:

• Put the phrase in italics to increase visibility. Do not use bold.
• Always start the phrase with a bullet.
• Place the phrase either:

• Directly after the heading and before the databases.
• End of a bullet list after the databases.

Note: To help decide which option should be used, analyze the situation. If the resources on the page being referred to are more pertinent than the databases listed, make it the first bullet in the list before the first database link. If the page being referred to is not the most important information but still gives helpful options and information to the user, place it at the end of the bullet list.

U.S. County Headings

• Use the following phrase to send users to the country or state topic pages when appropriate.

''See [[Utah Probate Records|Utah Probate Records]] for more resources.''

• Add the phrase to the heading intro template without a bullet but in italics.
• Make sure the phrase is the first thing on the template so it appears directly after the heading.

New England Town Headings

• Add the following phrase to send users to related topic pages when appropriate:

*''See [[Fairfield County, Connecticut#Cemeteries|Fairfield County Cemeteries]] for more resources''

• Put the phrase in italics at the end of the bullet list of online resources
• Add additional state topic page links after the county link as described above when appropriate

U.S. County Headings

• Use the following phrase to send users to the country or state topic pages when appropriate.

''See [[Utah Probate Records|Utah Probate Records]] for more resources.''

• Add the phrase to the heading intro template without a bullet but in italics.
• Make sure the phrase is the first thing on the template so it appears directly after the heading.

New England Town Headings

• Add the following phrase to send users to related topic pages when appropriate:

*''See [[Fairfield County, Connecticut#Cemeteries|Fairfield County Cemeteries]] for more resources''

• Put the phrase in itialics at the end of the bullet list of online resources
• Add additional state topic page links after the county link as described above when appropriate

Publications not available online.

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