This is an essay. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article or a Wikipedia policy, as it has not been reviewed by the community.

Shortcut WP:PAVEWP:PAVE

This page in a nutshell: If you had trouble finding a page, add the redirects/links to it you were searching for to help the next editor.

You're searching for the essay on, say, how to edit Wikipedia underwater. You know it exists, but you can't find it. Not when you search for WP:Underwater editing, nor Help:Wikipedia underwater, nor WP:UNDERWATER. It wasn't even in the "see also" section of WP:Editing from space. Finally, you find it — it was actually at WP:Undersea writing.

Congratulations — you are now an expert on what someone who is searching for the essay on how to edit Wikipedia underwater is likely to search for, because you've just done it. You likely have a much better idea of how to point to the essay from places editors will be looking for it than the essay's original author, who (if they bothered trying to make pointers to it at all) had to imagine the process rather than experiencing it. And you know that there is need for improvement because you just struggled to find it yourself.

So, before you continue on, take a moment to pave the way for the editors who will come after you. Create redirects from the titles you searched for. Add links from related pages. Build the pointers you sought, exactly where you sought them. Future editors will thank you for it never notice but you'll be the silent hero who made their experience better.

This doesn't just apply to finding pages. For instance, had trouble following a tutorial? Improve the tutorial! Overall, there are many worthwhile destinations on Wikipedia, but too often they remain hidden because there is no good path to them. So when you find one, pave the path for others to find it too.

• Wikipedia:Build the web
• Wikipedia:Integrate
• Wikipedia:Redirect