User:Seb26/Signpost tutorial series: Portals

Portals are essentially gateways to different subjects of content on Wikipedia. They can also be considered as Main Pages of a particular subject – where information relating to the subject can be found. High quality portals are called featured portals.

Common parts of a portal

 * Selected articles
 * Selected pictures
 * In the news


 * Did you know
 * Things you can do
 * Links to other Wikimedia


 * Related portals
 * Topics
 * Categories


 * Selected quotes
 * Selected biographies
 * Selected anniversaries

Constructing your own
Most portals use the box portal skeleton. This template, when substituted, provides the whole layout for you that pretty much all portals use. Once you have the portal skeleton design up, it is pretty much up to you (or whoever you are working with) to start filling the portal with content.

Content on display

Most portals have selected content, which is a selection of articles, images or biographies that are of significant quality (e.g., articles listed as featured or good articles, or featured pictures) that are showcased on the portal page. Some portals use a randomiser design (included in the box portal skeleton) which displays a different selection every time a reader refreshes the portal page. Other portals use a design that displays a new selection every week or month, although this isn't recommended if you don't have time to update the portal on a regular basis.

Handy tips

 * Do not create a portal on a non-stub topic that does not have more than three related non-stub articles – it will be deleted under speedy deletion criterion P2.
 * Some portals choose to use a template to layout selected article and picture subpages. These templates are similar to the example code below and generally allow easier conformity between all selected content. See here for an example.





Featured portals
Featured portals are portals that have been selected because of their overall quality. Just like any other featured content like featured articles or featured pictures, portals that have been nominated to become featured must meet the featured portal criteria. The criteria sets out some qualities that a featured portal must have. Featured portals are generally portals that are regularly updated and well-maintained, and present the information about the topic in a reasonable way.

Interesting examples

 * Portals using tabbed system
 * Australia portal