How-to website, step-by-step guides, community editing, expert review, MediaWiki roots, illustrated instructions, quizzes, life skills, practical advice, and searchable web help
wikiHow
wikiHow is a collaborative how-to website where readers search for practical step-by-step guides, illustrated instructions, expert-reviewed advice, and everyday problem-solving articles.
What wikiHow is
wikiHow is a searchable how-to website built around practical instructions for everyday tasks. On wikiHow.com, readers can look up guides about home repair, technology, relationships, health, hobbies, school, work, personal care, and many other subjects, usually in a step-by-step format designed for quick action.
A searchable how-to library
The basic wikiHow unit is the how-to article: a reader arrives with a task, question, or problem, then scans numbered steps, images, tips, warnings, and related links. That makes the site different from a general encyclopedia. It is less about defining a subject and more about walking someone through a process.
Collaboration and editing
wikiHow grew from wiki culture, including ideas associated with MediaWiki and collaborative editing. Articles can be improved over time as people clarify steps, add images, update instructions, fix mistakes, and reshape a guide around reader needs. The result is a blend of community contribution and edited how-to publishing.
Expert review and trust
The site has long tried to make practical advice feel more trustworthy by using research, professional writers, reader feedback, and expert review on many pages. This matters because how-to content can influence real behavior. Advice about health, safety, finance, law, or emotional decisions still needs extra caution and outside verification.
Illustrations, quizzes, and formats
Many wikiHow articles use custom illustrations because pictures can make an unfamiliar action easier to follow than text alone. The site has also added quizzes, videos, courses, and topic hubs, expanding beyond the plain wiki-style article while keeping the central promise of helping a reader do something.
Business model and tradeoffs
wikiHow describes itself as a hybrid organization: a for-profit company with an educational mission. That model lets the site support a large free library, but it also creates familiar web publishing tradeoffs around ads, search traffic, monetization, contributor labor, and the line between helpful advice and content built for visibility.
Why it matters
wikiHow shows how much of the web is used for practical instruction rather than passive reading. Its pages turn common questions into repeatable workflows, and its visibility in search has made it part of how millions of people learn small skills, solve awkward problems, and make decisions in daily life.