Creating New Pages

For more detailed instructions and syntax, see the Wiki Syntax page

Using the ESM Wiki is easy–that's the idea–but there are a few things that are not intuitive.

Here are some best practices for creating new pages.

• Create a link on an existing page, using keywords and brackets
  In a Wiki, a keyword is a word or phrase that creates, and more importantly, links to a new page. Since the keyword inherently contains a hyperlink, this creates a natural flow that a web visitor can follow. Keywords are also very important for search engines, like Google. A keyword tells the search engine that the word or phrase is important enough to merit a new page.

There are a few things to keep in mind when creating a new page:

• First, create a headline, using the H1 button.
  • Be sure that the headline in the H1 matches the keyword you used to create the new page
    This ensures that the new page will appear properly in the index.
    For example, if you created a keyword of “engineering mechanics”, this will create a new page. Before adding any other content, make an H1 headline by pressing the H1 button, then use “Engineering Mechanics” as the headline.
  • If the keyword and headline must be different, use the pipe character | on the keyword.
• Use meaningful headings for your sections. These headings will be used to create the index and are attractive to search engines.

It is natural to want a hierarchical structure to web pages, but this is not the way most visitors will surf your web pages. Wikis are designed to flow organically from related thoughts, just like your visitors.

Avoid creating rigid structures with formal menus and headers. Instead, use the text within your documents to refer to the other pages. This not only provides a better experience for your users, it creates pages that are attractive to search engines, making them rank more highly.