Wikipedia stub articles: What they are, why they matter, and how to improve them

When you see a Wikipedia page that’s just a few sentences long, often with a notice saying "This article is a stub," you’re looking at a Wikipedia stub article, a minimal entry that signals the topic needs more depth. Also known as stub, it’s not a failure—it’s a starting point.

Stub articles are part of Wikipedia’s quality rating system, which includes B-Class, articles with decent coverage but missing key details or structure and A-Class, well-developed, comprehensive entries that meet high editorial standards. Stubs sit at the bottom of that ladder. They exist because volunteers prioritize breadth over depth when starting out—adding thousands of new topics quickly, even if they’re rough. Without stubs, Wikipedia couldn’t cover everything from obscure historical figures to small towns in rural Mongolia. The real power of stubs? They’re editable by anyone. You don’t need to be an expert to turn one into something useful.

Stub articles often appear in categories like "biology stubs," "geography stubs," or "film stubs," helping editors find topics that need attention. Many are created by bots or imported from other language editions, which means they might lack context or proper citations. But that’s where you come in. Adding a single paragraph with a reliable source, fixing a broken link, or expanding a vague line can turn a stub into a B-Class article. Tools like TemplateWizard, a form-based editor that helps avoid syntax errors when adding infoboxes and citations make it easier than ever to improve these entries without knowing wikitext.

Why does this matter? Because stubs represent knowledge gaps. If your country, language, or community is mostly covered in stubs, it’s not because the topics aren’t important—it’s because not enough people with access and skills have edited them. That’s why initiatives like edit-a-thons and regional outreach focus on expanding stubs in underrepresented areas. A stub about a local landmark in Ghana, when expanded with photos and historical context, doesn’t just help Wikipedia—it helps preserve local knowledge for the world.

Stubs aren’t just placeholders. They’re invitations. Every time you see one, you’re seeing a chance to make knowledge more complete. Whether you’re a student, a librarian, or someone who just noticed a missing fact, you have the power to turn a half-written entry into something valuable. Below, you’ll find real examples of how editors are improving stubs, fixing content gaps, and building better articles one edit at a time.