Your company logo is an important part of your brand. This means you want it everywhere that your company is mentioned, which includes your Wikipedia page. However, uploading images to Wikipedia isn’t as straightforward as you might think.
In this post, we’ll walk you through exactly how to add your logo to your Wikipedia page, helping you ensure that you are represented correctly online.
Table of Contents
How do you insert an image into Wikipedia?
- Find your logo online and save the image
- Upload the image to Wikipedia
- Use the Upload Wizard
- Copy this Wiki Coding
- Hit “publish page”
1. Get your logo
You have to be able to find a link to your logo online in order to upload it to Wikipedia. The easiest way to do this is to go to Google Images and search for “<company> logo.”
Select the cleanest, crispest image. Right click on the image and select “save image as.” Wikipedia allows the following file types: .png, .jpg, .jpeg, .xcf, .pdf, mid, .ogg, .ogv, .svg, .djvu, .tiff, .tif, and .oga.
You’ll also need to save the URL associated with the image. You’ll have to provide it to Wikipedia as well.
2. Upload the image to Wikipedia
A. Go to Wikipedia and log-in with an autoconfirmed account. This is an account that has been active for at least 4 days and has made at least 10 edits. Edits don’t have to be extensive. Cleaning up grammar on pages and adding in Wikipedia-friendly sources all count.
If you need help with this, on the Wikipedia homepage, open the menu in the upper left. Under Contribute, select “Learn to Edit.”
You can also click on “Community Portal,” and scroll down to “Help out” for editing ideas.
B. Once logged in, click “Upload file,” found on the left side of the page under “Contribute.”
C. Select “Click here to start the Upload Wizard.”
You will select the “Upload a non-free file” option.
3. Use the Upload Wizard
Now you’ll follow the steps in the Upload Wizard. First, upload the image file that you saved in Step 1. Then describe the file as precisely as possible in a sentence in the latter two text boxes.
Next you have to provide source and copyright information. For your logo, you will select ‘This is a copyrighted, non-free work, but I believe it is Fair Use.’
You’ll then see this screen:
Type the name of the page where you want the logo to be published. You must type the name exactly as it appears on Wikipedia. If your company is “WorldWide Photos, Inc.,” but your company Wikipedia page is only titled “WorldWide Photos,” that is the name you need to provide here.
Then select ‘This is a logo of an organization, company, brand, etc.’
Once you’ve done that, you’ll move onto the next screen:
In the first text box, “Source,” share the URL you saved back in Step 1. Then check the box directly underneath the text box, ‘This image will be shown as a primary means…’
In the next text box, ‘Please explain how the use of this file will be minimal,’ you’ll want to write something to the effect of: This is a company logo. It is only to be used to identify this company on this specific page.”
When you finish that, the “Upload” button should be active. Click it.
4. Copy this Wiki Coding
Now Wikipedia will provide you with the code you need to upload the image of your logo.
- Copy the code: [[:File … ]]
- Go to your company page
- Select Edit → Source Code
- At the top of the infobox section, you’ll see an option for a logo/image
- Insert the code for your image here, with a space after the ‘=’ sign in the infobox. Delete the ‘[[:File …]]’ portion of your code so that only the raw image is included without the linking parameters.
It should look like this:
{{Infobox company
| name = WorldWide Photos
| logo = WorldWide Photos logo black.svg
5. Hit “publish page”
Now the image will be uploaded on your company page. This helps grow brand recognition with everyone who visits your page.
How do I change my logo on a Wiki page?
To change your logo, follow the same steps as above:
- Find your logo online and save the image
- Upload the image to Wikipedia
- Use the Upload Wizard
- Copy this Wiki Coding
- Hit “publish page”
You might need to do this if the wrong logo has been incorrectly uploaded, or if you go through a rebranding and your logo changes in any way. In either situation, you can explain why you are changing the logo in a short sentence. After you hit “publish page,” you will have the option to explain what edit you made to the page and why. You can type something such as “Incorrect logo previously uploaded,” or “Company rebranded. This is the new logo.”
If there has been a rebranding, you may need to have Wikipedia-friendly sourcing to back up the change. This is any sourcing that comes from a respected, reliable, third-party source such as a major news publication. It cannot be a press release, a byline, or any commentary from anyone employed by your company. You can provide the sourcing when you provide your explanation. This will let everyone who visits Wikipedia know why the change was made and can prevent it from being reverted.
Other Wikipedia Resources
If you have more Wikipedia questions, check out these resources. You can also contact us at any time.
