---
title: "Adding pages to MediaWiki namespaces"
description: "After learning how to create a MediaWiki page, you can organize your pages into namespaces. Namespaces in MediaWiki are similar to categories in that when you create pages and they can be stored in..."
url: https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/mediawiki/add-page-namespace/
date: 2013-01-22
modified: 2021-08-16
author: "InMotion Hosting Contributor"
categories: ["MediaWiki"]
type: post
lang: en
---

# Adding pages to MediaWiki namespaces

[![View of all namespaces MediaWiki](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/edu_mediawiki_102_namespace_namespaces-2-list-spaces-first.gif)](/support/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/edu_mediawiki_102_namespace_namespaces-2-list-spaces-first.gif)

After learning [how to create a MediaWiki page](/support/edu/mediawiki/create-edit-delete-pages/), you can organize your pages into namespaces. **Namespaces** in MediaWiki are similar to categories in that when you create pages and they can be stored in certain page locations. For example, You can have “*How to?*” pages stored in the “*Help*” namespace, or you can have discussions stored in the “*Talk*” namespace.

The image to the right shows the available namespaces that are built into MediaWiki. Most of your MediaWiki pages will go into the “*MediaWiki*” Namespace. This article will explain what each namespace is for and how to create a “*Help*” and “*Talk*” namespace.

## MediaWiki Built-in namespaces

MediaWiki by default has its own built-in namespaces. Two namespaces do not contain any editabe pages, the “*Special*” and “*Media*” namespaces. The rest of the namespaces are premade for organizing the pages. The following table explains what each namespace is for.

| Namespaces with pages |
| --- |
| Name | Description |
| **Main** | This namespace is for storing the main content of the wiki. its also called the “*main namespace*” or “*mainspace*“. |
| **Talk** | The talk is a part of the “*Main*” namespace. This is reserved for discussions. |
| **User** | This namespace us reserved for user pages. This contains user article updates, recent changes, and information about the users wiki contribution. |
| **User talk** | This is a discussion namespace designed for discussions between registered users. |
| **Project** | The “*Project*” namespace is designed for development related information about the wiki. |
| **Project talk** | Similar to the “*Project*” namespace, this name space will have discussions between users about the development of the site. |
| **File** | Every image, video and other file that is stored in the “*Media*” namespace will have a page created individually for it. This is the namespace that stores the page that is created for media. |
| **File talk** | This namespace is for discussions related to the File namespace. |
| **MediaWik**i | The “*MediaWiki*” namespace contains the files such as CSS, skin edit, and other system configuration pages. |
| **MediaWiki talk** | This is a discussion namespace for discussing issues with the “*MediaWiki*” namespace. |
| **Template** | Store wiki templates or text that add functionality to other pages. |
| **Template talk** | Discussion based of the “*Template*” namespace. |
| **Help** | Stores Frequently asked questions or other “*How to?*” related information. |
| **Help talk** | This is for discussing the “*Help*” namespace pages. |
| **Category** | This contains lists of pages that are a part of categories. |
| **Category talk** | Discussion based off of the “*Category*” namespace. |
| Namespaces with no pages |
| **Special** | Special pages, reports, and other pages that are a part of the operation of the wiki are a part of this namespace. These are not editable pages. |
| **Media** | This namespace is particular for storing files like video and images. |

## Adding pages to a namespace

The following steps will explain how to create a MediaWiki page in a namespace by using the search feature.

1. [Log into MediaWiki](/support/edu/mediawiki/login-username-password/).
2. On the left hand side **click special pages**.
3. [![Click All pages MediaWiki](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/edu_mediawiki_102_namespace_namespaces-1-all-pages.gif)](/support/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/edu_mediawiki_102_namespace_namespaces-1-all-pages.gif) **Select All pages from the Lists of pages section**. [![list of namespaces MediaWiki](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/edu_mediawiki_102_namespace_namespaces-2-list-spaces.gif)](/support/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/edu_mediawiki_102_namespace_namespaces-2-list-spaces.gif) You can see all the available namespaces in the drop list where it says “*Namespaces:*“.
4. To create a page in a specific namespace, in the search box to the top right of your mediawiki, **type the namespace followed by a colon (:) and then the page name**. Like the following: namespace:Your Page Name In this example, we will create a page in the Help namespace. The following will be searched: Help:FAQ **Click Go**.
5. [![Search to create namespace MediaWiki](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/edu_mediawiki_102_namespace_namespaces-3-search-page.gif)](/support/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/edu_mediawiki_102_namespace_namespaces-3-search-page.gif) In the search results, You should see “*There were no results matching the query*“. **Click the link** in the “*Create the page . . .*” to create the page. [![Save the page MediaWiki](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/edu_mediawiki_102_namespace_namespaces-4-save-page.gif)](/support/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/edu_mediawiki_102_namespace_namespaces-4-save-page.gif) **Add the content** and **Save the page**. [![Title of namespace and page MediaWiki](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/edu_mediawiki_102_namespace_namespaces-5-page-title.gif)](/support/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/edu_mediawiki_102_namespace_namespaces-5-page-title.gif) Now the new page will contain the Namespace in the title to identify the page in the particular namespace.
6. [![Search results for namespace MediaWiki](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/edu_mediawiki_102_namespace_namespaces-6-search-results.gif)](/support/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/edu_mediawiki_102_namespace_namespaces-6-search-results.gif) **Go back to the special pages and Select All page**s from the Lists of pages section. When you look at the Help Namespace you will see your new page listed in the “*Help*” Namespace section.

## Creating Talk namespace pages

This section is to give a step by step in how to create a discussion in the Talk namespace through the page Edit Discussion table.

1. [Log into MediaWiki](/support/edu/mediawiki/login-username-password/).
2. [![Create talk MediaWiki](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/edu_mediawiki_102_namespace_namespaces-7-create-talk.gif)](/support/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/edu_mediawiki_102_namespace_namespaces-7-create-talk.gif) **Edit a page **you want to create a discussion on. **Click the discussion tab** at the top left.
3. [![Create page Discussion MediaWiki](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/edu_mediawiki_102_namespace_namespaces-8-create-page.gif)](/support/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/edu_mediawiki_102_namespace_namespaces-8-create-page.gif) You should see the “*Create Talk page*” showing the name of the Talk. **Add the content** for the discussion and **Save the page**.
4. [![Search for the talk page MediaWiki](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/edu_mediawiki_102_namespace_namespaces-9-search-talk.gif)](/support/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/edu_mediawiki_102_namespace_namespaces-9-search-talk.gif) **Go back to the special pages and Select All pages **from the Lists of pages section. **Select the “*Talk*” namespace from the Namespace drop box and click Go**. [![Search results for Talk MediaWiki](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/edu_mediawiki_102_namespace_namespaces-10-search-results.gif)](/support/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/edu_mediawiki_102_namespace_namespaces-10-search-results.gif) Now the discussion will show up in the “*Talk*” namespace.