How to Delete an Article on Wikipedia

As an Administrator

Become an administrator. Only administrators and bureaucrats are allowed to delete pages on Wikipedia.

Go to the article that you want to delete.

Decide if it's necessary to delete the article. Not every article has to be deleted; some can be redirected to another article or merged into another article. Read the deletion policy for acceptable reasons for deleting articles.

At the top of the article, under the "More" dropdown, click on the "Delete" button.

Select the reason that you want to delete the page. There are a number of pre-selected reasons that you can use, although you're not required to use any of them; you can put in your own deletion reason in the "Other/additional reason" box. The most common reasons are the reasons that fall under one of the criterion for speedy deletion, proposed deletion, and sticky deletion.

Click on "Delete page" to delete the article.

As a non-Administrator

Find the article that violates the deletion policy, or that has no chance of improving.

Decide how you want the article to be deleted. If the article meets one or more of the criteria for speedy deletion, then tag the article with {{db-}}. If the article has no chance of improving, consider using the {{subst:PROD}} template, or using one of the XFD processes. If the article is a biography of a living person with no references whatsoever, then tag the article with {{subst:BLPPROD}}. Criteria for speedy deletion discuss the only times where administrators can immediately delete a page. PROD templates (except for BLPPROD), once removed, cannot be reinstated. However, BLPPROD templates that are removed without any references may be reinstated, and PROD templates removed by blocked users may be reinstated. Deletion discussion is an avenue for articles that have been around for a while, do not meet the criteria for speedy deletion, and that appear to serve no purpose.

Wait. The article may not be deleted if it no longer meets the deletion criteria. The creator and any substantial contributors of the page may not remove the speedy templates from the article, but may contest its deletion on the talk page.