wikiHow has won multiple awards, including a
Webby Award for Community in 2009, and the Co-Creation award in the Open Innovation competition, organized by
The Guardian and
Nesta in 2010.
Mashable selected wikiHow as runner-up for best wiki in its Open Web Awards in 2008. In October 2018,
Gizmodo included wikiHow in its list of "100 Websites That Shaped the Internet as We Know It", referring to it as "a consistently useful resource." More recently,
Forbes recognized wikiHow in its list of "The Best Small Companies Of 2019". A
PBS journalist reported that the "wikiHow
app has an excellent set of articles to help you in just about any situation, from helping someone who is
choking to handling vehicle emergencies, to
natural disasters."
The New York Times reported: "Type in a few key words about the problem into the app's Search page and the guide will return some advice. Its information pages are clear and well laid out. They begin with an introductory description, then offer a list of steps to follow. The app displays the necessary tools and items, and includes tips and warnings."
Lifehacker has described wikiHow as the "ever-handy guide site." wikiHow has been positively described in many other media, including
Inc. Magazine,
Cosmopolitan,
TechRepublic,
Condé Nast Traveler and
PC Magazine. wikiHow has also been the target of satire and criticism for its notable abundance of arguably eccentric articles. For example,
American Public Radio show Wits has a segment called "wikiHow theater", where actors read obvious or ludicrous wikiHow topics, such as "How to Make People Respect Your Pet", for comic effect. Two accomplished poets, Carol Guess and Daniela Olszewska, published a book called "How To Feel Confident with Your Special Talents", where each poem's title is taken directly from a wikiHow article.
Vice parodied wikiHow's article "How to Break Up with Your Boyfriend".
The Huffington Post created a list of bizarre life skills, such as "How to React to an Ugly Baby", that "you could only learn from wikiHow". Other publishers have criticized wikiHow for hosting instructions on topics of questionable social value, such as "How to get a
thigh gap" and "How to stop a wedding". Other websites have created "worst of wikiHow" lists to highlight topics that are "deranged", "brilliantly bizarre" and otherwise controversial. The artwork of wikiHow's illustrations has received mixed reception among internet users, with some praising the representation of various
minority groups, while others ridicule the bizarre and uncanny depictions. In an interview with
OneZero, Chris Hadley, Vice President of Operations, stated that the illustrations are created by freelance artists typically outside of the US. ==References==