If you are posting a new waymark, first you will need to open the Webpage for the category that you're submitting your waymark to. Sometimes a waymark will fit the description of several different categories. Waymarking one spot in several categories is called "cross-posting," which is discussed in the last section of this tutorial. Once you've opened the category's Webpage, look on the right side of the page for the "category options" box and click on "post new waymark."

There are three steps to posting a new waymark: A) Fill in information on the "Enter Information" form, B) Upload your photos and C) Preview and submit the waymark. Following is an in-depth guide to each of the steps.

Enter Information - When you first click on the "post new waymark" link, it will open the "Enter Information" form. You will use this form to submit the coordinates and textual information you've gathered about your waymark.

Title - This seems like a no-brainer, but beware! Some category owners are VERY specific about how they want you to name your waymark. Some want you to include the city and state or city and country that your waymark is located in. For example: "Poodle Dog Neon Sign - Fife, Washington." Others require that you don't include the city and state, but instead want you to put the name of the category first: "Neon Lights - Poodle Dog Neon Sign."

Coordinates - Enter the coordinates of your waymark here. Parking and trailhead coordinates can be added at the end of your description.

Country - A drop-down box with a list of countries. Click on the appropriate one.

State/Province - Another drop-down box. Click on the appropriate selection. For most countries this box will not be required.

Short Description - When people browse through a category looking at interesting waymarks, this is the short description that will be listed next to your photo of the waymark. You have 250 characters to write a brief description of your waymark here.

Long Description - This is the section where you can make or break your waymark. You don't have to write a thesis on the place, but you do need to take the time to provide a thoughtful write-up. Start with a basic description of the waymark. Next, go into any history or interesting stories that you might have dug up while researching the spot. Then list any helpful tips or warnings for the visitor. For example: "Road is accessible only to four-wheel drive vehicles." Finally, list details such as the days a location is accessible, the hours it is open, any admission fees, the best parking coordinates, trailhead coordinates, directions to the location, a website with additional information, etc.

Private Message - This section will only be seen by the waymark reviewers. Any extra explanations or notes to the reviewers can be placed here.

Variables - Although it is not required that a category have variables, almost all of them do. A variable is essentially a bit of information that the category creator wants to make sure gets included in all the submissions. Not all waymarkers are going to take the effort to write up a great waymark description. Variables are a way to make sure that necessary information about the site gets included. If the required variables aren't filled out, the site will not allow you to move onto the next submission step. Not all of the variables are required, but it is considered good waymarking etiquette to fill them out as completely as possible. Commonly required variables might be a location's hours, its address, its type (example: door type= wood, steel, other), or an applicable Website.

When you finish filling in this form, check the two boxes acknowledging that you have read the terms of use and agreement and the category guidelines, and then click on the "Save and Continue" button at the bottom of the page.

Upload Image(s) - At this point you move to step two, and will be uploading all of those beautiful pictures you took of your waymark.

Choose photo - You will need to hit the "browse" button and find the picture file that you would like to upload. Waymarking.com is able to accept pictures in the jpg, gif, and tiff formats. A hint: the first picture that you upload will be the picture that shows on your waymark's Webpage when the page is opened, so be sure to choose a picture that best represents your waymark. Some categories will require a specific shot to show on the Webpage as the "default" photo, so you'll need to check if the category you are working in has any requirements like that. If at a later time you change your mind and want a different picture to show on the waymark's Webpage, just open the gallery and then double click on the photo that you want to change to the default photo. When it opens you will see two check boxes with text. You will want to check the box labeled "Set as default waymark image" and then click on the "update" button.

If you decide that you don't want one of the photos that you have uploaded, or you accidentally upload something twice, you can remove the photo by following the process described above for changing the default photo. In this case, check the box titled "Archive (delete) this photo" and then click the "update" button.

File caption - In the text box, type the name you want folks to see when they double-click this picture to open it. This caption appears above the large view of the photo. You want to make sure that you give your photo at least a simple caption; otherwise the Website will use the file name that your computer uses.

File description - This information appears under the caption and gives you a little more space to describe the photo. It's a good place to add the photo's coordinates, if you have them.

Go ahead and click on the "upload" button now that you have all of the information filled out. Sit back and relax while the site uploads your photo. It can take awhile if the file size of the photo is large. All photos will be resized by the site during the uploading process.

When the site has finished uploading your photo, the picture will open on the page. Below the photo in small text it will say "click here to upload another image" and below that will be a larger button that says "continue." If you have more photos to upload, and you likely will, click on the link to upload another image. This will open up the form that you just filled in for the first photo. When you've uploaded all of the photos you wish to include in your waymark's photo gallery, click the "continue" button to move on to the final step.

Now you're ready to review all of the work you've just done.

Preview and Submit
- In the third step you will see a preview of what your waymark will look like on waymarking.com once it is submitted. Take time to read through your text to check for grammar and spelling errors, and double check that the correct picture has been designated as the default image. If you notice an error you can go back to the "Enter Information" form or the photo gallery by clicking on the appropriate tab along the top of the Webpage and make any necessary corrections. After the corrections are made, click on the "Update and continue" button at the bottom left-hand side of the page. This will take you to the "Upload Images" page. If you don't need to load additional images, click on the "Preview and Submit" tab near the top of the page to return to the preview page.

If every thing looks good at this point and you are ready to submit your waymark, click the "submit waymark now" button. You also have the option to "save and submit later." If you have most of the information entered, but want to finish it up at a later time, you will push the button for this option. To find your unfinished waymarks later, look on the right sidebar in the "Waymark Lists" section and click on the "My Unfinished Waymarks" link. Open up the waymark that you'd like to finish and click on the edit link located near the end of the waymark's title. This will open the waymark in the three-part submission form we've just discussed. Add the additional information and if you are now ready, click on the "submit waymark now" button.

Once you've submitted your waymark, Groundspeak (the company that runs waymarking.com) will send you an e-mail confirming that they've received the waymark submission and have forwarded it to the category officers for review. Who are these officers and why are they reviewing your work? Read on and I will explain the review process.

Next: Waymark Review Process
Back to the Beginner's Guide outline

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