How to Make a List on Ranker: The Basics

You have two options for making a list on Ranker.com. You can either start a new list on an original topic from scratch, or you can "re-rank" a list that someone else has already worked on.

Re-ranking simply means taking a list that has been created by someone else, moving around the order, adding and taking away items and then publishing it as a new list. It's the quickest and easiest way to generate new Ranker lists, and one we collect 3 re-ranked lists from different users, we'll automatically publish an "Ultimate List" showing the favorite picks collected from everyone's re-ranks.

To get started re-ranking, go to any published list on Ranker and look for the button that says "Rerank This List Your Way." (NOTE: There are some Ranker pages that are fact-based and can't be re-ranked. If you'd like to make a new version of this page anyway - maybe you have a similar topic in mind and want to use a lot of the same items - never fear. You can hit the button marked "Use This List" in the same spot where the Rerank button would be and it'll do the trick. That or just look around for something else that's re-rankable!)

Your other option is to write your own list, which you can do by clicking the blue "Create a List" button at the top of any Ranker page. This will take you right into the "List Edit" screen, where you can start typing in your list description, adding items to your list or choosing how you want the list to look.

If you're making a brand new list, the first thing you'll probably notice once you get to the "List Edit" page is that the name given to this page is: "Unnamed List." Click the blue button marked "Change" next to this title to give your list a name. Pick something that's very clear and specific, if you can. The more accurately you specify in the title what your list is really about, the more inclined your audience will be to click the link and check out your picks, or even to vote for their favorites and add more suggestions.

So for example, "My Favorite Bands" sounds like an okay list, but would mainly be interesting to your close friends. But "The Greatest British Rock Bands Ever" sounds like it's going to be more compelling to a wider audience.

If you're re-ranking someone else's list, you will start with all of the items they had selected already chosen for you. Just hit the red "Delete" button on any you want to get rid of, and drag-and-drop the items you're keeping into the order you want. (If you want to re-add any items from the original list that you have gotten rid of, you'll find them in the sidebar on the right.)

If you're starting a new list, or if you want to add items to the re-rank, just look down at the bottom of the page. You'll see a box marked "+Add New Item," and a blank space reading "Type Anything." Enter the name of whatever it is you'd like to add to the list. We'll try to guess what you're looking for by making some suggestions. If you see the item you want to add, click on it. (If you're looking for a title or a long phrase, just like with Google searching, it's easiest to find what you're looking for if you look for the most unique or rare word. So if you want to add "The Adventures of Tintin" to a list, try just typing in "Tintin" rather than "The Adventures," which is going to produce a lot more results.)

Sometimes, we will have a lot of possible matches for the item you want. If you don't see it in the list provided, you can either click "More Results + Filters" to see more possible matches, or type more words into the search box to narrow things down. You can also try searching for the name of the item AND what it is to narrow down the search even further. So if "Tintin" doesn't bring up the movie you want, try typing in "Tintin Film."

Our search includes A LOT of potential items for your list, but we haven't yet gotten to everything. If you can't find the term you want to include (or a result comes up that isn't the right one), you will need to create a custom item. Do this by clicking on the blue box containing your search term that appears within the auto-complete section. It will just create a new item on your page with the exact term for which you searched. These custom items will be added to your list like the others, and you can then add some more cool stuff to them (such as an image or video).

OK, you've picked your items, so let's make a list!

There are two ways to put your items in order:

- Drag and drop individual items where you'd like them to go
- Change the numbered boxes to the left of each item to the rank you want to give them

Once you've selected your items on a list - whether it's a brand-new or a re-rank - there are only a few things you need to fill out before hitting that green FINISHED button.

Right below where you've entered the title of your list, you'll see a box marked "Talk about your list (if you want)". This is where your "List Description" will go. It's an explanation of what the list is about, and if necessary, the criteria you want people to follow if they are going to add items to your list. (So, if you are making a list about "The Best Old Movies," maybe use this space to identify what you consider to be "old." For example: "Only include films made before 1960.")

Filling in the List Description is optional. If you just want to put together a list without worrying about writing, that's fine too.

In the box next to the List Description, you also have the option of adding an image to your list to make it stand out more. (This is the image that will be associated with your list around Ranker, plus when you share the list on sites like Facebook.) If you leave this image blank, we'll just use the image associated with the first item on your list.

REMEMBER: If you're giving Ranker a URL, make sure it leads DIRECTLY to the image and not to an image search or a web page that features the image. Also, please only post photos to Ranker to which you own the rights, or that are licensed for use by Creative Commons. Ranker does not permit copyright violations on the site.

To the far right of the List Description area, you will also see an area to add a link to your website. Feel free to promote yourself or anything else you want that doesn't violate our terms & conditions.