The 12 Best How-To Sites That Everyone Should Bookmark

Do you know how to change the oil on your car? What about how to knit a scarf? Or how to make compost?

If you need some help with life’s little chores, the internet is full of guidance. But which sites should you head to when you need some advice? Here are 12 how-to sites that everyone needs to have saved in their bookmarks.

1. wikiHow

wikiHow is a collaborative site that allows anyone to submit an article about a topic of their choosing. And because it’s a wiki, other authors can update and amend pieces to make them more accurate and/or complete. Indeed, according to the site’s own literature, the average article is edited by 23 people and reviewed by 16 people.

The list of categories is massive. There are Arts and Entertainment, Philosophy and Religion, Sports and Fitness, Home and Garden, and Finance and Business, to name just a few.

2. Instructables

Instructables is a how-to site with seven categories—Circuits, Workshop, Craft, Cooking, Living, Outside, and Teachers.

Projects on the site have varying degrees of complexity, but there are also varying degrees of “wackiness.” On one end of the scale, there are genuinely useful creations such as outdoor steel fire baskets and kids’ games. At the other end, we are not sure how many people really need a polar bear made from scrap metal in their lives.

3. eHow

In terms of content, eHow is similar to wikiHow. The main difference is that eHow has a team of writers rather than being a public wiki.

The site is divided into six categories: Home Décor and Repair, Crafts, Food and Drink, Garden, Fashion and Beauty, and Holidays. Content includes video tutorials which you can also catch on their YouTube channel.

4. YouTube

It’s easy to overlook YouTube—it’s not something a lot of people think of when considering the best how-to sites on the web.

But if you don’t check it out, you’re missing out. There are thousands of channels dedicated to every topic imaginable. The trick is to find the right one and then explore its playlist.

5. r/howto

Reddit has millions of how-to posts across its subreddits. However, there’s also a subreddit specifically dedicated to people’s how-to requests.

Users post how-to conundrums their facing, and readers chime in with their tips and suggestions. There are no restrictions on the type of advice people can ask for, with the exception of adult entertainment.

A quick scroll through the top posts at the time of writing shows people offering how-to advice on topics as diverse as cleaning sneakers to polishing brass bowls.

6. Acme How To

Acme How To (which thankfully has no connection to Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote!) is a DIY-focused how-to website. Broadly speaking, the content is split into three categories: Improvements, Repairs, and Decorate.

Just about every conceivable aspect of home DIY has its own subsection. For example, you can use Acme How To to learn how to grout, paint, lay a floor, control pests, and a whole lot more.

The site also has a small review section to make sure you’re buying the best tools for the job.

7. How a Car Works

Cars can be confusing. And more importantly, they can also be extremely expensive to maintain.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. If you spend some time doing a spot of self-learning, you can save yourself a fortune and have some fun at the same time.

If you’re looking for a how-to site for autos, check out How a Car Works. The site is part-explanations, part-guides. All the information is categorized into subsections such as Brakes, Electrical, Fuel, Steering, Suspension, and other car-themed topics. Many of the video how-to guides require payment.

8. CraftStylish

If arts and crafts are more your thing, Craft Stylish is a how-to site that you need to bookmark. It’s packed with how-to articles and videos across topics such as sewing, embroidery, jewelry making, knitting, paper art, and crochet.

The site also lets you create a personal profile. You can use it to interact with the community and resolve your how-to questions and queries.

9. HowToDoThings

If you’re looking for how-to articles about as wide a range of topics as possible, HowToDoThings is probably the site for you.

There are 18 categories to browse. They cover cars, pets, travel, careers, and everything in between. It means that on the same site, you will find articles as such as how to stretch before a dance class and how to get a housing grant for a first-time buyer.

10. Hackr.io

Rather than publishing its own content, Hackr.io is a repo of how-to articles that have been bookmarked from other sites. As the name suggests, all the content is geared towards programming and coding.

You’ll find tutorials and how-to guides for subjects such as Python, C++, PHP, Google Analytics, Alexa, and even Bitcoin.

Users can submit new content; the site deploys an upvote/downvote system that’s similar to Reddit.

11. Snapguide

Snapguide is another community-driven how-to site. Categories on Snapguide include Art and Crafts, Food, Lifestyle, Deserts, and Automotive. There are how-to guides on everything from how to change a tire to how to bake a birthday cake.

Even though the site is excellent, Snapguide is primarily aimed at mobile users. People can add their own how-to guides thanks to the app’s simple interface. It lets you snap photos, record videos, and add text in a cinch.

12. MakeUseOf

We’ll end with a bit of shameless self-promotion. If you need to know how to do anything in the tech world, MakeUseOf should be your first port of call. We’ve published how-to articles on everything from Android Auto to Tinder.

We think we’re the best, and we’re confident you’ll agree if you spend a bit of time digging through our content.

The Best How-to Sites

The 12 sites we’ve listed cover a broad range of topics and hobbies, but we know our selections are nowhere near exhaustive. Ergo, we’d love to hear which sites you’d add to the list. Make sure you reach out and let us know in the comments below.

And if you would like to learn even more about the best how-to sites on the web, check out our other articles on the best sites men should know about and the best sites that women should know about.

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