Content is created collaboratively by a member base made up of FamilySearch employees, Mormon missionaries, and the wider online community.

Every nation worldwide has at least one article, with more extensive coverage for places in the United States, Canada, and Europe.

[5] Starting about 1988, the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, then known as the Family History Library, developed a series of "research outlines"[6] to aid volunteer staff at its many FamilySearch Center branches, who offered free research advice to visitors.

[11][12] In late March 2016, the wiki was transitioned to WikiMedia 1.23.10, a newer, more stable platform which required less maintenance from FamilySearch computer engineers.

[14] In July 2024, all users' editing rights were suspended, with contributors now required to complete training and pass a test on current FamilySearch content policy before contributing.

As of March 7, 2016, the English edition of the Family History Research Wiki had 150,561 registered users who had contributed to the creation of over 82,858 articles.

[17] This resource has been discussed by expert authors in how-to books,[18][19][20][21][22] in periodicals,[23][24][25][26][27][28] by instructors at genealogical conferences and classes,[29][30][31][32][33][34] on internet sites,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41] and in blogs.