Templates are a great way to add information to your wiki. However, there are both pros and cons to them.
Pros[]
- Templates are used for many purposes, such as notices and categorizing. This way, you can just type out {{Template:<template name>}} or {{<template name>}} instead of copying and pasting text, for example.
- The ways you can customize a template are nearly endless. Any template can be edited to match the theme or colors of your wiki, with the correct information/code you need on it!
- Templates can be shared across wikis (with permission, of course). If there are wikis that are affiliates with each other, then sharing the same templates can help create a sense of connection between the two or more communities. This is also useful if a new visitor comes to the wiki; they can see the same templates and know what to expect.
Cons[]
- If you don't know how to make templates, then that's going to be a problem. (If this is the case, Help:Templates can be a useful guide!)
- Templates might only be used once and then never again. All of the time put into it might not be worth it depending on its purpose.
Tips[]
- If you have templates, then make sure to put them in the right spots! For example, a spoiler notice should go towards the top of an article, not the bottom.
- One idea might be to try to keep all of the templates looking consistent. If they all look different, it just doesn't match.
- Multiple templates (especially notices) on one page is not a bad thing! However, try not to stack all of them in one area if you can help it. If one notice could be separated, then that might be a good idea.
- Some wikis have a system set up where they don't need templates, and that's perfectly fine. This blog is not meant to persuade anyone one way or the other.
Overall, templates can be good or bad for your wiki. Whether they're useful for you and your community or not is up to you. This blog is just a guide for both sides of the story.
This is my first blog on this wiki. I apologize if it wasn't up to standards.