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{{essay|WP:NBFILL|WP:ANOEP}}
{{nutshell|Navbox templates can be useful as a tool for navigation.}}
 
This essay explains the benefits of [[WP:NAVBOX|navboxes]] ([[navigation]] boxes), setsand explains the goal of placing a navboxnavboxes on everyall Wikipediaarticles page,where andthey could be useful. The providesessay asuggests strategystrategies for implementingachieving that goal.
 
== Benefits of navboxes ==
{{see also | WP:Navbox#Advantages of a category}}
On Wikipedia, a [[WP:NAVBOX|navbox]] is a template that lists at least several and sometimes hundreds of pages that are all somehow related. The relationship between all the articles in a single navbox is such that the reader of onethe ofcurrent these articlesarticle will likelybe wantreadily referred to readother atrelated leastmaterial somewith ofa thesingle otherslink.
 
<!---needs rewriting. Seems to apologize rather than justify--->
While a navbox may appear redundant to a [[WP:CATEGORY|category]] or [[WP:L|list]], it is not the same as a single category, a group of categories under one parent category, or a list. Each section of a navbox may seem to be a carbon copy of a category or list, but that is not always the case, and in many cases, the navbox "categories" do not reflect Wikipedia's custom for creating and organizing categories or for lists.▼
While a navbox may appear redundant to a [[WP:CATEGORY|category]] or [[WP:L|list]], it is not the same as a single category, a group of categories under one parent category, or a list.
▲While a navbox may appear redundant to a [[WP:CATEGORY|category]] or [[WP:L|list]], it is not the same as a single category, a group of categories under one parent category, or a list.* Each section of a navbox may seem to be a carbon copy of a category or list, but that is not always the case, and in many cases, the navbox "categories" do not reflect Wikipedia's custom for creating and organizing categories or for lists.
* the navbox is not a mechanical grouping of all articles that fit within a single classification, as categories often are. rather it is a selective compilation of articles with actual signficiance to the main topic at hand.
 
<!---wording needs tightening--->
To better put it, aA navbox serves the function of a [[WP:SEEALSO|see also section]], but does so more efficiently,effectively therebyby allowingimplying morea one-for-one relationship with the other members of the set. More articles tocan be listed in a navbox. While a "see also" section cannot be practical in listing more than a handful of the most relevant articles, a navbox can list dozens of related articles that can be subdivided into their own sections.
 
<!---okay, but this seems to make too much of a rather weak argument. Needs "strengthening" somehow--->
Navboxes also help provide more links to articles listed within. Wikipedia has numerous [[WP:O|orphans]] (articles with few pages linking to them). The main drawback to an article being an orphan is that few people know it exists, and there are few ways for it to be found and therefore improved. When an article is added to a navbox, in most cases, it is instantly [[WP:DO|de-orphaned]].
 
The success of navboxes mightcan be seen in [[User:Sebwite/navbox study|this (uncontrolled) study]] of [[Template:Commercial air travel|this navbox]], which has shown that in the month following its creation, readership of the articles contained within increased by 8.5% (an average of 406 views per article) and editing of these pages increased by 37% from the month prior to its creation.
 
==The goal==
The goal is to have a navbox in every article that the reader might find useful. This would apply generally to articles in [[Wikipedia:Main namespace|main namespace]], though. navboxesNavboxes can also be used to link certain types of project pages (including [[WP:ESSAY|essays]], [[WP:PG|policies, and guidelines]]). [[WP:DAB|Disambiguation pages]] and [[WP:L|lists]] would beare exempt, though they may be used on some of these pages when applicableeditors agree.
 
Navboxes should not be placed in [[WP:USERSPACE|user space]], on [[WP:TALKPAGE|talk pages]], on [[WP:CAT|category]] pages, or in [[WP:R|redirects]].
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There was [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Council/Proposals/Navbox|a proposal to place one or more navboxes in every article]], but it did not succeed.
 
[[WP:DEADLINE|There is <u>'''no deadline</u>''']] to achieve this goal.
 
==How to achieve this goal==
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*A broad concept and all the articles in that concept
*A group of jurisdictions contained within a larger geographic area
*A listing of all of something within a jurisdiction, especially when that place is well- known for that item
*A company, listing all its key people, products, services, and other related articles
*A band, listing all its members, albums, songs, and other related articles
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Disadvantages to having two or more navboxes on a page are:
*All navboxes will appear "autocollapsed," requiring them to be opened to read
*If the navboxes were created or added by different users, [[WP:EDITWAR|edit warring]] can occur over whose navbox is more important and therefore should be listed first
*The size of the navbox tends to increase, sometimes substantially.
*Too many navboxes can cause the page to exceed the [[WP:PEIS|post-expand include size]] limit.
 
==See also==
* [[Wikipedia:NotAvoid everythingtemplate needs a navboxcreep]], an— oppositeAn viewessay on the samenavbox issueoveruse.
* [[Wikipedia:Avoid trivia sections]] — When the end of an article is cluttered with navigation templates, it often amounts to little more than a "trivia section", which should be avoided.
* [[Wikipedia:Not everything needs a navbox]] — One of the ways to fight template creep is to stop making so many templates.
* [[Wikipedia:You don't have to be mad to work here, but#The chamber of frames]] — The possible motivation of navboxers
 
==External links==
==Related information==<!--per [[wp:NAVHEAD]]-->
* [https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=3132847.3132899 Automatic Navbox Generation by Interpretable Clustering over Linked Entities] — Describing approaches to automatically construct Navboxes.
{{Essays on building Wikipedia}}
 
{{Wikipedia essays|building}}
 
[[Category:Wikipedia how-to essays]]
[[Category:Wikipedia essays explaining processes]]▼
[[Category:Wikipedia essays outlining goals]]
[[Category:Wikipedia essays onabout building the encyclopedia]]
[[Category:Wikipedia essays about article formatting]]
▲[[Category:Wikipedia essays explainingabout processestemplates]]
[[Category:Wikipedia essays about navigation]]
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