Help:Author Resources/Infobox Guide

Infobox Guide

This page serves as a comprehensive guide and reference for the various Infobox types available on the site. Infobox templates are created and maintained exclusively by community managers and administrators to ensure consistency and to prevent redundancy — a recurring problem we've encountered in the past.

Each Infobox is purposefully designed to be broad in scope and highly adaptable, capable of covering its subject matter in near-totality. As a result, any given Infobox may be used across multiple article types, regardless of the page's specific Scope.

Editing Best Practices

When adding or editing an Infobox, do not assume that every field must be filled in. In fact, you are not expected to complete them all. Many fields are designed for optional use, and some may even contradict each other when used simultaneously. Use only the fields that are relevant to your article’s content and purpose.

Avoid overloading the Infobox with excessive or redundant information. The goal is to provide a clear, high-level snapshot — not to replicate the full article within a sidebar.

Important: An Infobox is a reference tool, not the article itself. Use it to summarize, not to explain.

What Needs an Infobox?

Technically speaking, no article requires an Infobox. However, as you’ve likely already noticed, most articles contain an Infobox of some kind.

This is for two main reasons: first, that an Infobox is an inherently useful narrative device; and second, that it provides a clean, organized space to display an article’s primary image.

If you're looking for a definitive list of what types of content should have an Infobox, a good rule of thumb is this: if the article is written for worldbuilding purposes — such as a planet, nation, character, or species — then including an Infobox is highly recommended. A unique Infobox template is available for each of these respective types.

What Doesn't Need an Infobox?

Two major page types are generally recommended to avoid using an Infobox as a narrative framing device:

1. Scope-specific META pages — such as a Scope’s Landing Page, Lexica, Index, or Timeline — should avoid Infoboxes, as they can distract from the core content of the page. These pages are meant to present foundational information about the Scope and benefit from a clean, uninterrupted layout.

1. Tale articles — which contain in-universe storylines — may include Infoboxes, and some already do. However, it is widely agreed in the Community that Infoboxes are best left out of Tale pages to preserve narrative flow and avoid breaking immersion in the story being told.