Template:Help-footer
- Template:Help-footer
Template:Help-footer is a crucial, yet often overlooked, element of the MediaWiki help system. It provides a standardized footer for all help pages, offering essential links to further assistance, community resources, and information about the wiki itself. This article provides a comprehensive guide to understanding, using, and customizing this vital template, geared towards beginners. We'll cover its purpose, structure, parameters, usage examples, and best practices. This guide will also touch upon how this functionality can be conceptually linked to broader information architecture principles, drawing parallels to user experience (UX) design in web development.
Purpose and Importance
The primary purpose of `Template:Help-footer` is to ensure consistency and accessibility across the entire help section of a MediaWiki wiki. Without a standardized footer, each help page editor might add different links or information, leading to a fragmented and confusing user experience. A consistent footer:
- **Provides quick access to related help:** Users can easily jump to other relevant help pages without having to use the wiki's search function.
- **Promotes community engagement:** Links to community portals, forums, or chat channels encourage users to seek help from experienced members.
- **Offers contact information:** Links to contact pages or administrator lists allow users to report issues or ask for direct assistance.
- **Reinforces wiki branding:** A consistent footer contributes to a professional and cohesive wiki appearance.
- **Enhances usability:** A well-designed footer simplifies navigation and helps users find what they need quickly.
Think of it like the footer of a well-designed website. It's the last place a user looks before leaving a page, and it should contain valuable information that encourages them to explore further or seek assistance. In the context of financial markets, this is akin to having a readily available risk disclaimer or a link to further educational resources on a trading platform. Understanding the underlying principles of risk management, such as Value at Risk (VaR), is crucial, and a help footer can direct users to such information.
Template Structure and Code
The core of `Template:Help-footer` is its underlying code, which defines the content and structure of the footer. While the exact code may vary slightly depending on the wiki's configuration, a typical implementation will involve a combination of wikitext, HTML, and potentially Lua modules. Here's a simplified example:
```wiki
```
Let's break down this code:
- `
