Help:Page name

Help:Page name is a fundamental concept in the structure and organization of content within a MediaWiki software environment, which powers many wikis, including the well-known Wikipedia. Understanding how to properly name a page is crucial for effective information retrieval, linking, and overall management of a wiki.

Overview

A page name in MediaWiki is the title given to a specific piece of content which uniquely identifies it within the wiki. Page names are used in the URL and can be directly linked to within the text of other pages. Proper naming is essential to ensure that users can easily find, link to, and reference content.

Guidelines for Choosing a Page Name

Choosing the right page name involves several considerations:

• Clarity: The name should clearly reflect the content of the page.
• Conciseness: The name should be brief yet descriptive.
• Consistency: Follow existing naming conventions within the wiki for similar types of content.
• Avoidance of special characters: Some characters have specific functions in MediaWiki and should be avoided in page names.

Technical Aspects

MediaWiki software uses the page name to create a URL. Spaces in a page name are replaced by underscores in the URL. For example, the page name "Sample Page" would be accessible via a URL ending in "/Sample_Page".

Best Practices

• Use natural language and consider what users might search for.
• Avoid ambiguous terms and be as specific as possible.
• Use proper capitalization for the first letter of the first word, and lowercase for subsequent words unless they are proper nouns or other exceptions.

Common Issues

• Redirection: Incorrectly named pages can lead to the creation of redirects, which can complicate navigation and linking.
• Disambiguation: If multiple topics could have the same name, disambiguation pages or additional qualifiers in the page name might be necessary.

See Also

• Help:Contents
• Help:Editing
• Help:Redirect