It can be placed on top of administration pages (not-articles) when appropriate (see WP:INFOPAGES for details). This usually means pages in the "Wikipedia:" and "Help:" namespaces, but sometimes how-to guides also exist as user subpages.

If a page that uses this template is in the "Wikipedia:" or "Help:" namespace, then this template adds Category:Wikipedia how-to to the page.

If the page is in the "User:" namespace, it will be put into Category:User essays. If your page is just a draft, please use the |nocat= parameter to prevent categorization, until it is finished.

If it is in some other namespace, it will not be auto-categorized, and it may be in the wrong place.

This template can be used as is, like this:

{{Wikipedia how-to}}

But it can also take up to three shortcuts as parameters. It then displays a small shortcut box inside it. Like this:

{{Wikipedia how-to|WP:SHORT|WP:LONG}}

Then it looks like this:

This help page is a how-to guide. It explains concepts or processes used by the Wikipedia community. It is not one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, and may reflect varying levels of consensus.

Shortcuts WP:SHORT WP:LONG

If you want to feed more than one or two shortcuts then the shortcut box becomes too high, which doesn't look good. In such a case it is better to use a {{shortcut}} box directly below this template, like this:

• |1= or |sc1=, |shortcut1=, |shortcut=, or first unnamed parameter – First shortcut. Don't include [[...]] linking brackets in this or other shortcut parameters.
• |2= or |sc2=, |shortcut2=, or first unnamed parameter – Second shortcut
• |3= or |sc3=, |shortcut3=, or first unnamed parameter – Third shortcut (deprecated; please use separate Template:Shortcut for three or more)
• |interprets= or |page= or |pages= – Specify name of page (policy, process, etc.) that this essay provides advice about. For a single page, it is not necessary to include [[...]] linking brackets;. This will replace the wording "some aspect or aspects of Wikipedia's norms and practices". If more than one page and/or any notes are intended, links must be manually coded, e.g.: |interprets=[[Wikipedia:Verifiability]] policy and the [[Wikipedia:Identifying reliable sources]] guideline
• |sort-by= – Specify a sort key for the category. For example, if the how-to page is Wikipedia:Producing maps with xplanet and you want it category-sorted to appear under "X", use |sort-by=Xplanet, Producing maps with. This has no effect on the user essays category.
• |category= – Specify a complete wikilink (i.e, do include the [[...]] linking brackets) to one or more categories to override the default Category:Wikipedia how-to. May include a category sort; example: [[Category:WikiProject Underwater Basketweaving|Article structure advice]] This parameter does not replace the Category:User essays categorization for pages in the "User:" namespace, but can be used to add them manually to Category:Wikipedia how-to, in addition to the automatic user category.
• |nocat=y or |demo=y – Bypass all categorization, when the template is used for demo purposes, e.g. in template documentation, on talk pages, etc.
• |style= – Pass arbitrary CSS to the Template:Ombox base template that this template uses.

• {{How-to}} – the cleanup/dispute tag for articles written in a "how-to" style.
• {{Information page}} – the banner template for pages that are more just informational than directly instructional like WP:GOV.
• {{Essay|interprets=}} – the banner template for pages that are more opinionated then instructional or technical; there are several parameters and variations.
• {{Supplement|interprets=}} – to tag a well-established page that adds something to a policy or guideline, to make up for a deficiency, and when it is referenced in the guideline or policy like WP:BRD.
• Wikipedia:Template messages/Project namespace – for other "Wikipedia:"-namespace banner templates.