Wikipedia:Hub page

For continuing discussion on this topic see Root page.

Introduction
A hub page is an important Wikipedia navigational concept. It is a central introductory page on Wikipedia from which other related and more detailed pages may be accessed by wikilinks or navigation sidebars. It can act as a general starting point or central reference point (if coming from a sub topic) for a large subject or group of related subjects.

Function
Hub pages performs the function of linking the site together in a logical and hierarchical way a number of related but possibly dissimilar subjects or aspects of a subject. In the case of an overall term such as electricity where the subject is so vast, hub pages can direct the reader to his/her area of specific interest far more quickly and easily.

What a hub page is not
A hub page is NOT:


 * a disambiguation page
 * a summary page

Operation
Hub pages can lead the reader into areas of specific interest to them by means of the introductory text on the page and clicking on the main page links provided at the head of the paragraph.

A hub page should begin with a clear introductions to the subjects covered, giving an overview without too much detail.

Editors of associated pages can then take these as understood. This information may also be repeated on the sub page for those readers arriving directly at a sub page.


 * A Hub page is allocated as such by adding the category 'Wikipedia hub page' to its category listing at the bottom of the page.


 * Once a page is nominated as a hub page, editors of associated pages know where the common introduction is to be found. They should list it at the top of the page so that readers can quickly get back to the Hub page.Wikipedia users can then see immediately where to go for an introduction or overview, by looking for a 'back to hub page' link at the top of the page.


 * The fact that a page is a hub page does not mean that it should necessarily be listed as a hub page. It should only be listed as such if it is considered to be the hub page for that article, although it can still be listed without the additional phrase - introductory hub page if it is relevant to the article.

For example Animation is the hub page for Computer animation, but going back further and allocating 'Graphics' as the Summary page instead of Animation would not be sensible.
 * A primary hub page cannot have any parent. Hub pages aim to establish a simple navigation facility


 * A page that overlaps several topics could possibly list multiple pages as Summary pages, though this is probably best avoided. For example 3D computer graphics currently has Animation and Graphics listed as its Summary pages. Editors and users can then decide which hub page they consider most relevant for the purpose of exploring further or coordinating effort.

Sub hubs
In very large subject areas, it may be necessary to employ secondary hubs or 'sub-hubs' as intermediaries between the primary hub and the detailed article.

The highest level hubs are called primary hubs, whist lower level hubs are called secondary, tertiary, etc. It is not envisaged that more than two sub levels will ever be needed.

Examples of existing (primary) hub pages

 * Civil engineering-- an almost ideal (IMO) example of a hub page layout
 * Chemical engineering-- example with other pages listed at bottom of page
 * Dielectric
 * Electronics
 * Electrical engineering
 * Electricity
 * Mechanical engineering
 * Physics
 * Waveguide