Template:Infobox too large/doc

This is a documentation subpage for Template:Infobox too large.
It may contain usage information, categories and other content that is not part of the original template page.

Rationale for usage

This template is designed to identify articles that potentially feature an infobox containing an excessive amount of indiscriminate data or an unnecessary abundance of imagery, leading to their elongation or widening beyond what is considered optimal. Such instances can raise concerns regarding the fulfilling of the infobox's intended purpose or may pose challenges in terms of accessibility for readers. When articles are flagged by this template for having an overly indulgent infobox, it generally implies that the content within the box has superseded the recommended limits, resulting in an imbalanced presentation that could hinder the overall user experience, as outlined below.

Shortcut

WP:INFOBOXTOOLARGEWP:INFOBOXTOOLARGE

Policies and guidelines

Infoboxes should contain a summary of key facts as highlighted in the article body that are sourced, and images should be selected with care not overwhelm the lead with decorative imagery. Infobox designs should avoid sandwiching of text due to length or width; as outlined below.

Data

MOS:INFOBOXPURPOSE – The purpose of an infobox is to summarize, but not supplant, the key facts that appear in an article. The less information that an infobox contains, the more effectively it serves its purpose, allowing readers to identify key facts at a glance.
MOS:INFOBOXDESIGN – Creating overly long templates with a number of irrelevant fields is not recommended. How important is the field to the articles that will use the infobox? Is it summary information, or more extended detail that may be better placed within the body of an article?
WP:UNDUE – Undue weight can be given in several ways, including but not limited to... the prominence of placement.
MOS:SANDWICH – due to lead length recommendations, long infoboxes may intrude into multiple subsections – Avoid sandwiching text between images, infoboxes, or similar templates horizontally opposite each other.
WP:NOTDATABASE – Statistics that lack context or explanation can reduce readability and may be confusing.
WP:NOTDIRECTORY – Wikipedia is not a directory of everything in the universe that exists or has existed.

Imagery

MOS:LEADIMAGE – Avoid lead images that readers would not expect to see there....lead images should be selected with care.
WP:GALLERY – Wikipedia is not an image repository. A gallery is not a tool to shoehorn images into an article. Be aware different screen size and browsers may affect accessibility for some readers even with a well-crafted gallery.
MOS:IMAGEREL – Not every article needs images, and too many can be distracting or cause undue weight: usually, less is more.
MOS:SECTIONLOC – An image should generally be placed in the most relevant article section – long infoboxes may intrude into sections beyond the lead forcing images in other sections to appear below the text /section they are meant to compliment.
WP:UNDUE – Undue weight can be given in several ways, including but not limited to the... use of imagery.
MOS:INFOBOXUSE – Like navigation templates, infoboxes should generally not contain flag icons. For more information about flag icons, and exceptions to the general guideline, see MOS:FLAG.

Width

MOS:INFOBOXSTYLE – Most infoboxes default width is 22em.
WP:IMGSIZELEAD – The lead image in an infobox should generally not exceed the default size of the infobox. Therefore, it should be no wider than upright 0.9 (equivalent to 228px for most infoboxes, which use the default width of 22em).
WP:IMAGESIZE – Lead images should usually use upright 1.2 at most (300px for lead images)
MOS:SANDWICH – Sandwiching of text can also occur when image size is set too high.

Help page (how-to guide)

Help:What infoboxes do – They quickly summarize important points in an easy-to-read format. However, they are not "statistics" tables in that they (generally) only summarize material from an article—the information should still be present in the main text
Help:What should an infobox contain? – Infoboxes, like the introduction to the article, should primarily contain material that is expanded on and supported by citations to reliable sources elsewhere in the article.
Help:What should an infobox not contain? – A common problem is including material in the infobox which is trivial and would not otherwise be included in the article body...Infobox templates should not be used for details that are too trivial to include in the article body (there are some exceptions, such as chemical properties)

Placement in articles

Examples:

Generic

{{Infobox too large|date=July 2026}}

Output:

With rationale

{{Infobox too large|reason=rationale for usage|date=July 2026}}