Refences to external links - which brackets to use?

Question

The follwoing is suggested format for links to external sources:

But other places say to use {{,,,}}. Which is the preferred (correct) format?

Jim

Answer 1

Single square brackets for an external link, and a space between the link and the working you want to appear.  Example:
[https://nanowrimo.org (space) NaNoWriMo]

Double square brackets for an internal link, and a pipe | before the wording.  Example:
[[Space:Haywood_Name_Study|Haywood Name Study]]

Comments

Ros is correct about square brackets.

Double brackets of the form {{ and }} are a third case. They are used to transclude a template into a page. (That is, a template is a short set of programming instructions that produce some sort of content, and transcluding a template into a page adds that content to the page.) Stickers, project boxes, and the unsourced box are examples of templates.

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 OFF-SIDES -- Thank you Ellen for the introduction to a new word into my vocabulary - I am acquainted with "include", "exclude", "preclude", "conclude" and have had occasion to use them - "transclude" is a new one for me - and I have discovered why, it is computer science language - a field of knowledge I am not acquainted with 

 In computer science, transclusion is the inclusion of part or all of an electronic document into one or more other documents by hypertext reference. Transclusion is usually performed when the referencing document is displayed, and is normally automatic and transparent to the end user.

VerbEdit. transclude (third-person singular simple present transcludes, present participle transcluding, simple past and past participle transcluded)

Institute a programming step of substituting a template or other input for its rendered text, such as when parsing wikitext. 

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A little more info on the "external link" terminology: We do have some "external link templates," and they use the double curly brackets (a.k.a. braces) {{Template Name}}.

These are used to create formatted links to other websites because sometimes websites change the format of their URL. 

If we use these external link templates instead of the URL to link to another website, it makes it easy for one of our template gurus to just edit the template to correct the URL when a website's format changes.

You can find these templates here: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Category:External_Link_Templates

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Not to be too picky - ok I am - these guys, [[ ]] are brackets. These guys, {{ }} are braces. No, not the kind that hold up your pants!

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Jerry --

I compromised. :-D

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@ Julie    

(I had refrained from making the same comment!)