Harvard citation templates, along with Harvard reference templates, are tools that can be used when documenting the sources of a Wikipedia article, if the editor has chosen to follow the Harvard referencing citation style.[1] These templates were created to do two things: to make it easier to create correctly formatted Harvard references and citations, and to give editors the option to create a hyperlink to a Harvard reference.
The use of Citation templates is not required by WP:CITE and is neither encouraged nor discouraged by any other Wikipedia citation guidelines. They may be used at the discretion of individual editors, subject to agreement with the other editors on the article. Some editors find them helpful, while other editors find them annoying, particularly when used inline in the text. Because they are optional, editors should not change articles from one style to the other without consensus.