How to Cite a Website in APA, MLA and Chicago
To cite a website, you usually cite a specific web page, not the whole site. You need the author (a person or organisation), the publication or update date, the page title, the website name and the URL. In APA 7th edition the format is Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. Site Name. URL. In MLA 9th edition it is Last, First. "Title of Page." Website Name, Day Month Year, URL. In Chicago 17th edition the bibliography entry is Last, First. "Title of Page." Website Name. Month Day, Year. URL. Below are full examples, how to handle missing authors and dates, and when not to use a website format at all.
All examples use invented pages and the reserved example.org domain.
Find the right details
- Author: Look at the top or bottom of the article for a byline. If there's none, the organisation that published it is often the author.
- Date: Look for "published" or "last updated." Use the most specific date given. Copyright dates in the site footer usually refer to the whole site, not the page, so don't use them.
- Title: The headline of the specific page.
- Website name: The name of the overall site, such as a charity, government agency or magazine.
- URL: Copy it from the address bar. Use a permalink or DOI if one is offered.
APA 7th edition
Web page with an individual author
Lindqvist, M. (2025, June 3). How tides shape coastal wetlands. Coastal Futures Network. https://www.example.org/tides-wetlands
The page title is italicised and in sentence case. The site name is plain text.
Organisation as author
Coastal Futures Network. (2024, November 20). Volunteer guide to shoreline surveys. https://www.example.org/volunteer-guide
When the author and site name are the same, leave the site name out to avoid repetition.
No date
Coastal Futures Network. (n.d.). Frequently asked questions. Retrieved March 2, 2026, from https://www.example.org/faq
Include a retrieval date only when the page is designed to change over time and isn't archived, such as an FAQ, a dictionary entry or a live data page.
News website article
Articles on news sites can be cited like web pages, with the site name. If the article comes from a newspaper or magazine that also has a print edition, APA treats it as a periodical article: the publication name is italicised and comes after the title.
Ruiz, T. (2026, January 15). Town votes to restore salt marsh. The Harbour Gazette. https://www.example.org/news/salt-marsh
APA in-text citations
- (Lindqvist, 2025)
- Lindqvist (2025) reports that...
- Quote with no page numbers: (Lindqvist, 2025, para. 4) or use a section heading: (Lindqvist, 2025, "Why Tides Matter" section)
- No date: (Coastal Futures Network, n.d.)
MLA 9th edition
Web page with an author
Lindqvist, Maja. "How Tides Shape Coastal Wetlands." Coastal Futures Network, 3 June 2025, www.example.org/tides-wetlands.
MLA allows you to drop "https://" from URLs, and many instructors prefer that.
Organisation as author
When the organisation is both author and publisher, MLA skips the author and starts with the title:
"Volunteer Guide to Shoreline Surveys." Coastal Futures Network, 20 Nov. 2024, www.example.org/volunteer-guide.
No date
Add an access date at the end:
"Frequently Asked Questions." Coastal Futures Network, www.example.org/faq. Accessed 2 Mar. 2026.
Access dates are optional in MLA 9 but recommended when the page is undated or likely to change.
Whole website
Rarely needed, but possible:
Coastal Futures Network. Coastal Futures Network, www.example.org.
MLA in-text citations
- (Lindqvist)
- Web pages don't have page numbers, so author alone is usual. If paragraphs are numbered, you can use (Lindqvist, par. 4).
- No author: shortened title in quotation marks, e.g. ("Volunteer Guide").
Chicago 17th edition
Footnote
- Maja Lindqvist, "How Tides Shape Coastal Wetlands," Coastal Futures Network, June 3, 2025, https://www.example.org/tides-wetlands.
Short form:
- Lindqvist, "How Tides Shape."
Bibliography
Lindqvist, Maja. "How Tides Shape Coastal Wetlands." Coastal Futures Network. June 3, 2025. https://www.example.org/tides-wetlands.
The website name is usually in plain text in Chicago, unless it's also the name of a publication like a magazine.
No date
Chicago uses an access date when no publication or revision date is given:
Coastal Futures Network. "Frequently Asked Questions." Accessed March 2, 2026. https://www.example.org/faq.
Author-date
Lindqvist, Maja. 2025. "How Tides Shape Coastal Wetlands." Coastal Futures Network, June 3, 2025. https://www.example.org/tides-wetlands. In-text: (Lindqvist 2025)
Quick comparison
| APA 7 | MLA 9 | Chicago 17 (bibliography) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Page title | Italics, sentence case | Quotation marks, title case | Quotation marks, title case |
| Site name | Plain text | Italics | Plain text |
| Date position | After author | After site name | After site name |
| https:// | Keep | Usually omit | Keep |
When a website isn't a "website" source
The website format is for web pages that don't fit another category. Use a more specific format when the source is:
- A journal article found online: cite it as a journal article with a DOI.
- An online newspaper or magazine article: APA treats these as periodicals; MLA formats them similarly to web pages but with the publication name in the container.
- A report or PDF: cite it as a report.
- A video: cite it as a video (see our separate YouTube guide).
- A blog post: APA formats these like periodical articles, with the blog name italicised.
- An image: cite it as an artwork or photograph.
Evaluate before you cite
A citation shows readers where your evidence comes from, so make sure that evidence is solid. Before citing a web page, ask who wrote it, what their expertise is, when it was last updated, what sources it relies on, and whether the site has an obvious commercial or political agenda. For academic work, a web page is often best used alongside peer-reviewed sources, not instead of them.
Generating website citations
Inkwell's APA citation generator, MLA citation generator and Chicago citation generator format web page citations from the details you enter. Double-check the author and date yourself, since these are the details most often wrong, especially on pages where the date shown is a site-wide copyright year.
FAQ
How do I cite a website with no author?
Use the organisation as author if there is one. If there isn't, start with the page title. Use a shortened title in the in-text citation.
Should I include the URL?
Yes in APA and Chicago. MLA 9 recommends including it too, usually without "https://". Use the most stable link available.
Do I need an access date?
APA: only for pages designed to change and not archived. MLA: optional, recommended for undated pages. Chicago: when there's no publication or revision date.
How do I cite Wikipedia?
All three styles have formats for wiki entries, but many instructors don't accept Wikipedia as an academic source. Use it to find references, then cite those original sources.