How to Cite a Website: APA, MLA and Chicago Format (2025)

Citing a website is one of the most common citation tasks, and one of the most error-prone. Web pages often lack clear authors, publication dates, or stable URLs. This guide covers APA, MLA, and Chicago format for websites with verified templates, real examples, and guidance for the most common problem cases.

Quick Answer

To cite a webpage in APA 7th edition: Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of webpage. Website Name. URL. In MLA 9th edition: Author Last Name, First Name. "Title of Webpage." Website Name, Day Month Year, URL. In Chicago Notes-Bibliography: Author First Last, "Title of Webpage," Website Name, Month Day, Year, URL. The most common problem with website citations is missing information: no author, no date, or a URL that may change. This guide explains how to handle each case.

Before You Cite: Is It Actually a Website?

APA treats a source as a website only when it does not fit a more specific category. Before using a website citation format, check what you are actually looking at.

If the source is...	Use this format instead
A journal article accessed online	How to cite an article
A book or ebook	How to cite a book
A YouTube video	How to cite a YouTube video
A newspaper or magazine article	Article citation format
A government report	Report citation format
A general webpage with no other category	Website format (this guide)

If you are reading something on a website that is clearly a journal article, a news article, or a book chapter, cite it as that type of source, not as a generic webpage.

APA Format: How to Cite a Website

APA 7th edition webpage references are covered in Section 10.16 of the APA Publication Manual.

APA Reference List Template

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of webpage in sentence case. Website Name. URL

Key rule: If the author and the website name are the same organization, omit the website name to avoid repetition.

APA Examples

Individual author:

Schaeffer, K. (2021, October 1). What we know about online learning and the homework gap amid the pandemic. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/10/01/what-we-know-about-online-learning-and-the-homework-gap-amid-the-pandemic/

Organization as author (same as website name: omit site name):

World Health Organization. (2018, May 24). The top 10 causes of death. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death

Organization as author (different from website name):

Cleveland Clinic. (2020, March 6). Rage rooms: Do they offer anger relief or reinforce bad behavior? https://health.clevelandclinic.org/anger-rooms-do-they-offer-relief-or-reinforce-bad-behavior/

No date:

National Alliance on Mental Illness. (n.d.). Mental health conditions. https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions

No author:

Title of the page. (Year, Month Day). Website Name. URL

APA In-Text Citation

Use the author's last name (or organization name) and year:

(World Health Organization, 2018)

For a direct quote, add a paragraph number or section heading since web pages have no page numbers:

(Schaeffer, 2021, para. 3)

(CDC, 2020, "Key Facts" section)

Key APA Rules for Websites

Italicize the webpage title (not the website name)
Use sentence case for the webpage title
Provide the most specific date available: year, month, and day if shown
If the author and website name are the same, omit the website name
Do not include a retrieval date unless the page is designed to change and will not be archived
Do not cite a whole website. Cite the specific page you used.

MLA Format: How to Cite a Website

MLA 9th edition uses the container system. The webpage is the source; the website is the container. Official guidance is available on the MLA Style Center.

MLA Works Cited Template

Webpage with author:

Author Last Name, First Name. "Title of Webpage." Website Name, Day Month Year, URL.

Webpage with no author:

"Title of Webpage." Website Name, Day Month Year, URL.

MLA Examples

Individual author:

Lamar, Kristi, and Anjali Shaikh. "Cultivating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion." Deloitte Insights, 5 Mar. 2021, www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/topics/value-of-diversity-and-inclusion/diversity-and-inclusion-in-tech/recruit-and-retain-experienced-women-in-technology.html.

Organization as author:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Emotional Well-Being." CDC, 2 Feb. 2021, www.cdc.gov/populationhealth/well-being/index.htm.

No author:

"Protect Human Rights." United Nations, www.un.org/en/our-work/protect-human-rights.

Government website:

"Anxiety Disorders." National Institute of Mental Health, July 2018, www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/anxiety-disorders.

MLA In-Text Citation

Use the author's last name, or a shortened title in quotation marks if there is no author:

(Lamar and Shaikh)

("Protect Human Rights")

Key MLA Rules for Websites

Webpage title in quotation marks; website name in italics
Use title case for both
Drop "https://" from URLs; start with "www."
If the publisher's name is the same as the website name, omit the publisher
Access dates are optional but recommended for pages likely to change
Omit publisher if it matches the author or website name

Chicago Format: How to Cite a Website

Chicago style (Notes-Bibliography) cites webpages in footnotes with full details in the bibliography. Purdue OWL's Chicago guide provides the standard reference for these rules.

Chicago Notes-Bibliography: Footnote

First Name Last Name, "Title of Webpage," Website Name, Month Day, Year, URL.

Example:

Kristi Lamar and Anjali Shaikh, "Cultivating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion," Deloitte Insights, March 5, 2021, https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/...

Chicago Notes-Bibliography: Bibliography Entry

Last Name, First Name. "Title of Webpage." Website Name. Month Day, Year. URL.

Example:

Lamar, Kristi, and Anjali Shaikh. "Cultivating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion." Deloitte Insights. March 5, 2021. https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/...

Organization with no individual author:

World Health Organization. "The Top 10 Causes of Death." World Health Organization. May 24, 2018. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death.

Chicago Author-Date

Reference list:

Lamar, Kristi, and Anjali Shaikh. 2021. "Cultivating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion." Deloitte Insights. March 5. https://www2.deloitte.com/...

In-text:

(Lamar and Shaikh 2021)

Key Chicago Rules for Websites

Webpage title in quotation marks, website name in plain text (not italicized in notes)
Include a full date: Month Day, Year
Include an access date if the page may change: "Accessed Month Day, Year"
Both footnote and bibliography entries required for fully cited sources

Comparison Table: APA vs MLA vs Chicago for Websites

Element	APA 7th	MLA 9th	Chicago NB
Webpage title	Italics, sentence case	"Quotation marks", title case	"Quotation marks", title case
Website name	Plain text, title case	Italics, title case	Plain text
Date format	(Year, Month Day)	Day Month Year	Month Day, Year
URL	Full URL	Without https://	Full URL
Author same as site	Omit site name	Omit publisher	Include both
In-text anchor	Author + year	Author or title	Footnote number
Access date	Only if content will change	Optional, recommended if content changes	Include if content may change

Special Cases

No Author Listed

APA: Start the reference with the webpage title (italicized). In-text, use a shortened title in italics: (Mental Health Conditions, n.d.).

MLA: Start the Works Cited entry with the webpage title in quotation marks. In-text, use a shortened title in quotation marks: ("Protect Human Rights").

Chicago: Start the footnote and bibliography entry with the page title in quotation marks.

No Date

APA: Use (n.d.) in place of the year. Example: (World Health Organization, n.d.)

MLA: Omit the date element if genuinely unavailable. Add an access date at the end if the content may change.

Chicago: Note "n.d." or include an access date: "Accessed Month Day, Year."

Government Websites

Government agencies are often both the author and the website host. In APA, if the agency name and website name are identical, omit the website name. In MLA and Chicago, include both the agency name and the website name.

APA example:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, February 2). Emotional well-being. https://www.cdc.gov/populationhealth/well-being/index.htm

MLA example:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Emotional Well-Being." CDC, 2 Feb. 2021, www.cdc.gov/populationhealth/well-being/index.htm.

Wikipedia

Wikipedia requires special handling. Pages change frequently, and citing a general Wikipedia page without an archived version is unreliable.

APA: Cite the archived version of the page. In APA 7th edition, Wikipedia articles are treated like reference works. Include the URL of the archived version accessed via "View History."

Quantum mechanics. (2019, November 19). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Quantum_mechanics&oldid=948476810

MLA and Chicago: Follow the standard webpage format, but note that Wikipedia is generally not considered an acceptable academic source. Use Wikipedia to find primary sources, then cite those instead.

Pages That May Change

If a webpage is frequently updated and not archived, include a retrieval date to indicate when you accessed the version you cited.

APA: Add "Retrieved Month Day, Year, from" before the URL only when the content is designed to change and will not be archived.

MLA: Add "Accessed Day Month Year" at the end of the citation.

Chicago: Add "Accessed Month Day, Year" before or after the URL.

Common Mistakes When Citing Websites

1. Treating all online sources as websites

A journal article accessed through a database is not a website. A news article is not a website. A YouTube video is not a website. Use the format that matches what the source actually is. A generic webpage citation for a journal article omits the volume, issue, and DOI, making it nearly impossible for a reader to locate the original.

2. Using the URL from a database instead of the original source

Database URLs often expire or require institutional login. Find the permanent URL of the page itself, or use the DOI if available.

3. Omitting the author entirely

Many web pages have authors. Check the top and bottom of the page, the "About" section, or the article byline. Organizations count as authors. Missing an available author is a formatting error.

4. Using the copyright year instead of the publication date

The copyright year in the footer of a website is not the publication date of a specific page. Look for the date on the individual page you are citing. If none is available, use n.d.

5. Not collecting the date at the time of access

Web pages change. A student cited a government health page in February, submitted her paper in May, and found that the page had been updated and the figure she cited was no longer there. Collect the full URL and date the first time you access a page.

6. Citing a whole website instead of a specific page

APA explicitly states: do not create a reference for a whole website. Cite the specific page that contains the information you used. In text, you may mention the website by name without a formal citation if you are referring to the site generally rather than to specific content.

FAQ: Citing Websites

Do I need to include a retrieval date for websites? In most cases, no. APA only requires a retrieval date when the content is designed to change over time and will not be archived. MLA and Chicago treat access dates as optional but recommended for changeable content. For stable institutional pages with a clear publication date, no retrieval date is needed.

What do I do if a webpage has no author? In APA, start the reference with the title. In MLA, start the Works Cited entry with the title. In Chicago, start the footnote with the title. If an organization is clearly responsible for the page, use the organization as the author.

Can I cite a Wikipedia article? Wikipedia is generally not considered an acceptable academic source because it can be edited by anyone. However, Wikipedia articles can help you find primary sources, which you should then cite directly. If you must cite Wikipedia, use the archived version accessed through "View History" to ensure the version you cite remains accessible.

What if the webpage URL is very long? Include the full URL. In APA, if a URL breaks across lines, break it at a slash. Do not add hyphens. In MLA, you may omit the "https://" protocol. The goal is that your reader can locate the source.

How do I cite a social media post? Social media posts have their own citation formats. In APA, include the author's name, the date, the text of the post (up to 20 words), the platform name in brackets, and the URL. In MLA and Chicago, follow the standard webpage format adapted for the platform.

What if the website has no publication date at all? In APA, use (n.d.) in place of the year. In MLA, omit the date and add an access date at the end. In Chicago, use "n.d." or note when you accessed the page.

Should I use the DOI or URL for online sources? If a DOI exists, always prefer it over a URL. DOIs are permanent identifiers that do not change when a publisher moves content. URLs can break. For websites that do not have DOIs (most general webpages), use the URL.

Summary

Citing a website requires four elements in every style: author (or organization), date, page title, and URL. The most common problem is missing information: no named author, no date, or a URL that may change. When the author is missing, start with the title. When the date is missing, use n.d. When the URL may change, note when you accessed it. The formatting differs between APA, MLA, and Chicago mainly in how the title is presented (italics vs. quotation marks), where the date appears, and whether the URL includes the protocol. Always cite the specific page you used, not the website as a whole.

How to Cite a Website: APA, MLA and Chicago Format