Learning how to cite a website is one of the most common citation tasks in academic writing, because so many sources now live online. This guide shows you exactly how to cite a website in APA 7th edition, MLA 9th edition, and Chicago style, with correct, ready-to-copy examples and the in-text form for each.
What counts as a “website” source
A “website” usually means a standalone web page or article on an organization or personal site, not a journal article, an online book, or a social media post. Those source types have their own rules. If your source is really a news article, a PDF report, or a video, use the matching guide instead, for example how to cite a newspaper article, how to cite a PDF, or how to cite a YouTube video.
Before you build any citation, gather these four elements when they exist:
- Author: a person or an organization (the “group author”).
- Date: the publication or last-updated date.
- Title: the title of the specific page.
- Source and URL: the name of the website and the full web address.
Some pages are missing an author or a date. That is normal, and each style has a rule for what to do, covered below.
How to cite a website in APA (7th edition)
APA reference order is: Author. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. Site Name. URL. The page title is in italics and uses sentence case (capitalize only the first word and proper nouns). The in-text citation uses author and year.
Smith, J. (2023, March 14). Understanding tidal patterns along the coast. Coastal Science Hub. https://www.example.com/tidal-patterns
In-text: (Smith, 2023).
Group author and no individual author
When the site or organization is the author, list it in the author position. If that organization is also the site name, you do not repeat it as the source.
World Health Organization. (2022, June 1). Healthy diet basics. https://www.example.org/healthy-diet
In-text: (World Health Organization, 2022).
No date
If no date is shown anywhere on the page, use “n.d.” (no date) in both the reference and the in-text citation.
Garcia, M. (n.d.). A beginner’s guide to composting. Green Living Network. https://www.example.com/composting-guide
In-text: (Garcia, n.d.).
For more on APA mechanics, see our APA format guide, or paste the page URL into the APA website citation generator.
How to cite a website in MLA (9th edition)
MLA uses the “core elements” template. For a web page the order is: Author. “Title of Page.” Title of Website, Day Month Year, URL. The page title goes in quotation marks and the website name is in italics, both in title case. MLA omits “https://” but keeps the rest of the URL. The in-text citation uses the author’s last name only (no date, no page number for a typical web page).
Smith, Jordan. “Understanding Tidal Patterns along the Coast.” Coastal Science Hub, 14 Mar. 2023, www.example.com/tidal-patterns.
In-text: (Smith).
Organization as author
If a work is published by an organization and no individual author is named, begin with the title and treat the organization as the publisher. If the author and the website name are the same organization, start with the title.
“Healthy Diet Basics.” World Health Organization, 1 June 2022, www.example.org/healthy-diet.
In-text: (“Healthy Diet Basics”).
No date
MLA does not use “n.d.” If there is no publication date, you may add an optional “Accessed” date at the end so readers know which version you saw.
Garcia, Maria. “A Beginner’s Guide to Composting.” Green Living Network, www.example.com/composting-guide. Accessed 7 June 2026.
In-text: (Garcia).
For the full template, see our MLA format guide or the MLA citation generator.
How to cite a website in Chicago style
Chicago (17th/18th edition) has two systems. Notes and Bibliography (common in history and the humanities) uses footnotes plus a bibliography. Author-Date (common in the sciences) uses parenthetical citations plus a reference list. Pick the one your instructor or field requires.
Notes and Bibliography
The page title is in quotation marks and the website name is set in roman type. Include the publication or revision date if available, otherwise an access date. The footnote and the bibliography entry differ in author-name order and punctuation.
Bibliography: Smith, Jordan. “Understanding Tidal Patterns Along the Coast.” Coastal Science Hub. March 14, 2023. https://www.example.com/tidal-patterns.
First note: 1. Jordan Smith, “Understanding Tidal Patterns Along the Coast,” Coastal Science Hub, March 14, 2023, https://www.example.com/tidal-patterns.
Author-Date
In the Author-Date system the year moves directly after the author, and the in-text citation is parenthetical with author and year.
Reference list: Smith, Jordan. 2023. “Understanding Tidal Patterns Along the Coast.” Coastal Science Hub. March 14, 2023. https://www.example.com/tidal-patterns.
In-text: (Smith 2023).
When no date appears, use “n.d.” in place of the year and rely on an access date. See the Chicago style guide for full rules, and note that Turabian is the student-focused version of Chicago, covered by the Turabian citation generator. You can also format entries with the Chicago citation generator.
Side-by-side: the same page in all three styles
The differences are small but they matter for accuracy. Notice the title formatting (italics in APA, quotation marks in MLA and Chicago), the date placement, and the in-text form.
- APA: italic title, sentence case, in-text (Author, Year).
- MLA: title in quotation marks, italic site name, in-text (Author) with no date.
- Chicago N-B: footnote number plus full note, separate bibliography entry.
- Chicago Author-Date: in-text (Author Year), year after the author in the reference list.
How to cite a whole website (not one page)
If you mention an entire site rather than a single page, APA and MLA usually do not require a formal reference. In APA, name the site in your sentence and give the URL in parentheses, with no reference-list entry. In MLA, cite the homepage as a regular web page using the site name as the title. When in doubt, cite the specific page you actually used.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Mixing styles. Do not put an APA date format inside an MLA entry. Keep one style throughout your paper.
- Skipping the retrieval rule. In APA you only add a “Retrieved [date] from” note for pages designed to change, such as a live dictionary entry, not for ordinary articles.
- Wrong capitalization. APA uses sentence case for titles; MLA and Chicago use title case.
- Bare URLs only. A URL alone is not a citation. Always include author, title, and date when they exist.
- Copying without quotation marks. Citing a source does not cancel the need for quotation marks around exact wording. See how to avoid plagiarism.
If your page has two or more authors, the joining rules differ by style, so check how to cite multiple authors. For the difference between in-text styles, read about parenthetical vs narrative citations.
Frequently asked questions
How do I cite a website with no author?
Move the title into the author position. In APA, the entry begins with the page title and the in-text citation uses a shortened title plus the year. Because a standalone web page title is italicized in the reference, italicize it in text too, for example (Composting Guide, 2023). In MLA, begin with the title in quotation marks and cite a shortened title in text. In Chicago, begin the entry with the title as well.
Do I need an access date for a website?
It depends on the style. APA includes a retrieval date only for pages whose content is designed to change over time and that are not archived. MLA recommends an access date when the page has no publication date. Chicago suggests an access date when no publication or revision date is available.
Should the website name be in italics?
The website name is italicized in MLA. In APA the site name (source) is in plain text while the page title is italicized. In Chicago the website name is usually set in plain roman type. Always match the style your paper uses.
How do I cite ChatGPT or another AI tool used from a website?
AI tools are not cited as ordinary web pages. APA treats the AI as the author and software, and MLA cites the prompt and tool, both with specific formats. Follow the dedicated guidance in how to cite ChatGPT rather than the web-page template above.