How to cite a website (APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago, Harvard)
Web pages are annoying because the facts you need are often scattered across a masthead, footer, page title, and URL. Some pages have no date. Some use an organization as author and site name. The goal is to cite the page you used, not the whole internet address or a search result.
When to use this source type
Use this source type for ordinary web pages: an About page, help article, institutional page, online encyclopedia entry without a named article type, product documentation page, or public information page. NASA's About page, a university admissions page, and a government service page all belong here when they are not reports, articles, or datasets.
Do not use a generic website citation when the page is really a newspaper article, blog post, PDF report, video, dataset, or social post. Choose the more precise source type when the page has a recognisable format. When no author is visible, use the organization. When no date is visible, use n.d. or the style's no-date convention.
Quick reference table
The same source facts appear in each style, but they move around. Check the author role, date detail, title formatting, container, locator, and the one style-specific rule before you paste a citation into your reference list.
| Style | Author | Date | Title | Container | URL or locator | Style note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| APA 7 | Page author or organization. | Date, or n.d. when missing. | Page title in sentence case. | Site name omitted if same as author. | URL, no period after it. | Retrieval date for changing pages. |
| MLA 9 | Author if visible. | Date as day month year if available. | Page title in quotation marks. | Website title italicized. | URL and access date. | Use the page, not the homepage. |
| Chicago | Author or organization. | Year after author when available. | Page title in quotation marks. | Website or owner as container. | Access date and URL. | Notes may be enough for minor pages. |
| Harvard | Author or organization. | Year in parentheses, or n.d. | Page title in italics or plain by variant. | Website name if different. | Available at URL. | Accessed date required for web pages. |
APA 7 walkthrough
APA 7 starts with the same basic question: who is responsible for this website? For a website, use the person, group, or organization responsible for the page. The date element uses the published or updated date, or n.d. if the page has no date. The title element uses sentence case for the page title. The source element is the site name unless the site name is identical to the author. Finally, the locator element is the direct URL, with a retrieval date only when the content changes over time. Work through those fields in order and the punctuation becomes much easier to control.
If the author and site are both NASA, APA avoids repeating NASA twice. For pages designed to change, such as live statistics, add a retrieval date. In text, use (NASA, 2024). If you quote directly, add the page, paragraph, timestamp, or legal pin cite required by the style. If your source is online, prefer a stable URL or DOI over a search-result link, and remove tracking parameters before you submit the reference.
NASA (2024, March 12). About NASA. *NASA*. https://www.nasa.gov/about/
MLA 9 walkthrough
MLA 9 starts with the same basic question: who is responsible for this website? For a website, uses the byline when one exists and the organization when no person is named. The date element uses the page date in day month year order. The title element puts the page title in quotation marks. The source element italicizes the website title as the container. Finally, the locator element uses the URL and often an access date. Work through those fields in order and the punctuation becomes much easier to control.
MLA works well for web pages because the container pattern separates the page title from the site title. Keep the URL clean and remove tracking codes. In text, use (NASA). If you quote directly, add the page, paragraph, timestamp, or legal pin cite required by the style. If your source is online, prefer a stable URL or DOI over a search-result link, and remove tracking parameters before you submit the reference.
NASA "About NASA." *NASA*, 12 Mar. 2024, www.nasa.gov/about/. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.
Chicago walkthrough
Chicago starts with the same basic question: who is responsible for this website? For a website, can be a person, organization, or site owner. The date element uses the page date when available and may use an access date when not. The title element puts the page title in quotation marks. The source element names the website or publishing organization. Finally, the locator element adds access date and URL for web material. Work through those fields in order and the punctuation becomes much easier to control.
Chicago allows many web pages to be cited in notes only, especially when they are not central sources. Use a reference entry when the page carries evidence in your argument. In text, use (NASA 2024). If you quote directly, add the page, paragraph, timestamp, or legal pin cite required by the style. If your source is online, prefer a stable URL or DOI over a search-result link, and remove tracking parameters before you submit the reference.
NASA. 2024. "About NASA." NASA. accessed January 15, 2025. https://www.nasa.gov/about/.
Harvard walkthrough
Harvard starts with the same basic question: who is responsible for this website? For a website, uses the organization when no individual author appears. The date element places the year after the author and uses n.d. when no date exists. The title element gives the page title before online access details. The source element may include the site name when it differs from the author. Finally, the locator element uses Available at plus the URL and Accessed date. Work through those fields in order and the punctuation becomes much easier to control.
Harvard web citations are sensitive to access dates. Keep the date you last checked the page, especially for institutional pages that may be edited silently. In text, use (NASA, 2024). If you quote directly, add the page, paragraph, timestamp, or legal pin cite required by the style. If your source is online, prefer a stable URL or DOI over a search-result link, and remove tracking parameters before you submit the reference.
NASA (2024) About NASA. [Online] NASA. Available at: https://www.nasa.gov/about/ (accessed January 15, 2025).
Common mistakes for this source type
Most errors come from forcing a website into the wrong template. Before submitting, check these details against the source itself, not against a database preview or a copied citation.
- Citing the homepage instead of the exact page used.
- Using the copyright year from the footer as the page date without checking for a page date.
- Repeating the same organization as author and site name in APA.
- Leaving tracking parameters in the URL.
- Using a website template for a PDF report, video, dataset, or article.