Bibliography

How to cite a website

Templates and examples for citing a web page in every major style, plus what to do when there’s no author or no date. Paste the URL below to cite it automatically.

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Source details
Source type
Authors (or an organisation)
Publication date (leave blank if none)

Reference list entry · APA 7th edition

Your citation appears here as you type, set exactly as it will look in your paper.

In-text citation

Fill in the author and date to see the in-text version.

Website citation templates

APA 7

Author. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. Site Name. URL

MLA 9

Author. “Title of Page.” Site Name, Day Month Year, URL.

Chicago

Author. “Title of Page.” Site Name. Month Day, Year. URL.

Harvard

Author (Year) Title of page. Available at: URL (Accessed: Day Month Year).

In APA, leave the site name out when it’s the same as the author (as with the WHO example below). In MLA, the website is the “container”, so it goes in italics.

Example: a page by an organisation

APA 7th edition

World Health Organization. (2023, October 12). Climate change and health. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health

In-text: (World Health Organization, 2023) or World Health Organization (2023)

MLA 9th edition

World Health Organization. “Climate Change and Health.” World Health Organization, 12 Oct. 2023, www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health.

In-text: (World Health Organization) or World Health Organization

Chicago notes & bibliography

World Health Organization. “Climate Change and Health.” World Health Organization, October 12, 2023. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health.

Footnote: World Health Organization, “Climate Change and Health,” World Health Organization, October 12, 2023, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health.

Harvard (Cite Them Right)

World Health Organization (2023) Climate change and health. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health (Accessed: 14 September 2026).

In-text: (World Health Organization, 2023) or World Health Organization (2023)

Example: an article with a named author

APA 7th edition

Cherry, K. (2025, March 4). What is the zeigarnik effect? Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/zeigarnik-effect-memory-overview-4175150

In-text: (Cherry, 2025) or Cherry (2025)

MLA 9th edition

Cherry, Kendra. “What Is the Zeigarnik Effect?” Verywell Mind, 4 Mar. 2025, www.verywellmind.com/zeigarnik-effect-memory-overview-4175150.

In-text: (Cherry) or Cherry

Chicago notes & bibliography

Cherry, Kendra. “What Is the Zeigarnik Effect?” Verywell Mind, March 4, 2025. https://www.verywellmind.com/zeigarnik-effect-memory-overview-4175150.

Footnote: Kendra Cherry, “What Is the Zeigarnik Effect?” Verywell Mind, March 4, 2025, https://www.verywellmind.com/zeigarnik-effect-memory-overview-4175150.

Harvard (Cite Them Right)

Cherry, K. (2025) What is the zeigarnik effect?. Available at: https://www.verywellmind.com/zeigarnik-effect-memory-overview-4175150 (Accessed: 14 September 2026).

In-text: (Cherry, 2025) or Cherry (2025)

No author? No date?

  • No named person: check whether an organisation is responsible (a government agency, charity or company). If so, it’s the author.
  • Truly no author: start the citation with the page title. In-text, use a short version of the title: APA (How to Recycle Plastic Film, n.d.); MLA (“How to Recycle”).
  • No date: APA writes (n.d.); Harvard writes (no date); MLA leaves the date out and adds “Accessed Day Month Year.”; Chicago uses the access date.
  • Don’t use a copyright date in the footer (© 2026) as the publication date unless it’s clearly when the page itself was published.
APA 7th edition

How to recycle plastic film. (n.d.). Recycle Now. https://www.recyclenow.com/how-to-recycle/plastic-film

In-text: (How to recycle plastic, n.d.) or How to recycle plastic (n.d.)

MLA 9th edition

“How to Recycle Plastic Film.” Recycle Now, www.recyclenow.com/how-to-recycle/plastic-film. Accessed 14 Sept. 2026.

In-text: (“How to Recycle Plastic”) or “How to Recycle Plastic”

Chicago notes & bibliography

“How to Recycle Plastic Film.” Recycle Now. Accessed September 14, 2026. https://www.recyclenow.com/how-to-recycle/plastic-film.

Footnote: “How to Recycle Plastic Film,” Recycle Now, accessed September 14, 2026, https://www.recyclenow.com/how-to-recycle/plastic-film.

Harvard (Cite Them Right)

How to recycle plastic film (no date). Available at: https://www.recyclenow.com/how-to-recycle/plastic-film (Accessed: 14 September 2026).

In-text: (How to recycle plastic, no date) or How to recycle plastic (no date)

Is it really a “website”?

Cite what the page is: an online newspaper article is a news article, a PDF report is a report, an article on a journal site is a journal article, and a YouTube page is a video. CiteForge’s smart detection guesses from the link, and you can change the type with one tap.

Questions students ask

Do I need the URL in an MLA website citation?

Yes. MLA 9 recommends including the URL (without https://) for web sources, because it’s the location element. Your instructor may tell you to leave it out.

Should I include an access date in APA?

Only for pages designed to change and not archived, such as a live dashboard or a social media profile: “Retrieved October 1, 2026, from URL”. Normal pages don’t need one.

How do I cite a whole website instead of one page?

In APA, you don’t need a reference: mention the site in your text with its URL in brackets, e.g. the Purdue OWL (https://owl.purdue.edu). For MLA, cite the site’s title in italics as the source.