This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about citing websites. We’ll break down the most common citation styles—MLA, APA, and Chicago—and provide clear, step-by-step instructions for each. Whether you’re a student working on a research paper or a content creator building a trustworthy blog, mastering website citation is a crucial skill for navigating the digital landscape responsibly.

Key Takeaways

  • Why Cite? Citing websites is crucial for avoiding plagiarism, giving credit to authors, boosting your own credibility, and helping readers locate your sources.
  • Core Information: To cite any website, you typically need the author’s name, the title of the page, the title of the website, the publication or last updated date, the URL, and the date you accessed the content.
  • Know Your Style: The three most common citation styles are MLA (for humanities), APA (for social sciences), and Chicago (for history and other fields). Each has unique rules for formatting.
  • Handle Missing Information: If you can’t find an author, start the citation with the page title. If there’s no date, use “n.d.” (no date) in its place.
  • Use Tools Wisely: Citation generators like Zotero or MyBib can be helpful, but you must always double-check their output for accuracy against the official style guide rules.
  • Consistency is Key: Whichever style you use, apply its rules consistently throughout your entire document for both in-text citations and the final reference list or works cited page.

Why Proper Website Citation is Non-Negotiable

Some people think that because information is publicly available online, it’s a free-for-all. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Citing your sources is just as important for online material as it is for books, journals, and other traditional media.

Here’s why it matters so much:

  1. It Helps You Avoid Plagiarism: This is the big one. Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s work or ideas as your own, whether you do it intentionally or not. It can have serious consequences, from a failing grade to professional disgrace. Proper citation is your primary defense against it.
  2. It Gives Credit to the Original Creator: People work hard to create the content you find online. Citing their work is a way of acknowledging their effort, expertise, and contribution to the conversation. It’s a matter of professional respect.
  3. It Boosts Your Credibility: When you back up your claims with evidence and cite your sources, you show your audience that you’ve done your research. It demonstrates that your work is well-supported and trustworthy, making your own arguments more persuasive.
  4. It Provides a Trail for Your Readers: Citations act as a roadmap, allowing your readers to find your sources for themselves. This enables them to dig deeper into the topic, verify your information, and assess your interpretation of the source material.

The Anatomy of a Website Citation: What to Look For

Before you can format your citation, you need to gather the right building blocks. When you land on a web page you intend to use as a source, take a moment to hunt for the following key pieces of information. On a well-designed website, this information is often easy to find. Modern web-building platforms, including page builders like Elementor, empower creators to design clear headers and footers where details like publication dates and author names are logically placed, enhancing the user’s experience and making the content easier to cite.

Here are the core components you’ll need:

  • Author: This can be an individual (John Doe) or a group/organization (The World Health Organization). Look at the top or bottom of the article.
  • Title of the Page or Article: This is the specific piece of content you are citing (e.g., “The Ultimate Guide to SEO in 2025”).
  • Title of the Website: This is the name of the overall site (e.g., Search Engine Journal).
  • Publication Date: Look for the date the article was published or last updated. It’s often near the title or at the very end of the article. If you can’t find one, you’ll have to note that.
  • URL: This is the web address. Copy it directly from your browser’s address bar.
  • Date of Access: Because web content can change or disappear, it’s important to note the date you accessed the information. This is especially critical in MLA style.

The Big Three: MLA, APA, and Chicago Styles Explained

There isn’t one single way to cite a website. The format depends on the citation style you’re required to use. Different academic and professional fields prefer different styles. Let’s quickly go over the most common ones.

  • MLA (Modern Language Association): Primarily used in the humanities, such as literature, arts, and philosophy. MLA focuses on the author and is known for its straightforward, two-part system: a brief in-text citation that points to a full citation on a “Works Cited” page.
  • APA (American Psychological Association): The standard for social sciences, including psychology, education, and communications. APA style emphasizes the date of publication, as timeliness is often crucial in these fields. Citations are listed on a “References” page.
  • Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS): Used widely in history, business, and the fine arts. It’s very flexible, offering two systems: (1) Notes and Bibliography, which uses footnotes or endnotes, and (2) Author-Date, which is similar to APA.

Now, let’s dive into the specifics of how to cite a website in each of these styles.

How to Cite a Website in MLA 9th Edition

MLA format is one of the most common styles students and writers encounter. It follows a template of “core elements” arranged in a specific order.

MLA Works Cited Page Format:

Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of the Page.” Title of the Website, Publisher (if different from website title), Publication Date, URL. Accessed Day Month Year.

Example: Article with an Author

Walker, Tim. “How Google’s Latest Algorithm Update Affects Your Site.” Ahrefs Blog, Ahrefs, 15 July 2025, blog.ahrefs.com/google-algorithm-update/. Accessed 22 Aug. 2025.

Example: Article with No Author

When there’s no author, begin the citation with the title of the page.

“How to Build a Website in 10 Steps.” Elementor, 5 Mar. 2025, vvdryvat.top/blog/how-to-build-a-website/. Accessed 22 Aug. 2025.

MLA In-Text Citation:

For your in-text citation, you’ll use the author’s last name or, if there is no author, a shortened version of the page title in parentheses.

(Walker)

(“How to Build”)

How to Cite a Website in APA 7th Edition

APA style is focused on the date, so you’ll see it placed more prominently in the citation. APA does not require an access date.

APA References Page Format:

Author’s Last Name, F. M. (Year, Month Day). Title of the page in sentence case. Website Name. URL

Example: Article with an Individual Author

Dean, B. (2025, May 21). The definitive guide to keyword research. Backlinko. https://backlinko.com/keyword-research

Example: Article with a Group Author

When a group or organization is the author, use its full name.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025, August 1). About COVID-19. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/about-covid-19.html

APA In-Text Citation:

The in-text citation includes the author’s last name and the year of publication. For a group author, use the group’s name.

(Dean, 2025)

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2025)

How to Cite a Website in Chicago 17th Edition

Chicago offers two systems. We’ll cover both.

1. Notes and Bibliography System

This system uses footnotes or endnotes for in-text citations and a bibliography at the end of the document.

Bibliography Format:

Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Page.” Title of Website. Last modified or published Month Day, Year. URL.

Gladwell, Malcolm. “The Satire Paradox.” Gladwell.com. October 1, 2015. http://gladwell.com/the-satire-paradox/.

Full Footnote Format:

The first time you cite a source, the footnote contains the full citation details.

  1. Malcolm Gladwell, “The Satire Paradox,” Gladwell.com, October 1, 2015, http://gladwell.com/the-satire-paradox/.

Shortened Footnote Format:

For subsequent citations of the same source, you can use a shortened format.

  1. Gladwell, “Satire Paradox.”

2. Author-Date System

This system uses parenthetical in-text citations and a “Reference List” at the end.

Reference List Format:

Author’s Last Name, First Name. Year. “Title of Page.” Title of Website. Month Day, Year. URL.

Gladwell, Malcolm. 2015. “The Satire Paradox.” Gladwell.com. October 1, 2015. http://gladwell.com/the-satire-paradox/.

Author-Date In-Text Citation:

(Gladwell 2015)

Tackling Common Citation Challenges

The real world of websites is messy. You won’t always find every piece of information neatly laid out for you. Here’s how to handle common problems:

  • No Author? As shown in the examples, simply omit the author and start the citation with the title of the page or article. In your in-text citation, use a shortened version of the title.
  • No Date? If you absolutely cannot find a publication or update date, use the abbreviation “n.d.” (for “no date”) in place of the date.
  • Citing a Whole Website? If you need to cite an entire website (not a specific page), you generally just need the site name, the publisher (if different), and the URL. For example, in MLA, you might simply mention the site in your text (e.g., “Elementor’s website is a great resource for web creators…”) and then include a simple entry in your Works Cited: Elementor, vvdryvat.top.
  • Citing Social Media or Wikis: These are considered dynamic sources. For a tweet, a Facebook post, or a wiki, be sure to include the date and time of the post if available, and always include your access date, as the content can change rapidly. Style guides have specific formats for these source types.

Final Thoughts: Accuracy and Consistency Are Everything

Learning how to cite a website correctly is a skill that serves you in any field. It shows you’re a careful researcher and a responsible member of the digital community. While the rules may seem complex at first, they become second nature with practice.

Remember that the ultimate goal is clarity and consistency. Choose the correct style for your context and apply its rules uniformly. When in doubt, consult the official style guide or a trusted resource like the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL). By doing so, you’ll produce work that is not only well-argued but also ethically sound and professionally polished.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Do I need to cite every single website I visit during my research? No, you only need to cite the websites from which you directly use information, ideas, quotes, or data in your own work. General background reading doesn’t typically require citation.

2. What’s the difference between a URL and a DOI? A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the web address of a specific page and can change or become inactive. A DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is a permanent, unique string assigned to an online article or document, usually from an academic journal. If a source has a DOI, you should always use it instead of a URL.

3. How do I cite a YouTube video? You would cite it much like a web page, but the “author” is the person or channel that uploaded the video. You’ll include the video title, the site name (YouTube), the uploader, the date it was posted, and the URL.

4. Is it okay to use an online citation generator? Yes, tools like Zotero, MyBib, or EasyBib can be a great starting point and help you organize your sources. However, they are not foolproof and often make mistakes. You must always double-check the generated citations against the official style guide to ensure they are accurate.

5. What does “n.d.” mean in a citation? “N.d.” stands for “no date.” You use this abbreviation in the date element of a citation when you cannot find a publication or last updated date for the source.

6. What should I do if a URL is extremely long and complicated? Most modern style guides, including APA and MLA, recommend using the full, stable URL. Do not shorten it with a service like bit.ly. If the URL is very long and you are working on a print document, check if your style guide allows you to break it after a slash.

7. Do I need to include “https://” in the URL? Yes. Both APA 7 and MLA 9 recommend including the full URL, starting with http:// or https://. Chicago style is a bit more flexible and often omits it, but for consistency and to ensure the link works, it’s best practice to include it.

8. What if the website content I cited changes or is taken down? This is precisely why the “access date” is important, especially in MLA style. It serves as a timestamp for the version of the content you saw. If the content is removed, your citation proves that it existed when you accessed it. It’s also good practice to save a PDF or a screenshot of the page for your personal records.

9. How do I cite a blog post? You cite a blog post just like a standard web page or online article. The author is the writer of the post, the “Title of the Page” is the title of the blog post, and the “Title of the Website” is the name of the blog itself.

10. Why is the access date so important for website citations? The access date is a record of the date you personally viewed the source. Because online content can be edited, updated, or removed without notice, the access date tells your reader which version of the page you consulted. It is a required element in MLA style but is no longer used in APA 7 unless the source is unarchived.