How to Cite Websites & Online Sources

Why Citing Websites Is Tricky

Websites are among the most cited sources in student papers — and also the most frequently cited incorrectly. Several features of the web make them harder to cite than books or journal articles:

• No stable author. Many web pages don't list an individual author — the content is published by an organisation, a brand, or an anonymous team.
• No reliable date. Publication dates are often absent, and "last updated" dates can be misleading. Content may be undated or updated without notice.
• No page numbers. Websites don't have page numbers, which creates challenges for in-text citation in styles that rely on them (MLA).
• Link rot. URLs change. A citation written today may return a 404 error in three months. That's why some styles require access/retrieval dates for online sources.
• Credibility concerns. Not every website is a credible academic source. Knowing when to cite a website and when to find a better source is part of the skill.

This guide walks through how to handle all of these challenges, style by style, source type by source type.

Core Elements Needed to Cite a Website

Before looking up the specific format for your citation style, gather these key pieces of information from the web page:

1. Author(s): Individual name(s) or the name of the organisation responsible for the content.
2. Publication date: The date the page was published or last updated. If absent, note it (in APA: "n.d." for no date).
3. Title of the page: The specific title of the article or page, not the website name.
4. Name of the website: The parent site (e.g., The Guardian, CDC, Wikipedia).
5. URL: The direct link to the page. Aim for stable or permanent links where possible.
6. Access date: Some styles (Chicago, Harvard, MLA 9 optionally) require the date you retrieved the page, especially if the content is time-sensitive or likely to change.

Citing Websites in APA 7

APA 7 website format: Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of webpage. Site Name. URL

Key rules for APA 7 web citations:

• If there is no individual author, use the organisation name as author.
• If there is no date, use (n.d.) in place of the year.
• Include a retrieval date only if the content is likely to change over time (e.g., a wiki page, a living document). For most stable web pages, no retrieval date is needed in APA 7.
• Italicise the page title; do not italicise the website name.

Website with Named Author

Website with Organisation as Author

No Author Listed

When there is no author, the title moves to the author position. Italicise the title as you would an article title.

No Date

Changing Content (Retrieval Date Required)

Citing Websites in MLA 9

MLA 9 uses the "container" system. For a website, the page title is your work title and the website name is your container. Format:

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

Key MLA 9 rules:

• Use day-month-year format (15 Mar. 2024).
• An access date is recommended when the page lacks a publication date, or when the content changes frequently.
• URLs go at the end, without angle brackets in many instructor guidelines (though the MLA Handbook allows them).
• If no author, begin with the page title.

Website with Author (MLA 9)

No Author (MLA 9)

Citing Websites in Chicago

Chicago 17 always requires an access date for online sources. Footnote/endnote format:

First Last, "Title of Page," Site Name, Month Day, Year, accessed Month Day, Year, URL.

Footnote Example

Bibliography Entry

Citing Websites in Harvard

Harvard format: Author/Organisation (Year) 'Title of webpage', Website Name. Available at: URL (Accessed: Day Month Year).

Website with Author (Harvard)

Organisation as Author (Harvard)

Citing News Articles Online

Online news articles (The Guardian, BBC, New York Times, Reuters) are treated differently from general websites because they are periodical publications with editorial standards.

Online News Article — APA 7

Online News Article — MLA 9

Online News Article — No Byline

If there's no author listed, treat the newspaper name as the author group (APA) or begin with the article title (MLA/Chicago).

Citing Social Media Posts

Social media is increasingly cited in research — particularly in communication studies, political science, public health, and journalism. Each style handles it slightly differently.

Twitter / X Post — APA 7

Use the account holder's real name as author, then their handle in brackets. Include the first 20 words of the tweet as the title.

Twitter / X Post — MLA 9

Instagram Post — APA 7

Facebook Post — APA 7

Citing YouTube Videos

YouTube is widely used as a source for lectures, documentaries, official statements, and educational content. Use the channel name (or real name if known) as the author.

YouTube Video — APA 7

YouTube Video — MLA 9

Citing Government and Organisation Websites

Government and institutional websites (CDC, WHO, NHS, World Bank, UNDP, national statistics offices) are frequently cited in health, policy, and social science papers.

When the organisation both publishes and authors the content, it appears only in the author position in APA 7 — it is not repeated as the site name. In MLA and Chicago, it typically appears in both the author and container positions if that's truly how the source is structured.

Government Report Online — APA 7

Government Web Page — APA 7 (publisher = author)

Citing Database Records and Library Resources

When you access an article or report through a library database (JSTOR, ProQuest, EBSCOhost, PsycINFO, Web of Science), your citation format depends on whether the source has a DOI.

• Has a DOI: Always use the DOI — do not use the database URL. The DOI is stable; the database URL is not.
• No DOI, freely available online: Use the direct URL to the article.
• No DOI, database only: In APA 7, include no URL at all — just the bibliographic information. The reader will find it through their library.
• JSTOR: Use the JSTOR stable URL (e.g., https://www.jstor.org/stable/123456) only if the content lacks a DOI.

Websites to Avoid as Sources — and What to Use Instead

Not all websites qualify as credible academic sources. Here's a quick reference:

That said, websites are appropriate primary sources in many contexts — when you're studying internet culture, analysing media representations, documenting institutional positions, or citing official data releases. The key is evaluating credibility using CRAAP criteria: Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose.

Generate Website Citations Instantly with Bibloq

Bibloq can generate formatted citations for websites, news articles, social media posts, YouTube videos, and government pages in all major citation styles. Paste the URL, review the auto-filled fields, select your format, and copy. It takes under ten seconds.