How to Cite a Website in APA, MLA, Chicago and Harvard

To cite a website, you need the author, the date, the page title, the site name and the URL, arranged in the order your citation style requires. The details are the same across styles; only the punctuation and order change.

This guide lists what to collect, shows formats for APA 7th, MLA 9th, Chicago 18th, Harvard and Vancouver, and explains how to handle missing authors and dates, news articles, social media and pages that change.

What to Collect from the Page

For academic work, ask whether a web page is the best source. If it reports a study, cite the original study instead.

Website Formats by Style

APA 7th

When the author and site name are the same, omit the site name. Italicize the page title.

MLA 9th

MLA recommends an access date when a page has no publication date: "Accessed 3 May 2024." at the end.

Chicago 18th (Notes and Bibliography)

Website names are usually set in roman type in Chicago unless the site is a publication such as a newspaper or magazine. Add an access date only when no date is shown.

Harvard

Harvard has no single official version. This follows a widely taught format; your university's guide may differ in punctuation.

Vancouver

All URLs above are illustrative placeholders.

No Author

Many pages have no named person. First check for an organizational author; the organization that publishes the page usually counts.

No Date

Look carefully for a date first, including "last updated" lines and copyright notices for the specific page, not the whole site.

• APA 7th: use "n.d." and add a retrieval date for content designed to change: Retrieved May 3, 2024, from URL.
• MLA 9th: omit the date and add an access date.
• Chicago: add an access date.
• Harvard: use "no date" or "n.d.", as your university's guide specifies, plus the access date.

News Articles and Social Media

Online newspaper articles are cited like periodical articles, with the newspaper name in italics. In APA 7th: Author, A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Newspaper Name. URL

For social media in APA 7th, use the author's name and handle, the date, up to the first 20 words of the post in italics, a description in square brackets and the platform.

Pages That Change or Disappear

Web content moves. If a page is likely to change, note your access date and consider saving a copy through an archive service.

If you cite an archived version, cite the archive URL and its capture date, so readers can see exactly what you saw.

Common Website Citation Errors

• Citing the homepage instead of the specific page.
• Using the browser tab text as the title.
• Treating a copyright year for the whole site as the page's date.
• Citing a summary page instead of the study it reports.
• Leaving out access dates where the style requires them.

How IvyDrafts Helps with Website Citations

Send your paper and style guide. An editor formats every website citation, checks that links resolve, adds missing dates where the page shows them and flags web sources that a peer-reviewed alternative would serve better.

Your identity is never shared with the editor, the price is shown before you pay, and free revisions within the scope of your original request are included.