How to Cite a Website in APA, MLA, and Chicago Format
To cite a website, you need the author name, page title, site name, URL, and the date you accessed it. The exact format depends on which style guide your institution uses because APA, MLA, and Chicago arrange these elements differently. Before you open a style guide, collect everything first. Tracking down a missing author or publication date after the fact takes longer than pulling the information in one pass. Use the OnSumo citation generator to skip the formatting step entirely. Paste the URL and it fills in author, title, date, and publisher from the page metadata.
What information do you need before you can cite a website?
Every citation style requires the same core pieces of information, even if the order and punctuation differ. - Author. The person or organization responsible for the content. Look for a byline near the article title or an "About" section. If no individual is credited, the organization name serves as the author. - Publication or last-updated date. Check the byline area, the footer, or the page metadata. If there is no visible date, note that fact because it changes how you format the entry. - Page title. The specific article or page title, not the website's name. - Website name. The broader site or publisher (e.g., The Atlantic, Mayo Clinic, CDC). - URL. The full, stable URL, preferably a permalink rather than a session-specific address. - Access date. APA and Chicago sometimes require the date you visited the page, especially when the content may change. Gather all six before you start formatting. Missing one piece means going back to the source, which adds friction when you are working through a long reference list.
How do you cite a website in APA format? (7th edition)
To cite a website in APA 7th edition, list the author's last name and first initial, the publication year in parentheses, the page title in sentence case, the website name in italics, and the full URL. Format: Last, F. M. (Year, Month Day). Page title in sentence case. Website Name. https://www.example.com/page Example: Martinez, J. (2023, November 14). How sleep deprivation affects memory consolidation. Sleep Foundation. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-memory A few details that trip people up: - The page title uses sentence case (only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized). - The website name is italicized. - No period follows the URL. - APA 7th edition does not require a "Retrieved from" phrase before the URL unless the content is likely to change (like a wiki page). Source: American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). APA.
How do you cite a website in MLA format? (9th edition)
To cite a website in MLA 9th edition, list the author, the page title in quotation marks, the website name in italics, the publication date, and the URL. Format: Last, First. "Page Title." Website Name, Day Month Year, URL. Example: Chen, Wei. "The History of the Dewey Decimal System." Library of Congress, 5 Mar. 2022, www.loc.gov/dewey-history. Key MLA rules for websites: - The page title goes in quotation marks; the website name is italicized. - The date format is Day Month Year (abbreviated month is fine for months longer than four letters: Jan., Feb., Mar., etc.). - MLA includes the URL without "https://" unless the instructor requires the full form. - If you accessed a page that changes frequently, add your access date: "Accessed 10 July 2026." Source: Modern Language Association. (2021). MLA handbook (9th ed.). MLA.
How do you cite a website in Chicago format? (17th edition)
To cite a website in Chicago 17th edition, use the author, page title, website name, date, and URL, then arrange those elements based on whether your class uses notes-bibliography or author-date style. Notes-bibliography (footnote/endnote): First Last, "Page Title," Website Name, Month Day, Year, URL. Bibliography entry: Last, First. "Page Title." Website Name. Month Day, Year. URL. Author-date (in-text): (Last Year) Reference list entry: Last, First. Year. "Page Title." Website Name. Month Day. URL. Example (notes-bibliography): Sarah Kim, "Understanding Vaccine Trial Phases," Johns Hopkins Medicine, March 12, 2023, https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/vaccine-phases. Chicago also recommends adding an access date in parentheses after the URL when a page lacks a publication date or when the content is subject to frequent revision. Source: University of Chicago Press. (2017). The Chicago manual of style (17th ed.). University of Chicago Press.
What do you do when a website has no author listed?
When a website has no author, start with the title in MLA and Chicago, and move the title into the author position in APA. APA (no author): Page title in sentence case. (Year, Month Day). Website Name. https://www.example.com/page MLA (no author): Omit the author field entirely and start the entry with the page title in quotation marks. "Page Title." Website Name, Day Month Year, URL. Chicago (no author): Start the entry with the page title. "Page Title." Website Name. Month Day, Year. URL. One shortcut: the citation generator detects whether an author is present from the page metadata and applies the correct no-author format automatically.
How do you cite a website with no date?
When a website has no date, use "n.d." in APA and add an access date when MLA or Chicago needs one. - APA: Replace the year with "n.d." (no date): Author, A. (n.d.). - MLA: Omit the date field and add an access date: Accessed 14 July 2026. - Chicago: Note that no date is available. Add an access date after the URL: Accessed July 14, 2026. If a page has been updated recently but no original publication date appears, use the "last updated" date if visible. That date is often in the page footer.
Why use a citation generator instead of formatting by hand?
A citation generator automates the formatting by asking you for the URL and filling in the author, title, date, and publisher fields from the page metadata. Manual citation is error-prone for a few reasons: 1. Punctuation rules are specific. A comma versus a period in the wrong place can cost points on a graded paper. 2. Format differences are subtle. The same source cited in APA looks meaningfully different from its MLA version, with a different order, capitalization, and italic treatment. 3. Missing fields require judgment calls. The rules for handling no-author or no-date sources are buried in style manuals that most students do not own. The OnSumo citation generator handles all three styles and flags missing fields when the page metadata does not include them. Paste the URL, select your style, and copy the formatted citation directly into your reference list. If you are building the full references page after citing the source, read How to Write a Bibliography. If your source is a journal article and you need to format the identifier correctly, read What Is a DOI. This guide was written for academic writing workflows and reviewed against the primary citation manuals students are most likely to use. Website citation rules and examples were checked against the APA 7th edition manual, the MLA 9th edition handbook, and The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition. FAQ
Can you cite a website when the author is an organization?
Yes. When no person is listed, use the organization name in the author position and keep the rest of the citation in the same style format.
Do you need an access date for every website citation?
No. Access dates are usually reserved for pages that change often, pages with no clear publication date, or styles and instructor rules that ask for them.