How to Cite a Website in APA, MLA, and Chicago
Correct website citation formats for APA 7th, MLA 9th, and Chicago 18th edition, including no-author and no-date cases.
Citing websites is one of the most common – and most confusing – tasks in academic writing. Unlike books or journal articles, websites often lack authors, dates, or page numbers. Here’s how to handle it across the major styles.
APA 7th Edition
APA website citations follow this general format:
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. Site Name. https://www.example.com/page
Standard Website with Author
Smith, J. (2025, March 15). The future of renewable energy. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/renewable-energy
No Author
When there’s no identifiable author, move the title to the author position:
The future of renewable energy. (2025, March 15). National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/renewable-energy
No Date
Replace the date with “n.d.” (no date):
Smith, J. (n.d.). The future of renewable energy. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/renewable-energy
For a deeper look at APA formatting, see our guide to APA citations.
MLA 9th Edition
MLA uses a container-based system. The basic format for a website:
Author Last Name, First Name. “Title of Page.” Site Name, Day Month Year, URL.
Standard Website
Smith, John. “The Future of Renewable Energy.” National Geographic, 15 Mar. 2025, www.nationalgeographic.com/renewable-energy.
No Author
Start with the title in quotation marks:
“The Future of Renewable Energy.” National Geographic, 15 Mar. 2025, www.nationalgeographic.com/renewable-energy.
No Date
Omit the date element:
Smith, John. “The Future of Renewable Energy.” National Geographic, www.nationalgeographic.com/renewable-energy.
Note: MLA no longer requires “Accessed” dates for most websites, but your instructor may still ask for them. The MLA Style Center documents this directly if you want to see the current guidance from the source.
Chicago 18th Edition (Notes and Bibliography)
Chicago offers two systems. Many humanities courses use notes and bibliography. The footnote format follows:
Author First Last, “Title of Page,” Site Name, Month Day, Year, https://www.example.com/page.
Footnote Example
John Smith, “The Future of Renewable Energy,” National Geographic, March 15, 2025, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/renewable-energy.
Bibliography Entry
Smith, John. “The Future of Renewable Energy.” National Geographic. March 15, 2025. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/renewable-energy.
No Author
In a note, the title usually comes first when a page has no author. A bibliography entry usually starts with the site’s owner or sponsor.
Chicago’s official citation guide shows both forms.
Harvard
Harvard’s format for a website follows the same author-date logic, with two additions APA and MLA don’t require:
Author, A.A. (Year) Title of page. Available at: URL (Accessed: Day Month Year).
Standard Website with Author
Smith, J. (2025) The future of renewable energy. National Geographic. Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/renewable-energy (Accessed: 20 March 2025).
No Author
The future of renewable energy (2025) National Geographic. Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/renewable-energy (Accessed: 20 March 2025).
No Date
Use “(no date)” in place of the year – not “n.d.,” which is APA’s convention:
Smith, J. (no date) The future of renewable energy. National Geographic. Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/renewable-energy (Accessed: 20 March 2025).
Unlike APA and MLA, Harvard requires an access date for a plain website, because a URL with no DOI is the only way to relocate the page – the access date records what it said on the day you actually read it. If the same source instead had a DOI, the access date would be dropped entirely.
Quick Comparison
Here’s the same website cited in four styles:
APA:
Smith, J. (2025, March 15). The future of renewable energy. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/renewable-energy
MLA:
Smith, John. “The Future of Renewable Energy.” National Geographic, 15 Mar. 2025, www.nationalgeographic.com/renewable-energy.
Chicago:
Smith, John. “The Future of Renewable Energy.” National Geographic. March 15, 2025. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/renewable-energy.
Harvard:
Smith, J. (2025) The future of renewable energy. National Geographic. Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/renewable-energy (Accessed: 20 March 2025).
Edge Cases
Citing an Updated or Revised Page
If a webpage shows both an original publication date and a “last updated” date, cite whichever date matches the content you’re actually referencing. If you’re citing a claim that only appears in the revised version, use the update date, not the original publish date:
Smith, J. (2025, June 2). The future of renewable energy. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/renewable-energy
Citing an Archived Version
If the live page has since changed or disappeared and you saved an archived snapshot, cite the archived URL rather than the live one, and use the date the snapshot was captured rather than the page’s original publication date:
Smith, J. (2025, March 15). The future of renewable energy. National Geographic. https://web.archive.org/web/20250315000000/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/renewable-energy
A PDF or Report Hosted on a Website
A standalone PDF hosted on a website is cited using its own title and author, not the hosting site’s name – unless the document itself doesn’t identify an author, in which case the hosting organization becomes the author. If the document reads like a formal government or organizational report rather than a webpage, format it as a report instead, with the issuing body as the author and the report title italicized.
Common Mistakes
These issues come up frequently – for a broader list across all source types, see our common citation mistakes guide.
- Using the URL as the title – always look for an actual page title
- Citing the homepage instead of the specific page you referenced
- Including “Retrieved from” in APA – this isn’t required in APA 7th edition
- Forgetting to italicize the right elements (page title in APA, site name in MLA)
- Breaking long URLs with hyphens – keep URLs intact
- Confusing “publication date” with “last updated” date – cite the one that matches the content you’re actually referencing
- Assuming no style ever needs an access date – Harvard requires one for a plain website with no DOI, even though APA and current MLA generally don’t
Citing social media posts or profiles? Those follow different rules – see our guide to citing social media. For AI-generated content from tools like ChatGPT, see how to cite AI tools.
Try It with CiteTools
Paste a website URL into CiteTools.io to format its available metadata in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, or another supported style. Review missing authors or dates.