Website citation generator
Cite any website or webpage in any citation style. Paste the link and we fill in the details.
or fill in the details below
How to cite a website
A website citation takes three steps, whether you are citing one page or a whole site.
Step 1
Paste the link
Copy the address of the page you read and paste it above. We fill in the author, date, title and site name. A video or an article link opens the YouTube or journal article form instead.
Step 2
Check what we found
Fields we are unsure about are marked Check this. Make sure the author is a person or the organization that wrote the page, and the date is when it was published or last updated.
Step 3
Copy your citation
Add the reference entry to your list, and use the in-text citation in your paper. Paste several links at once, one per line, to cite them all. Then check the list with the Citation Checker.
How to cite a website in APA
An APA website citation gives the author, the date, the page title in italics, the site name and the URL. APA 7 leaves out the site name when it is the same as the author.
Format
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. Site Name. URL
Two authors
Kiely, E., & Robertson, L. (2016, November 18). How to spot fake news. FactCheck.org. https://www.factcheck.org/2016/11/how-to-spot-fake-news/
In-text citation
Parenthetical: (Kiely & Robertson, 2016)
Narrative: Kiely & Robertson (2016)
An organization as author
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2026, June 17). Symptoms of COVID-19. https://www.cdc.gov/covid/signs-symptoms/index.html
The organization is also the site, so the site name is left out.
In-text citation, with a paragraph number
Parenthetical: (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2026, para. 4)
Narrative: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2026, para. 4)
Webpages have no page numbers, so a quotation gets a paragraph number instead.
APA adds a retrieval date only for a page designed to change over time, like a live dashboard. Tick This page is updated over time in the form to add one.
How to cite a website in MLA
An MLA website citation gives the author, the page title in quotation marks, the website in italics, the date and the URL. MLA 9 leaves https:// out of web addresses.
Format
Author. “Title of Page.” Website Name, Publisher, Day Month Year, URL.
Two authors
Kiely, Eugene, and Lori Robertson. “How to Spot Fake News.” FactCheck.org, 18 Nov. 2016, www.factcheck.org/2016/11/how-to-spot-fake-news/.
In-text citation
Parenthetical: (Kiely and Robertson)
An organization as author and publisher
“Symptoms of COVID-19.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 17 June 2026, www.cdc.gov/covid/signs-symptoms/index.html.
When the organization that wrote the page also runs the site, MLA starts with the title and names the organization once.
How to cite a website in Chicago
Chicago cites a webpage with the author, the title in quotation marks, the site name, the date and the URL. An access date is used only when the page shows no date.
Bibliography
Kiely, Eugene, and Lori Robertson. “How to Spot Fake News.” FactCheck.org, November 18, 2016. https://www.factcheck.org/2016/11/how-to-spot-fake-news/.
Footnote
Eugene Kiely and Lori Robertson, “How to Spot Fake News,” FactCheck.org, November 18, 2016, https://www.factcheck.org/2016/11/how-to-spot-fake-news/.
Citing a whole website vs. a single page
Most of the time you are citing one page. Cite a whole website only when you mean the site itself, not something you read on it.
APA
The FactCheck.org website (https://www.factcheck.org) tracks claims made by politicians.
APA doesn’t list a whole website in the reference list. Mention the site in your sentence with its address. Choose A whole website in the form to get this wording.
MLA
FactCheck.org. www.factcheck.org. Accessed 26 Sept. 2026.
Chicago
“FactCheck.org.” Accessed September 26, 2026. https://www.factcheck.org.
How to cite a website with no author or no date
Each example uses the same page with one detail taken away, so you can see what each style does instead.
No author (APA)
How to spot fake news. (2016, November 18). FactCheck.org. https://www.factcheck.org/2016/11/how-to-spot-fake-news/
The title moves to the author position.
No date (APA)
Kiely, E., & Robertson, L. (n.d.). How to spot fake news. FactCheck.org. https://www.factcheck.org/2016/11/how-to-spot-fake-news/
APA writes n.d. for no date, in the reference and in the text.
No author and no date (APA)
How to spot fake news. (n.d.). FactCheck.org. https://www.factcheck.org/2016/11/how-to-spot-fake-news/
No date (MLA)
Kiely, Eugene, and Lori Robertson. “How to Spot Fake News.” FactCheck.org, www.factcheck.org/2016/11/how-to-spot-fake-news/. Accessed 26 Sept. 2026.
MLA leaves the date out and adds the date you accessed the page.
A page with no author and no date is harder to trust. Your instructor may prefer a source that has both.
How to find the author and date on a webpage
When a page doesn’t show them at the top, they are usually somewhere else on it.
Look for a byline
Most articles name the author near the title, as By Name or Written by Name. A Reviewed by credit is a reviewer, not the author.
Check the footer and About page
Government, health and company sites are usually written by the organization itself. Its name in the footer or on the About page is the author.
Find the date
Look near the title or at the bottom for Published, Updated or Last reviewed. APA uses the most recent update date when the page shows one.
Look at the page source
Right-click the page and choose View Page Source, then search for datePublished or author. Many sites list both there even when they don’t show them.
In-text citations for websites
Webpages have no page numbers, so a direct quotation needs another way to point to the words you quote.
APA
Count the paragraphs and write para. 4, or name the section heading: (Kiely & Robertson, 2016, para. 4).
MLA
Use par. with the paragraph number only if the page numbers its paragraphs. Otherwise the author’s name alone is enough.
Chicago
A footnote can give a section heading or paragraph number to help readers find the passage.
Frequently asked questions
How do I cite a website in APA?
Give the author, the date, the page title in italics, the site name and the URL. In the text, cite the author and year, for example (Kiely & Robertson, 2016). If the organization is also the site, leave the site name out.
How do I cite a website in MLA?
Give the author, the page title in quotation marks, the website name in italics, the date and the URL without https://. In the text, cite the author’s name.
What if the website has no author?
Start the citation with the page title. In APA the title moves to the author position, and the in-text citation uses the title too. If an organization wrote the page, the organization is the author.
What if there is no date?
APA writes n.d. and MLA leaves the date out and adds the date you accessed the page. Look for an Updated or Last reviewed date first: that counts as the date.
Do I need a retrieval or access date?
In APA, only for a page designed to change over time. In MLA, it’s optional, but add it when the page has no date. Chicago uses one only when there is no publication or revision date.
Can I cite several websites at once?
Yes. Paste several links into the box above, one per line, and each one is cited and added to your list.
What if the page is a YouTube video or a journal article?
Paste the link anyway. We switch to the form made for that kind of source, the YouTube or journal article form, and say so.
Is this website citation generator free?
Yes. It’s free with no signup, and the websites you cite here go into the same list as the main Citation Generator.
How do I check my whole reference list?
Run it through the Citation Checker, linked above. It checks that each source is real and flags formatting mistakes.