Published February 4, 2021. Updated December 16, 2021.

To create a website reference or citation, you will need to know the author name, article title, website name, year, and URL.

The templates and examples below will show you how to cite a website in MLA style 9th edition, APA style 7th edition, Chicago style 16th edition, and Harvard referencing style.

Easily cite a website in the style of your choice using the Chegg Writing citation generator.

This page will cover the following points:

• Overview of citing website

• Citing a website in MLA style

• Citing a website in APA style

• Citing a website in Chicago style, notes-bibliography

• Citing a website in Chicago style, author-date

• How to cite a website in Harvard referencing style

• Troubleshooting

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Citing a website in MLA style

The title should be title case and enclosed with double quotes.

In-text citation template and example:

(Author Surname)

(Kumar)

Works cited entry template and example:

For more examples and information, view our citing a website in MLA guide.

Citing a website in APA style

The title should be sentence case and italicized.

In-text citation template and example:

(Author Surname, Publication Year)

(Kumar, 2020)

Reference list entry template and example:

For more examples and information, view our citing a website in APA guide.

Citing a website in Chicago style, notes-bibliography

The title should be title case and enclosed with double quotes.

Footnotes template and example:

Note

1. Author First Name Surname. “Title of the Article in Title Case,” accessed Month Day, Year, URL.

2. Ram Kumar, “Interesting Reasons to Never Neglect Your Brand Guidelines,” accessed December 23, 2020, https://hbb.me/3nEz08V.

Shortened note

3. Author Surname, “Article Title.”

4. Kumar, “Interesting Reasons to Never Neglect Your Brand Guidelines.”

Bibliography entry template and example:

For more examples and information, view our citing a website in Chicago Style guide.

Citing a website in Chicago style, author-date

The title should be title case and enclosed with double quotes.

In-text citation template and example:

(Author Surname Publication Year)

(Kumar 2020)

Reference list entry template and example:

For more examples and information, view our citing a website in Chicago Style guide.

How to cite a website in Harvard referencing style

The webpage title should be sentence case and italicized.

In-text citation template and example:

(Author Surname, Publication Year)

(Maryland Department of Health, 2019)

Reference list entry template and example:

For more examples and information, view our citing a website in Harvard Referencing Style guide.

Writing a paper? Don’t forget to include a bibliography.

Troubleshooting

Solution #1: What to do if you cannot find a publication date for a website

If there is not an obvious date associated with the webpage (i.e., within the byline on an article) you are trying to cite, follow the steps below.

1. Check the very bottom and very top of the page. Oftentimes, websites will have a note at the bottom or top of the page that says something like “Page last updated on______.” If that’s the case, you can usually use that as the date in your citation. However, if the note says “reviewed” instead of “updated,” you usually cannot use that as the date for your citation since there is no way to verify whether the content changed on that date.

2. If you are still unable to find a publication date, use the following guidelines:

In APA and Harvard referencing styles:

Use the abbreviation “n.d.” (APA) or “no date” (Harvard referencing) in place of the date.

Reference list entry examples:

APA:

Royal Shakespeare Company. (n.d.). Shakespeare’s life and times. https://www.rsc.org.uk/shakespeares-life-and-times

Harvard referencing:

Royal Shakespeare Company (no date) Shakespeare’s Life and Times. Available at: https://www.rsc.org.uk/shakespeares-life-and-times (Accessed: 15 November 2021).

Note that all webpage citations in Harvard referencing style should have an access date, regardless of whether the website has a publication date.

In MLA style: 

Use the date you accessed the website instead of a publication date.

Reference list entry example:

“Shakespeare’s Life and Times.” Royal Shakespeare Company, www.rsc.org.uk/shakespeares-life-and-times. Accessed 15 Nov. 2021.

In Chicago style:

Use the abbreviation “n.d.” in the in-text citation and use both “n.d.” and an access date in the reference list entry in author-date style. Use just an access date in notes-bibliography style.

Author-date examples:

Reference list entry:

Royal Shakespeare Company. n.d. “Shakespeare’s Life and Times.” Accessed November 15, 2021. https://www.rsc.org.uk/shakespeares-life-and-times.

In-text citation:

(Royal Shakespeare Company, n.d.)

Notes-bibliography examples:

Bibliography entry:

Royal Shakespeare Company. “Shakespeare’s Life and Times.” Accessed November 15, 2021. https://www.rsc.org.uk/shakespeares-life-and-times.

Note:

“Shakespeare’s Life and Times,” Royal Shakespeare Company, accessed November 15, 2021, https://www.rsc.org.uk/shakespeares-life-and-times.

Solution #2: How to determine whether to use quotation marks, italics, or plain text for the title of the website

1. If you are citing the whole website, use the following guidance:

• MLA: Write the name of the website in italics.

• APA: Do not use in-text citations or reference list entries. Instead, include the name of the website in the body of your text followed by the URL to the home page of the website in plain text and parentheses.

• Chicago: Write the title of the website in plain text.

• Harvard: Write the title of the website in italics.

2. If you are citing a webpage on a website, use the following guidance:

• MLA: Write the title of the webpage in double quotation marks and the title of the website in italics.

• APA: Write the title of the webpage in italics and the title of the website in plain text.

• Chicago: Write the title of the webpage in double quotation marks and the title of the website in plain text.

• Harvard: Write the title of the webpage in single quotation marks and the title of the website in italics.