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How to Cite a Website in APA Style |
Format & Examples
Published on November 5, 2020 by Jack Caulfield. Revised on April 1, 2021.

This article reflects the APA 7th edition guidelines. Click here for APA 6th edition
guidelines.
APA website citations usually include the author, the publication date, the title of the
page or article, the website name, and the URL. If there is no author, start the citation
with the title of the article. If the page is likely to change over time, add a retrieval date.

If you are citing an online version of a print publication (e.g. a newspaper, magazine,

or dictionary), use the same format as you would for print, with a URL added at the end.
Formats differ for online videos (e.g. TED Talks), images, and dissertations.

Use the buttons below to explore the format.

WebpageBookJournal articleNewspaper articleVideo

 More
Cite

Table of contents

1. Citing an entire website

2. How to cite online articles
3. Websites with no author
4. Websites with no date
5. How to cite from social media
6. Frequently asked questions about APA Style citations

Citing an entire website

When you refer to a website in your text without quoting or paraphrasing from a specific
part of it, you don’t need a formal citation. Instead, you can just include the URL in
parentheses after the name of the site:

One of the most popular social media sites, Instagram (http://instagram.com), allows
users to share images and videos.

For this kind of citation, you don’t need to include the website on the reference page.
However, if you’re citing a specific page or article from a website, you will need a
formal in-text citation and reference list entry.
How to cite online articles
Various kinds of articles appear online, and how you cite them depends on where the
article appears.

Online articles from newspapers, magazines, and blogs

Articles appearing in online versions of print publications (e.g. newspapers and
magazines) are cited like their print versions, but with an added URL.

Format Last name, Initials. (Year, Month Day). Article title. Publication Name. URL

Greenhouse, S. (2020, July 30). The coronavirus pandemic has intensified systemic economic
Reference racism against black Americans. The New Yorker.
entry https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-pandemic-has-intensified-systemic-economic-
racism-against-black-americans

In-text (Greenhouse, 2020)

citation

The same format is used for blog posts. Just include the blog name where you would
usually put the name of the magazine or newspaper.

Format Last name, Initials. (Year, Month Day). Article title. Blog Name. URL

Reference Lee, C. (2020, February 19). A tale of two reference formats. APA Style Blog.
entry https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/two-reference-formats

In-text (Lee, 2020)

citation

Articles from online-only news sites

For articles from news sites without print equivalents (e.g. BBC News, Reuters), italicize
the name of the article and not the name of the site.

Format Last name, Initials. (Year, Month Day). Article title. Site Name. URL

Reference Rowlatt, J. (2020, October 19). Could cold water hold a clue to a dementia cure? BBC News.
entry https://www.bbc.com/news/health-54531075

In-text (Rowlatt, 2020)

citation

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Websites with no author

When a web page does not list an individual author, it can usually be attributed to an
organization or government. If this results in the author name being identical to the site
name, omit the site name, as in the example below.

Format Organization Name. (Year, Month Day). Page title. Site Name. URL

Reference Scribbr. (n.d.). Academic proofreading & editing service.

entry https://www.scribbr.com/proofreading-editing/
In-text citation (Scribbr, n.d.)

If you can’t identify any author at all, replace the author name with the title of the page
or article.

In the in-text citation, put the title in quotation marks if it is in plain text in the reference
list, or in italics if it is in italics in the reference list. Note that title case is used for the title
here, unlike in the reference list. Shorten the title to the first few words if necessary.

Format Page title. (Year, Month Day). Site Name. URL

Reference The countdown: A prophecy, crowds and a TikTok takedown. (2020, October 19). BBC News.
entry https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54596667

In-text (The Countdown, 2019)

citation

Websites with no date

When a web page or article does not list a publication or revision date, replace the date
with “n.d.” (“no date”) in all citations.

If an online source is likely to change over time, it is recommended to include the date
on which you accessed it.

Format Last name, Initials. (n.d.). Page title. Site Name. Retrieved Month Day, Year, from URL

Reference University of Amsterdam. (n.d.). About the UvA. Retrieved October 19, 2020, from
entry https://www.uva.nl/en/about-the-uva/about-the-university/about-the-university.html

In-text (University of Amsterdam, n.d.)

citation

How to cite from social media

As social media posts are usually untitled, use the first 20 words of the post, in italics,
as a title. Also include any relevant information about the type of post and any
multimedia aspects (e.g. videos, images, sound, links) in square brackets.

Format Last name, Initials. (Year, Month Day). First 20 words of post [Description of multimedia aspects]

 [Type of post]. Site Name. URL

American Psychological Association. (2020, October 14). When adjusted for inflation, the largest
Reference median salary increase between 2014 and 2018 was for psychology doctorate recipients who
entry expected [Link with thumbnail attached] [Status update]. Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/AmericanPsychologicalAssociation/posts/10158794205682579

In-text (American Psychological Association, 2020)

citation

On some social media sites (such as Twitter), users go by usernames instead of or in

addition to their real names. Where the author’s real name is known, include it, along
with their username in square brackets:

Obama, B. [@BarackObama]. (2020, September 7). This Labor Day, let’s thank all
those who’ve kept our country going this year—nurses, teachers, delivery drivers, food
service [Tweet]. Twitter.
https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/1303015313320050688
In some cases, you’ll want to cite a whole social media profile instead of a specific post.
In these cases, include an access date, because a profile will obviously change over
time:

Dorsey, J. [@jack]. (n.d.). Tweets [Twitter profile]. Twitter. Retrieved November 14,

2019, from https://twitter.com/jack

Frequently asked questions about APA Style citations

What does an APA in-text citation for a website look like?
How do I cite a source with no page numbers in APA Style?
How do I cite a source with no author in APA Style?
When should I include an access date in an APA citation?
How do I cite a source with an unknown author or publication date in APA?

Check out other APA examples

Citing personal communications in APA Style Citing tables and figures from other sources in APA Style
How to cite a book in APA Style How to cite a brochure in APA Style
How to cite a conference paper in APA Style How to cite a court case in APA Style
How to cite a dictionary in APA Style How to cite a dissertation in APA Style
How to cite a government website or report in APA Style How to cite a journal article in APA Style
How to cite a law in APA Style How to cite a magazine article in APA Style
How to cite a movie in APA Style How to cite a newspaper article in APA Style
How to cite a patent in APA Style How to cite a PDF in APA Style
How to cite a podcast in APA Style How to cite a PowerPoint in APA Style
How to cite a press release in APA Style How to cite a report in APA Style
Check out other APA examples
How to cite a speech in APA Style How to cite a survey in APA Style
How to cite a TED Talk in APA Style How to cite a TV show in APA Style
How to cite a tweet in APA Style How to cite a webpage with no author, date, or title in APA Style
How to cite a website in APA Style How to cite a YouTube video in APA Style
How to cite an encyclopedia in APA Style How to cite an image in APA Style
How to cite an interview in APA Style How to cite the Bible in APA Style

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Jack Caulfield
Jack is a Brit based in Amsterdam, with an MA in comparative literature. He writes and
edits for Scribbr, and reads a lot of books in his spare time.

Other students also liked

Beginner's guide to APA in-text citation

APA in-text citations consist of the author’s last name, publication year, and when quoting, a page
number: (Parker, 2020, p. 67)
428

How to cite a webpage with no author, date, or title in APA Style

Websites often have no author, date, or title. APA provides guidelines for citing sources with missing
information.
165
How to cite a tweet in APA Style

A tweet citation in APA includes the author’s name and username, the text of the tweet, and the word
“Tweet” in square brackets.
8

4 comments
Mindy

 May 31, 2021 at 12:11 PM

can I cite (H. Tankovska, 2021, para 1)?
Thank you!

Reply

Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)

 May 31, 2021 at 2:57 PM

Hi Mindy,

Usually the initial wouldn't be included in an in-text citation, unless it's there to
distinguish between two authors with the same last name. Using a paragraph number is
OK if there are no page numbers available, but make sure to include a period after
"para." to mark it as an abbreviation. So, your citation would look like this:

(Tankovska, 2021, para. 1)

Reply
Lobna

 March 8, 2021 at 2:19 PM

Hello. I am using a speeches website (American Rhetoric). Many speeches might be
uploaded at the same year on different days. shall I add the month and day to each in-
text citation to differentiate between them? for example:

(American Rhetoric, 2020, September 2).

(American Rhetoric, 2020, March 3).

Please let me know.

Reply
Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)

 March 8, 2021 at 4:40 PM

Hi Lobna,

You're right that it's necessary to distinguish between references that would otherwise
be identical, but APA recommends doing this by adding a letter after the year in each in-
text citation, and in the reference list. So your in-text citations would be (American
Rhetoric, 2020a) and (American Rhetoric, 2020b).

In the reference list, add the letter even in references that do include a full date, to
ensure it's clear which source each in-text citation refers to. E.g. (2020a, March 3). In
your examples, the March date is "a" because it's earlier chronologically. This is the
case even if you cite the other one first in the text.

Reply
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