How to Cite a Website in APA: 2026 Complete Guide with Examples

Key Takeaways

• APA 7th edition is still the current standard in 2026 — no new edition has been released
• A standard website citation has four parts: Author, Date, Title, and URL — but not every source has all four
• When there’s no author, move the page title to the author position
• When there’s no date, use (n.d.) for “no date”
• When the author and website name are the same (like a CDC page), omit the website name to avoid repetition
• APA never puts a period after the URL — this is the single most common website citation mistake

How to Cite a Website in APA 7th Edition (Quick Answer)

The basic format for citing a website in APA 7th edition looks like this:

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. Website Name. URL

In-text citation: (Author, Year)

That’s it. Four components in the reference list and two in the in-text citation. But real-world web pages rarely follow a neat template, and that’s exactly where things get tricky.

Below, I walk through every scenario you’ll encounter — from standard pages to sources with no author, no date, government sites, and online news articles — with copy-ready examples you can adapt directly.

The Standard Website Citation

This is the format you’ll use for the vast majority of web pages that have an individual author and a clear publication date.

Reference list format:

Lastname, F. M. (Year, Month Day). Title of page: Subtitle if present. Website Name. URL

Example:

Gibson, C. (2023, August 14). The science of sleep: What happens when you close your eyes. National Sleep Foundation. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/science-of-sleep

In-text citation: (Gibson, 2023) or Gibson (2023)

What each piece does:

• Author: The person who wrote the page
• Date: The publication date in parentheses, with year, month, and day when available
• Title: Italicized, sentence case (only the first word and proper nouns capitalized)
• Website Name: Plain text, not italicized, comes after the title
• URL: No period after the URL — ever

Did you know? APA 7th edition removed the “Retrieved from” phrase that APA 6th edition required before URLs. If you’re following older examples that include “Retrieved from,” you’re using outdated rules.

Scenario 1: No Individual Author

When a web page doesn’t list a specific person as the author, the page title moves to the author position. This is one of the most common scenarios you’ll encounter.

Format:

Title of page. (Year, Month Day). Website Name. URL

Example:

How vaccines work. (2024, March 5). World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/how-vaccines-work

In-text citation: (How vaccines work, 2024)

Why this matters: When the title moves to the author position, it also becomes the signal you use for in-text citations. If you’re quoting or paraphrasing multiple pages from the same website, use the full title in the first citation and a shortened version in subsequent citations.

Scenario 2: No Publication Date

Many websites don’t display a publication date. Some pages are continuously updated with no specific date attached. In APA, you use (n.d.) — short for “no date” — in place of the year.

Format:

Author, A. A. (n.d.). Title of page. Website Name. URL

Example:

Johnson, M. (n.d.). Understanding cognitive load theory. Learning Sciences Institute. https://www.learningsciences.org/cognitive-load

In-text citation: (Johnson, n.d.)

Pro tip: Even if the website has no date, check the page carefully. Sometimes the publication date is buried in the footer, the sidebar, or a small timestamp at the top of the article. If you truly can’t find a date, (n.d.) is the correct fallback — don’t make up a date.

Scenario 3: Government or Organisation Website

When a government agency or organization writes a webpage, the organization itself is the author. This creates a unique situation: the author name and the website name are often the same entity.

Format:

Organization Name. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. URL

Example:

National Institutes of Health. (2026, February 20). NIH research priorities for 2026. https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/what-we-do/nih-almanac/research-priorities

In-text citation: (National Institutes of Health, 2026)

The key rule: When the author and the website name are the same, omit the website name from the citation. Writing “Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025). Title. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. URL” is incorrect — drop the second instance. This is one of the most common formatting errors students make.

Scenario 4: Online News Article

News articles from websites follow the same format as standard web pages, with one important distinction: if the website is tied to a printed newspaper (like The New York Times, The Washington Post, or Reuters), treat it as a newspaper article instead.

Standard web news site format:

Lastname, F. M. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Website Name. URL

Example:

Kolata, G. (2026, January 12). New data shed light on long COVID symptoms. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/health/long-covid.html

In-text citation: (Kolata, 2026)

When to use the newspaper format: If the news website has an associated print newspaper (like The New York Times or The Washington Post), use the newspaper article category instead. The format is slightly different and requires italicizing the newspaper name. Check the APA Style website for the exact format.

Scenario 5: Webpage with a Retrieval Date

APA 7th edition generally removes the need to include a retrieval date. However, there is one exception: if the content of a page is designed to change over time and is not archived, include a retrieval date.

Format:

Author, A. A. (n.d.). Title of page. Website Name. Retrieved Month Day, Year, from URL

Example:

U.S. Census Bureau. (n.d.). U.S. and world population clock. U.S. Department of Commerce. Retrieved January 9, 2020, from https://www.census.gov/popclock/

When to use a retrieval date: Only include it for pages whose content is likely to change — live counters, wikis, social media profiles, and similar dynamic sources. Do not add a retrieval date for stable content like government reports, news articles, or institutional pages.

Comparison: APA vs MLA vs Chicago Website Citation

Different citation styles handle websites very differently. Understanding these differences upfront prevents the most common errors when you’re working across courses that require different formats.

Element-by-element comparison:

The single biggest difference: APA does not put a period after the URL. MLA does. Chicago does not. This small detail is one of the most consistent formatting errors across all three styles.

What We Recommend

Here’s what I’d choose if I were writing a paper and needed to cite web sources:

1. Always check for the publication date first. Many students skip this step and default to (n.d.) out of convenience. A quick scan of the page footer or top banner often reveals a date you missed.
2. Use the primary source, not the web page. If a web page summarizes a peer-reviewed study or official report, cite the original source — not the page you found it on. A government page summarizing a study is weaker evidence than the study itself.
3. Don’t cite Wikipedia as a primary source. Most academic institutions and journals advise against this. Use Wikipedia only as a starting point to find primary sources, which you then cite instead.
4. Run every URL before submission. Web pages move and disappear. A broken URL in your reference list signals to reviewers and instructors that your sources weren’t properly verified.

Common Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)

Adding a period after the URL in APA

APA does not put a period after URLs. MLA does. Chicago does not. This is the single most common website citation error across all three styles.

Wrong title capitalization

APA uses sentence case for page titles — only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized. MLA and Chicago use title case. Never copy the capitalization from the web page itself; it will rarely match academic style requirements.

Repeating the author name as the website name in APA

When an organization is both the author and the website host (like a CDC page), APA omits the website name. Writing “Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025). Title. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. URL” is wrong — drop the second instance.

Using “Retrieved from” in APA 7th edition

APA 7th edition removed the “Retrieved from” phrase. It was required in APA 6th edition but must be omitted now. Many online examples and citation generators still include it.

Including unnecessary access dates in APA

APA only requires access dates for sources whose content is likely to change. For stable web pages, an access date is not required and adds unnecessary clutter.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if the web page has no author, no date, and no clear organization?

This is a signal to reconsider whether the source is reliable enough to cite. Credible web sources — government sites, established news outlets, professional organizations, educational institutions — almost always have at least an organization name and a publication or update date. If you can’t identify any of these, the source may not meet academic standards.

If you must cite it, in APA use the title in the author position and (n.d.) for the date.

The URL is very long and breaks across lines — what should I do?

For APA, you can break a long URL before a slash or after a hyphen, but do not add a hyphen at the break point. Most word processors handle this automatically. If the page has a DOI, use that instead — it’s shorter and more stable.

How do I cite a PDF found on a website?

Cite the PDF document itself, not the web page from which you downloaded it. If the PDF is a report with a clear author and title, cite it as a report. If it’s a standalone document without a clear source type, treat it as a web page and add [PDF] after the title in APA format.

Can I cite a social media post instead of a web page?

Yes. Social media posts follow their own citation format. In APA, format the username as the author, the post content (up to the first 20 words) as the title, and include the date and URL. Check the APA Style website for the exact social media citation format.

Final Thoughts

Citing a website in APA might seem simple until you’re staring at a source with no author, no date, and a URL that spans three lines. The good news is that once you know the four rules for each scenario, you can apply them to any web page.

The most common errors aren’t complex formatting mistakes — they’re simple carryover habits from other styles or copying formatting from the web page itself rather than applying style guide rules. Keep the comparison table above open while you work, and double-check every URL before submitting.

Want to make sure your citations are accurate? Use an APA citation generator or check your formatting against the official APA Style guidelines before you submit your paper.

Related Guides

• Academic Citation Styles: APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard – Complete Guide
• How to Properly Attribute Sources: A Complete Guide to Avoiding Plagiarism
• How to Paraphrase Correctly: Step-by-Step Techniques with Examples
• Plagiarism: Complete Guide to Detection, Prevention, and Consequences

About This Guide

This guide covers APA 7th edition website citation rules as of 2026. The APA 7th edition remains the current standard — no APA 8th edition has been released. Content is sourced from the official APA Style guidelines, Purdue OWL, and cross-referenced with multiple academic writing resources.

Need help checking your citations for plagiarism or accuracy? Explore our plagiarism detection tools to ensure your references and in-text citations are properly formatted and your sources are properly attributed.