YesCite logoYesCite logo

APA Website Citation

Generate APA website references from URLs.

Journal article
Example result
Watson, J. D., & Crick, F. H. C. (1953). Molecular structure of nucleic acids: A structure for deoxyribose nucleic acid. Nature, 171(4356), 737–738. https://doi.org/10.1038/171737a0
Complete · All key fields present
APA 7th
Watson, James D., and Francis H. C. Crick. “Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid.” Nature, vol. 171, no. 4356, 1953, pp. 737–738. DOI: 10.1038/171737a0.
Complete · All key fields present
APA 7th
Watson, James D., and Francis H. C. Crick. 1953. “Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid.” Nature 171 (4356): 737–38. https://doi.org/10.1038/171737a0.
Complete · All key fields present

APA Format for Website References
7th Edition

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of the webpage. Website Name. URL
Author
  • List the author of the webpage when available.
  • Format individual authors as last name, followed by initials.
  • If the author is an organization, list the full organization name as the author.
  • If no author is available, begin the reference with the title of the webpage.
  • For multiple individual authors, separate names with commas and use “&” before the final author.
Date
  • Use the publication date of the webpage.
  • Format the date as (Year, Month Day).
  • If only a year or a year and month are available, use the information shown.
  • If no date is available, use (n.d.).
Title of the webpage
  • Write the webpage title in italic and use sentence case.
  • Capitalize only the first word of the title, the first word after a colon, and any proper nouns.
  • The webpage title is italicized. The website name is not italicized.
Website Name
  • List the name of the overall website.
  • Omit the website name if it is identical to the author.
URL
  • Include a URL that directly leads to the cited webpage.
  • Present the URL exactly as it appears in the source.
  • Do not add additional punctuation after the URL.

APA Website Examples

Standard Webpage

Write the author’s last name first, followed by initials.
Example:
Smith, J. (2023, March 15). How remote work is changing modern teams. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/remote-work-teams

Two authors

List both authors and place “&” before the last author.
Example:
Johnson, L., & Perez, M. (2022, November 3). Designing accessible websites for everyone. Nielsen Norman Group. https://www.nngroup.com/articles/accessible-websites

Three or more authors

List up to 20 authors; use “&” before the final author.
Example:
Chen, R., Miller, T. K., & Alvarez, S. (2024, May 10). Best practices for securing cloud applications. Azure Blog. https://azure.microsoft.com/blog/cloud-security-practices

Organization as author

Use the organization’s full name in the author position.
Example:
World Health Organization. (2021, August 30). Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) advice for the public. https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public

No author

Begin the reference with the webpage title in italics.
Example:
10 tips for boosting website security. (2024, January 5). Cloudflare. https://www.cloudflare.com/learn/security/boost-website-security

No date

Use “(n.d.)” when the webpage shows no publication date.
Example:
Davis, H. (n.d.). Beginner’s guide to data visualization. Tableau Public. https://public.tableau.com/resources/data-visualization-guide

Page updated regularly (include retrieval date)

Use a retrieval date for pages that change over time, such as wikis.
Example:
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Artificial intelligence. Retrieved December 1, 2025, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence

In-Text Citations

APA style uses two in-text formats for websites: parenthetical citations (author and year in parentheses) and narrative citations (author as part of the sentence).

Use the webpage’s author (person or organization) and the year, not the URL.

Basic citation styles

Parenthetical citation

The author and year both appear inside parentheses at the end of the sentence.

The guidelines recommend wearing masks in crowded places (World Health Organization, 2021).

Narrative citation

The author is part of the sentence; the year appears in parentheses.

World Health Organization (2021) recommends wearing masks in crowded places.

One Author

Parenthetical citation

Place the author and year together in parentheses after the referenced information.

Remote work has changed how teams collaborate(Chen, 2023).

Narrative citation

Include the author in the sentence and place the year in parentheses immediately after the name.

Chen (2023) explains how remote work has changed team collaboration.

Two Authors

Parenthetical citation

Use an ampersand (“&”) between the two authors inside parentheses.

Collaboration tools reduce unnecessary emails (Lopez & Green, 2022).

Narrative citation

Spell out “and” when the authors appear in the sentence.

Lopez and Green (2022) found that collaboration tools reduce unnecessary emails.

Three or More Authors

Parenthetical citation

Cite only the first author followed by “et al.” and the year.

Many users prefer simple layouts(Patel et al., 2020).

Narrative citation

Include the first author’s name in the sentence, followed by “et al.”

Patel et al. (2020) found that many users prefer simple layouts.

Organization as Author

Parenthetical citation

Place the organization name and year in parentheses at the end of the sentence.

Travel rules shifted multiple times during the pandemic(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021).

Narrative citation

Write out the organization name in the sentence and place the year in parentheses after it.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2021) updated its travel rules several times.

No Author

Parenthetical citation

Place a shortened title in quotation marks followed by the year.

Flexible work policies are becoming more common (“Guide to Remote Work,” 2022).

Narrative citation

Include the shortened title in the sentence and place the year in parentheses.

As noted in“Guide to Remote Work” (2022), flexible work is becoming more common.

No date

Parenthetical citation

Combine the author (or title) with “n.d.” inside parentheses.

Two-factor authentication improves account security(SecureLogin Team, n.d.).

Narrative citation

Place “n.d.” in parentheses right after the author’s name.

SecureLogin Team (n.d.) explains how two-factor authentication improves account security.

Citing a specific part of a webpage

Parenthetical citation

Include the heading title and paragraph number after the year.

The setup steps are clearly outlined(SecureLogin Team, n.d., “Enable 2FA,” para. 3).

Narrative citation

Place the section heading in the sentence and add the year and paragraph number in parentheses.

In the “Enable 2FA” section, SecureLogin Team (n.d., para. 3) describes the setup steps.

Quick Checklist

Common Mistakes & How to Fix Them

Mistake 1

Using Title Case for the webpage title

APA uses sentence case for webpage titles. Only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized.

Wrong

✕The Complete Guide To Remote Work

Correct

✓The complete guide to remote work

Mistake 2

Repeating the website name when it matches the author

When an organization is the author, do not repeat the website name in the source element.

Wrong

✕World Health Organization. (2021). COVID-19 advice. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/

Correct

✓ World Health Organization. (2021). COVID-19 advice. https://www.who.int/

Mistake 3

Adding a period at the end of the URL

APA never adds a period after a URL, because it may cause link errors.

Wrong

✕ https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus.

Correct

✓ https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus

Mistake 4

Writing “n.d” instead of “n.d.”

APA requires two periods in “n.d.” (no date). It must be written exactly as n.d.

Wrong

✕ (n.d)

Correct

✓ (n.d.)

Mistake 5

Using a retrieval date when it’s not needed

Retrieval dates are required only for pages that change over time (e.g., wikis, dashboards). Fixed-date webpages should not include a retrieval date.

Wrong

✕ Retrieved July 1, 2023, from https://www.bbc.com/news/article

Correct

✓ https://www.bbc.com/news/article

Mistake 6

Treating a webpage as an online article or PDF

Websites use the standard APA webpage format. Do not add volume/issue numbers or “[PDF]” labels unless they truly apply.

Wrong

✕ Smith, J. (2022). How to improve sleep. 12(4). https://…

Correct

✓ Smith, J. (2022). How to improve sleep. Website Name. https://…

APA Website Citation FAQ

If a webpage has no clearly named author, begin the reference with the title of the page in sentence case and italicize it. Follow with the year (or “n.d.”) and the website name if it is different from the title.

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

In-text citations use a shortened version of the title in quotation marks in place of the author.

Product
Citation DOI Citation ISBN Citation URL Citation Manual Citation
Guides
APA Citation Guide MLA Citation Guide Chicago Author–Date Guide
Support
About YesCite
YesCite
© 2026 YesCite.com. All rights reserved.
Privacy PolicyTerms of ServiceDisclaimer