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

Complete guide with examples, format, and common mistakes to avoid

Updated: January 2024 | APA 7th Edition

Table of Contents

Basic APA Website Citation Format

Reference List Format:

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Date). Title of webpage. Site Name. URL

In-Text Citation Format:

(Author, Year) or Author (Year)

Key Elements Explained

  • Author: Individual author, organization, or if none available, start with title
  • Date: Publication or last updated date. Use (n.d.) if no date available
  • Title: Webpage title in sentence case and italics
  • Site Name: Website name in title case
  • URL: Direct link to the webpage

APA Website Citation Examples

Website with Individual Author

Reference:

Johnson, M. (2023, March 15). Understanding climate change impacts. Environmental Research Center. https://www.erc.org/climate-impacts

In-text:

Climate change affects multiple ecosystems (Johnson, 2023).

Website with Organization as Author

Reference:

American Psychological Association. (2024, January 10). Mental health resources for students. https://www.apa.org/student-resources

In-text:

Students need accessible mental health resources (American Psychological Association, 2024).

Website with No Author

Reference:

Digital marketing trends 2024. (2024, February 5). Marketing Today. https://www.marketingtoday.com/trends-2024

In-text:

New digital marketing strategies are emerging ("Digital Marketing Trends 2024," 2024).

Website with No Date

Reference:

Smith, R. (n.d.). History of web development. Tech Chronicles. https://www.techchronicles.com/web-history

In-text:

Web development has evolved significantly (Smith, n.d.).

In-Text Citations for Websites

Parenthetical Citations

  • Place at the end of the sentence: (Author, Year)
  • Multiple authors: (Smith & Jones, 2023)
  • No author: ("Title of Page," Year)
  • No date: (Author, n.d.)

Narrative Citations

  • Author is part of the sentence: According to Smith (2023)...
  • Multiple authors: Smith and Jones (2023) found that...

Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Don't Do This

  • Include retrieval dates unless content changes frequently
  • Use "Retrieved from" before the URL
  • Include database names for freely available content
  • Put quotation marks around webpage titles
  • Include "http://" or "https://" labels

✅ Do This Instead

  • Use clean URLs without retrieval dates
  • Start directly with the URL
  • Only include database info if access is restricted
  • Italicize webpage titles
  • Include the full URL with protocol

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Our generator supports:

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