HOW TO CITE A WEBSITE

Michelle Golden, PhD
PhD in English, Georgia State University

1.- Start your reference list entry with the name of the author.

If an individual author is listed, type their last name first, followed by a comma, then their first and middle initials (if a middle initial is given. Usually, the author of a website will be the government agency, organization, or business that owns the website. In that case, list the name of that entity followed by a period.

      Example: Canadian Cancer Society.

2.- Add the year the website or page was published.

If a publication date is provided next to the content you are citing, include that year in parentheses after the name of the author. Place a period after the closing parentheses. If no date is provided for the specific content you're citing, use the abbreviation "n.d." (for "no date") inside the parentheses. Do not use the copyright date for the website itself.

         Example: Canadian Cancer Society. (2017). 

3.- Type the title of the web page in sentence case.

Type a space after the period that follows the date, then type the title of the web page, which will usually appear as a header at the top of the page. Use sentence case, capitalizing only the first word and any proper nouns. Place a period at the end of the title.

         Example: Canadian Cancer Society. (2017). Cancer research.

  If the content you're citing is a stand-alone document, the title should     be italicized. This will usually be the case if you're citing a PDF document that appears on a website. If you're not sure, use your best judgment in deciding whether to italicize it or not.

4.- Close with the direct URL of the web page.

Copy the full direct URL or permalink of the content you want to cite. Type the words "Retrieved from," then past the URL into your entry. Do not place a period at the end of the URL. If the URL is overly long, ask your instructor or supervisor if you can use a shortened link.

          Example: Canadian Cancer Society. (2017). Cancer research. Retrieved from http://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/cancer-101/cancer-research/?region=on

APA Reference List Format:

Author Last Name, A. A./Institution (Year). Title of web page in sentence case. Retrieved from URL