Entire Website
According to the APA manual (7th ed.), you do not need to cite entire websites in the reference list. In the body of the paper, provide the name of the site and URL.
In-text citation:
The Department of Health has just released a new site called HealthCare.gov at //www.healthcare.gov to help people identify and compare health care programs available in their area.
Web Page/Document
If you're citing a page or document from a website, the content type determines how you should cite the source (e.g. journal article, blog post, wiki, YouTube video, etc.). If you're citing something whose content type isn't clearly defined (see Ch. 7 in the APA Manual), you may consider using this format which includes key pieces of information (URLs should link directly to the source if possible):
General Format:
Author, A. A. (date). Title of webpage/document. Website. //www.someaddress.com/full/url/
Single Author
General Format:
Author, A. A. (date). Title of webpage/document. Website. //www.someaddress.com/full/url/
For Example (don't forget to indent the second and subsequent lines):
Barasch, A. (2018, April 2). Yes, Africa is splitting in two, and it’s extremely slow and extremely fast. Slate. //slate.com/technology/2018/04/yes-africa-is-splitting-in-two-and-its-extremely-slow-and-extremely-fast.html
Multiple Authors
General Format:
Author, AA. & Author B.B. (date). Title of webpage/document. Website. //www.someaddress.com/full/url/
Author, A. A., Author B. B., & Author C. C. (date). Title of webpage/document. Website. //www.someaddress.com/full/url/
For Example (don't forget to indent the second and subsequent lines):
Harel, D., Katz, G., Marelly, R., & Marronn, A. (2015, January 23). Wise computing: Towards endowing system development with true wisdom. Cornell University. //arxiv.org/abs/1501.05924
Corporate Authors
General Format:
Corporate Author. (date). Title of webpage/document. //www.someaddress.com/full/url/
When the author of the webpage and the publisher of the website are the same, omit the publisher name to avoid repetition (as in the below example):
For Example (don't forget to indent the second and subsequent lines):
CROW Clinic. (2016). Found an animal? Here’s what to do. //www.crowclinic.org/found-animal
United Nations. (n.d.). Water Action Decade. //www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/water-action-decade/
Corresponding In-text citations:
(Barasch, 2018)
(Harel et al., 2015)
(CROW Clinic, 2016)
More information
- Missing Reference Information (American Psychological Association)
- DOIs and URLS (American Psychological Association)
- Elements of Reference List Entries (American Psychological Association)
- APA guide (Shapiro Library)
- Website Reference List Examples (American Psychological Association)
- APA Style Help (American Psychological Association)
Further Help
This information is intended to be a guideline, not expert advice. Please be sure to speak to your professor about the appropriate way to cite sources in your class assignments and projects.
Campus Students
To access Academic Support, visit your Brightspace course and select “Tutoring and Mentoring” from the Academic Support pulldown menu.
Online Students
To access help with citations and more, visit the Academic Support via modules in Brightspace:
- Academic Support Overview: Getting Help with your Schoolwork This link opens in a new window
Content authored by: GS
Piece of Online Content
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of online content: Subtitle. Website Name. URL.
Reference List Citation | Aubrey, A. (2019, December 12) How to reduce food waste. NPR. //www.npr.org/2019/12/10/786867315/how-to-reduce-food-waste |
In-Text Citation | (Aubrey, 2019) |
Note: Review this source carefully! You may need to follow the citation structure for a news article, magazine article, blog post, journal article etc. Use the format that best describes your source.
Webpage
Author/Group/Organization Name. (Date). Title of page: Subtitle. Website Name. URL
Reference List Citation | University of Alabama. (2020). Coronavirus: Virtual student services. //healthinfo.ua.edu/virtual-student-services/ |
In-Text Citation | (University of Alabama, 2020) |
Note: If the author and website name are the same, omit the website name entry.
Blog Post
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of blog post. Blog Title. URL
Reference List Citation | Gritters. J. (2019, August 30). Are green spaces in cities as good for us as green spaces in mountains? REI CO-Op Journal. //www.rei.com/blog |
In-Text Citation | (Gritters, 2019) |
Report/Document from a website
Corporation/Group/Organization's Name. (Publication Date). Title of report: Subtitle (Publication Number). Website Name. URL
Reference List Citation | National Association of Social Workers. (2005). NASW standards for clinical social work in social work practice. //www.socialworkers.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=YOg4qdefLBE%3d&portalid=0 |
In-Text Citation | (National Association of Social Workers, 2005) |
Note: If the author and website name are the same, omit the website name entry.
Tips
No author? If the webpage's author is not listed, begin your citation with the title instead
Retrieved from? Only include a retrieval date when the webpage's content is likely to change over time
- Author. (Date). Title of page. Website name. Retrieved Month Date, Year, from URL
Dates?
- If there is no publication date, look for the date that the content was last updated or the copyright date.
- If an item has no date, use n.d. where you would normally put the date.