How to Reference a Website in Your Essay (APA, Harvard, MLA, Chicago)

Websites are the most common source students cite in essays. They are also the most commonly cited incorrectly. Missing authors, unclear dates, and organisation pages all create confusion about what goes where.

This guide gives you the exact template for each major citation style, with concrete examples and solutions for the tricky cases you will actually run into.

APA 7th Edition

Template

Reference list:

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

In-text citation:

(Author, Year)

Example

Reference list:

World Health Organization. (2024, June 12). Mental health of adolescents. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health

In-text citation:

(World Health Organization, 2024)

Common Variations

No author: Move the title into the author position. Use italics for the title in the reference list and in-text citation.

Mental health of adolescents. (2024, June 12). World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health

In-text: (Mental health of adolescents, 2024)

No date: Replace the year with (n.d.).

World Health Organization. (n.d.). Mental health of adolescents. https://www.who.int/…

In-text: (World Health Organization, n.d.)

Organisation as author: If the author and site name are the same, omit the site name from the reference to avoid repetition (as shown in the main example above).

Note: APA 7th does not require a retrieval date unless the content is likely to change over time (e.g., a wiki page). For most web pages, skip the retrieval date.

Harvard Referencing

Template

Reference list:

Author/Organisation (Year) Title of page. Available at: URL (Accessed: Day Month Year).

In-text citation:

(Author, Year)

Example

Reference list:

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2025) National health survey: first results. Available at: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/health-conditions-and-risks/national-health-survey (Accessed: 15 March 2026).

In-text citation:

(Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2025)

Common Variations

No author: Use the title in place of the author.

National health survey: first results (2025) Available at: https://www.abs.gov.au/… (Accessed: 15 March 2026).

In-text: (National health survey, 2025)

No date: Use (no date) in place of the year.

Australian Bureau of Statistics (no date) National health survey: first results. Available at: https://www.abs.gov.au/… (Accessed: 15 March 2026).

In-text: (Australian Bureau of Statistics, no date)

Note: Harvard always requires an accessed date. This is one of the key differences from APA.

MLA 9th Edition

Template

Works Cited:

Author. “Title of Page.” Website Name, Publisher (if different from website name), Day Month Year, URL.

In-text citation:

(Author)

Example

Works Cited:

Johnson, Sarah. “The Rise of Urban Farming in Australia.” The Guardian, 8 Jan. 2025, www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/08/urban-farming-australia.

In-text citation:

(Johnson)

Common Variations

No author: Start with the title of the page in quotation marks.

“The Rise of Urban Farming in Australia.” The Guardian, 8 Jan. 2025, www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/08/urban-farming-australia.

In-text: (“The Rise of Urban Farming”)

No date: Simply omit the date from the entry. Do not write “n.d.”

Johnson, Sarah. “The Rise of Urban Farming in Australia.” The Guardian, www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/08/urban-farming-australia.

Organisation as author: Use the organisation name as the author. If it is also the website name, start with the title instead to avoid repetition.

Note: MLA 9th does not require “https://” at the start of URLs. It also does not require an access date unless your instructor asks for one.

Chicago (Notes-Bibliography)

Template

Footnote (first reference):

Author First Last, “Title of Page,” Website Name, Month Day, Year, URL.

Bibliography:

Author Last, First. “Title of Page.” Website Name. Month Day, Year. URL.

Shortened footnote (subsequent references):

Author Last, “Short Title.”

Example

Footnote:

1. Rebecca Smith, “How Climate Change Affects Coastal Cities,” National Geographic, March 3, 2025, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/climate-change-coastal-cities.

Bibliography:

Smith, Rebecca. “How Climate Change Affects Coastal Cities.” National Geographic. March 3, 2025. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/climate-change-coastal-cities.

Common Variations

No author: Start with the title of the page.

Footnote: “How Climate Change Affects Coastal Cities,” National Geographic, March 3, 2025, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/…

Bibliography: “How Climate Change Affects Coastal Cities.” National Geographic. March 3, 2025. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/…

No date: Use “n.d.” in place of the date. Add an accessed date.

Smith, Rebecca. “How Climate Change Affects Coastal Cities.” National Geographic. n.d. Accessed March 21, 2026. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/…

Organisation as author: Use the organisation name in the author position.

Tricky Cases

Social Media Posts

Social media posts follow different rules in each style. The general pattern is to include the author (or username/handle), the date, the content of the post (or its first few words), the platform, and the URL.

APA: Obama, B. [@BarackObama]. (2024, November 5). Four more years [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/…

Harvard: Obama, B. (2024) [Twitter] 5 November. Available at: https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/… (Accessed: 21 March 2026).

MLA: Obama, Barack (@BarackObama). “Four more years.” Twitter, 5 Nov. 2024, twitter.com/BarackObama/status/…

Chicago: Barack Obama (@BarackObama), “Four more years,” Twitter, November 5, 2024, https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/…

PDFs Found Online

If you accessed a PDF through a website, cite it like a web page but note the format where the style allows it. APA, for example, lets you add [PDF] after the title. MLA does not require a format note. The key detail: your URL should point to the PDF itself or the page where you accessed it.

Government Websites

Government sources almost always use an organisation as the author. Use the government department or agency name.

APA: Department of Education. (2025, February 10). National literacy strategy 2025-2030 [PDF]. Australian Government. https://www.education.gov.au/…

Harvard: Department of Education (2025) National literacy strategy 2025-2030. Available at: https://www.education.gov.au/… (Accessed: 21 March 2026).

For very well-known government bodies, check whether your style guide recommends abbreviations in subsequent citations (e.g., WHO, ABS, DoE).

Quick Comparison

Detail	APA 7th	Harvard	MLA 9th	Chicago
Access date required?	Only if content changes	Always	Only if instructor requires	Only if no publication date
“https://” in URL?	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
No date format	(n.d.)	(no date)	Omit entirely	n.d.
Title formatting	Italics	Italics	Quotation marks	Quotation marks

Save Yourself the Formatting Headaches

Getting the punctuation, italics, and order right for every single source is tedious, and one small mistake can cost you marks. RefFinder formats your website citations automatically in APA, Harvard, MLA, and Chicago. Paste a URL, choose your style, and get a correctly formatted reference you can drop straight into your essay.