How to Cite a Website in APA (7th Edition)
Websites are the most common — and most confusing — thing students cite. Here's the APA 7 format, plus the tricky cases: no author, no date, and a whole site vs. a single page. With copy-ready examples.
The basic APA website format
A citation for a web page in APA 7 has four parts:
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of the page. Site Name. https://URL
Example:
Kraft, M. (2023, June 14). How referencing builds trust in research. Scholarly Notes. https://example.org/referencing-trust
The page title is in italics and sentence case. If the author and the site name are identical (for example, an organization's own page), omit the site name to avoid repetition.
In-text citation
- Paraphrase:
(Kraft, 2023) - Direct quote:
(Kraft, 2023, para. 4)— web pages rarely have page numbers, so cite the paragraph.
Website with no author
Move the title into the author position:
How referencing builds trust in research. (2023, June 14). Scholarly Notes. https://example.org/referencing-trust
In text, use a shortened title in quotation marks: ("How Referencing Builds Trust," 2023).
Website with no date
Use (n.d.) in place of the year, in both the reference and the in-text citation: (Kraft, n.d.).
Whole website vs. a specific page
If you're referring to an entire website, you usually don't need a reference-list entry at all — just name it and give the URL in the text. Create a full reference only when you cite a specific page or document.
Choose "Website" in our free APA citation generator, fill in the fields, and copy a correct reference and in-text citation instantly.
One rule that matters more than formatting
Perfect APA formatting on a source that doesn't exist is still academic misconduct. If an AI tool suggested a web source, open it and confirm it's real before you cite it — AI models are known to invent realistic-looking references.
Write with citations that are already real
CiteGood writes from real sources and formats every citation for you — nothing to fabricate, nothing to double-check.
Try CiteGood free →Frequently asked questions
How do you cite a website in APA 7?
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of the page. Site Name. https://URL. If the author and the site name are the same, omit the site name.
How do you cite a website with no author in APA?
Move the title to the author position: Title of the page. (Year, Month Day). Site Name. URL. In text, use a short title in quotation marks: ("Page Title," 2024).
How do you cite a website with no date in APA?
Use (n.d.) — 'no date' — in place of the year, both in the reference and in the in-text citation: (Author, n.d.).
Do you need to include an access date for a website in APA?
Usually no. APA 7 only requires a retrieval date for content designed to change over time and that isn't archived (for example, a live Google Map or a dictionary entry that updates).