APA 7th Edition Website Citation Generator
Paste a webpage URL to create an APA 7 reference and matching in-text citation. AllCitations formats author, date, page title, website name, and URL according to APA 7 rules.
Auto-extracted from the URL
- Author or organisation
- Publication or update date
- Page title in sentence case
- Site or publisher name
- Full URL
National Institute of Mental Health. (2024). Anxiety disorders. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/anxiety-disorders
(National Institute of Mental Health, 2024)
+5 more variations covered below
Sample formatted to the official APA 7th edition rules. Your real citation fills in from any URL, DOI, or ISBN.
Paste a website URL to generate an APA 7 citation
Added citations open in the full bibliography generator, where you can copy, edit, or export them.
APA 7 website citation format
Use this template as the structure for every website citation in APA 7.
Reference list template
Author or Organization. (Year, Month Day). Title of page in sentence case. Site Name. https://www.example.com/page
In-text citation template
(Author or Organization, Year)
- Italicize the page title only when the work stands alone (a standalone report, a one-page resource); do not italicize for pages inside a larger site.
- Omit Site Name when it is the same as the author (for example, organisation websites where the org is the author).
- Use (n.d.) for 'no date' when no publication date is shown anywhere on the page.
Common website citation variations
Real websites do not always fit the standard template. Use these examples for the edge cases you will hit most often.
Organisation as author
Reference list
World Health Organization. (2023, October 5). Depression. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression
In-text
(World Health Organization, 2023)
When the organisation is also the publisher, omit the Site Name to avoid duplication.
Individual author with site name
Reference list
Petrosky-Nadeau, N. (2024, March 12). Why labor force participation is recovering. Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. https://www.frbsf.org/research/publications/economic-letter/2024/march/labor-force-participation-recovering/
In-text
(Petrosky-Nadeau, 2024)
No date available
Reference list
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). About chronic diseases. https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/about/index.htm
In-text
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d.)
Use (n.d.) when no publication or last-updated date appears on the page itself.
Page expected to change (with retrieval date)
Reference list
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (n.d.). Consumer price index summary. Retrieved April 10, 2026, from https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm
In-text
(U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d.)
Retrieval dates are only used for content that updates without archived versions, like statistical dashboards.
Unknown author
Reference list
New tab page. (2024, January 15). About this page. https://example.com/new-tab
In-text
("New tab page", 2024)
Move the page title into the author position; use the first few words in the in-text citation, in quotation marks.
How to cite a website in APA 7, step by step
1. Identify the author
Look for a byline or 'About the author' note. If a person wrote the page, use Last name, First initial. (Petrosky-Nadeau, N.). If an organisation produced it, use the full organisation name as the author (World Health Organization). Only fall back to using the page title when no author or organisation is given.
2. Find the publication date
APA 7 wants the date the page was published or last meaningfully updated, formatted as (Year, Month Day) when the day is shown, or (Year) for year-only. Use (n.d.) when no date appears anywhere on the page. Do not use a copyright date from the site footer as the publication date for an individual page.
3. Write the page title in sentence case
Capitalise only the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns. Italicise the title only when the page is a standalone work (a single-page report, an executive summary). Most pages on larger sites are not italicised.
4. Add the site name
Include the site name (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, NPR, Stat News) in regular type. Omit the site name when it would duplicate the author - for example, if the World Health Organization is both the author and the site owner.
5. Include the URL
Paste the full URL with the https:// prefix. APA 7 prefers stable, permanent links - use a permalink or archived URL when one is offered. Do not break the URL across lines with hyphens.
6. Build the in-text citation
Use (Author, Year) at the end of the sentence, or integrate the author name into the prose: According to the National Institute of Mental Health (2024). For paraphrased material a year is enough; for direct quotes, add a paragraph number when no page exists: (NIMH, 2024, para. 3).
Common APA 7 website citation mistakes
Avoid: Writing 'Retrieved from' before every URL
Correction: APA 7 removed 'Retrieved from' for stable URLs. Only include 'Retrieved [date], from' when the page is expected to change without archived versions.
Avoid: Italicising every page title
Correction: Italicise the title only when the page is a standalone work. A regular blog post or org page does not get italics; a single-page report does.
Avoid: Using a website's copyright year (e.g., '© 2024') as the publication date
Correction: Find the page-level publication or update date. If none exists, use (n.d.) rather than the site-wide copyright year.
Avoid: Repeating the organisation in both the author and site name slots
Correction: When the author and site owner are the same organisation, omit the site name to avoid duplication.
Avoid: Putting the URL in angle brackets or adding a period inside it
Correction: Write the URL as plain text and place the final period after the URL only if it ends the reference sentence-style - APA actually omits the trailing period after a DOI or URL.
Avoid: Including an access date for every webpage
Correction: Retrieval dates are only for content that changes without archived versions (statistical dashboards, live wiki pages). A regular news article or org page does not need one.
When this format does not apply
The website format is not always the right choice - use these notes to pick the right citation style for adjacent source types.
The 'website' is actually a news article
Cite it as a news article: include the news outlet's name where the site name normally goes, and italicise the article title only if the outlet is treated as a periodical (e.g., The New York Times).
The page is a blog post on a larger site
Treat the blog post title as the work title (in sentence case, not italicised) and the blog name as the site name. Author is the post author.
The content is a PDF report hosted on a website
Cite it as a report rather than a webpage. Italicise the report title, include the publishing organisation, and link to the PDF directly.
It's a social media post or comment
Use the APA social media format instead (username, date, post content in quotes/italicised depending on platform). The webpage format will not capture the right metadata.
The page is an entry in an online encyclopaedia
Cite as an online reference work: include the editor, year, entry title, and 'In' before the encyclopaedia name.
Quick APA 7 rules
- Use the author or organization name first.
- Use (n.d.) when the page has no publication date.
- Italicize the page title only when the page is a standalone work.
- Include a retrieval date only for pages designed to change over time.
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Frequently asked questions
How do I cite a website in APA 7?v
List the author or organization, date, page title in sentence case, website name when different from the author, and the URL. The in-text citation is (Author, Year).
Do APA website citations need an access date?v
Most APA 7 website citations do not need an access date. Add 'Retrieved [date], from' only when the content is designed to change without archived versions, such as a live statistical dashboard.
What if a webpage has no author?v
Move the page title into the author slot. In the in-text citation, use the first few words of the title in quotation marks: ('Climate change overview', 2024).
Should I italicise the page title in APA 7?v
Only italicise when the webpage is a standalone work, like a single-page report or executive summary. Pages that are part of a larger website (blog posts, organisation info pages) are not italicised.
How do I cite a PDF hosted on a website in APA 7?v
Cite it as a report, not as a webpage. Use the report format (Author/Organisation, Year, italicised report title, publisher, URL) and link directly to the PDF.
What date do I use if the page shows only a copyright year?v
A site-wide copyright year is not a publication date for an individual page. If you cannot find a real publication or update date for the specific page, use (n.d.).