MLA Website Citations

    Complete guide to citing websites, web pages, blog posts, and online sources in MLA format

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    Published: September 15, 2025
    By Paper Hero Team

    Basic Website Citation Format

    Website citations include information about the author, page title, website name, publication date, and URL. Many web sources lack some of these elements, so include what's available and follow MLA guidelines for missing information.

    Website Citation Template
    Essential

    Author. "Page Title." Website Name, Date, URL.

    Example: Johnson, Sarah. "Digital Learning Trends." Education Today, 15 Mar. 2024, www.educationtoday.com/digital-trends.

    Standard Website Articles

    Articles with Full Information

    When all information is available, include the author's name, article title in quotation marks, website name in italics, publication date, and URL.

    Format:

    Author. "Article Title." Website Name, Date, URL.

    Example:

    Martinez, Carlos. "The Future of Online Education." Higher Ed Tech, 8 Apr. 2024, www.highedtech.com/future-online-education.

    Corporate or Organization Authors

    When an organization is the author, start with the organization name. If the organization name is the same as the website name, you can omit the author and start with the article title.

    American Educational Association. "Standards for Digital Learning." AEA Online, 12 Feb. 2024, www.aea.org/digital-standards.

    "Teaching Best Practices." National Education Association, 20 Jan. 2024, www.nea.org/teaching-practices.

    Missing Information Scenarios

    No Author Listed

    When no individual author is listed, start with the article title. If there's a clear organizational author that differs from the website name, use that instead.

    "Student Success in Remote Learning." Education Week, 5 Mar. 2024, www.edweek.org/student-success-remote.

    No Publication Date

    If no publication date is available, include your access date with "Accessed" before the date.

    Chen, Lisa. "Innovative Teaching Methods." Teaching Today, www.teachingtoday.com/innovative-methods. Accessed 15 Apr. 2024.

    No Page Title

    If the web page doesn't have a clear title, use a descriptive phrase in square brackets or use the website's homepage title.

    Wilson, Robert. [Homepage]. Educational Research Institute, 2024, www.eri.org.

    Specific Website Types

    Blog Posts

    For blog posts, include the author, post title, blog name, publication date, and URL.

    Thompson, Emma. "Adapting to Digital Classrooms." Teaching in the 21st Century, 22 Mar. 2024, www.teaching21.com/digital-classrooms.

    News Website Articles

    For articles from news websites, follow the standard format but ensure you distinguish between the news website and newspaper publications.

    Rodriguez, Maria. "Education Funding Increases." CNN, 18 Feb. 2024, www.cnn.com/education/funding-increases.

    Government Websites

    For government publications online, include the department or agency as author, document title, website name, date, and URL.

    U.S. Department of Education. "Student Financial Aid Report 2024." Federal Student Aid, 10 Jan. 2024, studentaid.gov/reports/annual-report-2024.

    URL Guidelines

    URL Formatting

    Include the complete URL without "http://" or "https://" prefixes. Use the permalink or stable URL when available. Break long URLs at logical points if necessary.

    URL Best Practices

    • • Remove protocols: Use "www.example.com" not "https://www.example.com"
    • • Stable links: Use permalinks when available
    • • No line breaks: Don't break URLs unless absolutely necessary
    • • Check accessibility: Ensure URLs lead to the correct page
    • • Avoid tracking: Remove tracking parameters when possible

    DOIs for Web Sources

    If a web source includes a DOI, use it instead of the URL, following the same format as journal articles.

    Anderson, Kevin. "Digital Literacy Research." Educational Research Portal, 3 May 2024, doi:10.1234/erp.2024.05.03.

    Date Formatting

    Publication Date Format

    Use the date format: Day Month Year (15 Mar. 2024). Abbreviate months longer than four letters. If only month and year are available, use that format.

    Full date: 15 Mar. 2024

    Month and year: Mar. 2024

    Year only: 2024

    No date: Use access date with "Accessed"

    Access Dates

    Include access dates only when no publication date is available or when the content is likely to change frequently.

    Foster, Daniel. "Real-Time Education Data." Live Stats Education, www.livestats.edu/current-data. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.

    In-Text Citations for Websites

    Basic In-Text Citations

    Use the author's last name for in-text citations. Since most web sources don't have page numbers, typically only the author name is needed.

    Research shows that online learning continues to grow (Martinez).

    Martinez reports that "digital education platforms are becoming more sophisticated."

    No Author In-Text Citations

    When no author is available, use a shortened version of the article title in quotation marks.

    Student engagement has improved significantly ("Student Success").

    The report indicates that "remote learning outcomes exceed expectations" ("Student Success").

    Paragraph or Section Numbers

    If the web source includes paragraph or section numbers, you can include them in your in-text citation for precise referencing.

    The study demonstrates significant improvement (Chen, par. 3).

    Website Citation Examples

    Complete Examples

    Standard Website Article:

    Peterson, Laura. "Effective Online Teaching Strategies." Digital Education Hub, 12 Apr. 2024, www.digitaledhub.com/teaching-strategies.

    No Author:

    "Best Practices for Remote Learning." Educational Resources, 8 Mar. 2024, www.eduresources.org/remote-learning.

    Government Website:

    Department of Education. "Student Achievement Data 2024." ED.gov, 15 Feb. 2024, www.ed.gov/data/achievement-2024.

    Blog Post:

    Kim, Jennifer. "Technology Integration in Elementary Schools." Primary Teaching Blog, 25 Jan. 2024, www.primaryteaching.com/tech-integration.

    No Publication Date:

    Brown, Michael. "Classroom Management Tips." Teaching Excellence, www.teachingexcellence.edu/management-tips. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.

    Common Website Citation Mistakes

    Avoid These Errors

    ❌ Wrong:

    Smith, John. Digital Learning Trends. Education Today. 15 Mar. 2024. https://www.educationtoday.com/digital-trends.

    ✅ Correct:

    Smith, John. "Digital Learning Trends." Education Today, 15 Mar. 2024, www.educationtoday.com/digital-trends.

    Article titles use quotation marks; remove https://; use commas

    ❌ Wrong:

    Johnson, M. "Teaching Methods." Digital Education Hub, March 12, 2024, www.digitaledhub.com.

    ✅ Correct:

    Johnson, Maria. "Teaching Methods." Digital Education Hub, 12 Mar. 2024, www.digitaledhub.com/teaching-methods.

    Use full first name; italicize website name; use MLA date format; include full URL

    ❌ Wrong:

    "Online Learning Tips." Retrieved from www.education.com on April 15, 2024.

    ✅ Correct:

    "Online Learning Tips." Education.com, www.education.com/online-tips. Accessed 15 Apr. 2024.

    Include website name; don't use "Retrieved from"; use "Accessed" format

    ❌ Wrong:

    Chen, Lisa. "Student Engagement." Teaching Today. N.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2024.

    ✅ Correct:

    Chen, Lisa. "Student Engagement." Teaching Today, www.teachingtoday.org/engagement. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.

    Don't use "N.d." or "Web"; include URL; use proper access date format