MLA Website Citations | Format & Examples
MLA essays about social issues often use evidence from websites, such as online news articles or government reports.
When you use ideas from websites, MLA requires two types of documentation:
- In-text citations that include the author (and sometimes a page)
- Works Cited entries that include the author, article title, website name, publication date, and URL
In-text citations for websites are unique because sometimes there are pages to cite, and sometimes there aren’t.
Use the examples below to learn about the MLA citation format for different types of websites, or try QuillBot’s free Citation Generator to create in-text citations and Works Cited entries.
| In-text citation | Works Cited entry |
| Currin writes, “Late that summer, the band embarked on a series of drive-in gigs, with Rust Belt fans tailgating as Strings and his quintet dazzled onstage.” |
Currin, Grayson Haver. “Billy Strings, 21st Century Rock Star, Is Trying Very Hard to Be Good.” GQ, 26 Sept. 2024, https://www.gq.com/story/billy-strings.
|
MLA basic website citation format
Each website that you cite in an essay or document needs a bibliographic entry on a Works Cited page. MLA Works Cited entries for websites usually include the following elements.
- Author name(s)
- “Article” or PDF title
- Website name
- Publication date
- URL
Works Cited entries also include a hanging indent with all lines after the first indented ½ inch. Place periods after the author(s) and article/report title. After the title, separate the site name, publication date, and URL with commas, and end the entry with a period.
The URL shouldn’t be an active link or have special formatting (e.g,. blue font and underlining). MLA advises removing “http” and allows for removing “www” if the URL needs to be shortened for visual appeal. (MLA usually doesn’t drop “http” or “www” from DOIs and permalinks in MLA journal article citations.)
Because websites don’t have numbered pages, MLA in-text citations for websites usually only need the author(s). Only cite page numbers when a document from a website has numbered pages (e.g., a report in PDF format). There are two types of in-text citations for websites: narrative and parenthetical.
In a narrative citation, the author is part of a signal phrase that includes “according to” or a present-tense verb (e.g., “writes” or “explains”). The first MLA narrative citation for a website includes the author(s) full name(s). No additional information is needed in parentheses after an MLA narrative citation for a website without numbered pages.
In MLA parenthetical citations for websites without numbered pages, the author goes in parentheses at the end of the sentence.
| MLA format |
Author. “Article Title.” Website Name, publication date, URL.
|
| MLA Works Cited entry |
Lagos, Anna. “How a PhD Student Discovered a Lost Mayan City from Hundreds of Miles Away.” Wired, 2 Nov. 2024, wired.com/story/lost-maya-city-valeriana-interview/.
|
| MLA narrative in-text citation | Anna Lagos explains that a Tulane University graduate student discovered the lost Mayan city through a laser mapping technology known as lidar.
This is an example of a first narrative citation, which includes the author’s full name. |
| MLA parenthetical in-text citation | Lidar allows researchers to scan remote areas for archeological sites buried under forests and other dense vegetation (Lagos). |
- Year only (e.g., 2024)
- Month and year (e.g., Sept. 2022)
- Day, month, and year (e.g., 17 Mar. 1999)
Use the version that matches the date on the original source. For example, if the site provides the month, day, and year, provide all of these details in the Works Cited entry, starting with the day.
In MLA date format, use abbreviations and a period for months with more than four letters (e.g., Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., Aug., Sept, Oct., Nov., and Dec.).
MLA citations for PDF reports on a website
When the document on the website is a report/PDF with numbered pages, each in-text citation should include the page number of the information you’re quoting or paraphrasing.
For narrative citations of PDFs, cite the author in a signal phrase and the page in parentheses at the end of the sentence. For parenthetical citations, cite the author and page together in parentheses at the end of the sentence (with no “p.” or punctuation).
On the Works Cited page, use italics rather than quotation marks for the report/PDF title. In these Works Cited entries, both the title and website name need italics.
| MLA Works Cited entry |
Carr, Rick. Vertical Gardening in an Urban Environment. Rodale Institute, 2017, www.rodaleinstitute.org/education/resources/vertical-gardening-in-urban-environments/.
|
| MLA narrative in-text citation | Carr explains, “When space is limited for traditional raised beds and box plots, vertical gardening becomes an attractive alternative” (5). |
| MLA parenthetical in-text citation | Vertical gardening mitigates the effects of soil contaminants that are prevalent in urban areas (Carr 4). |
MLA citations for websites with multiple authors
For websites with two authors, include both names in the Works Cited entry and in-text citations.
For sites with three or more authors, only use the first author’s name. In parenthetical citations and the Works Cited entry, use the first author’s name with “et al.” In narrative citations, use “and others” instead of “et al.”
| 2 authors | Works Cited:
Yeung, Peter, and Arias, Melanie Péréz. “The Backyard Farmers Who Grow Food with Fog.” Reasons to Be Cheerful, 18 Sept. 2023, www.reasonstobecheerful.world/lima-fog-catchers-water-scarcity-irrigation/.
|
| Narrative in-text citation:
Yeung and Arias explain that the mayor of Lima plans to install 10,000 additional fog catchers by 2027. |
|
| Parenthetical in-text citation:
Some potential challenges of the fog-catching devices include space and maintenance requirements (Yeung and Arias). |
|
| 3+ authors | Works Cited:
Kenney, Jerry, et al., “CDFIs Transform Rural Economies. We Just Need to Get Them There.” Stanford Social Innovation Review, 30 Oct. 2024, https://ssir.org/articles/entry/cdfi-rural-economic-development#.
|
| Narrative in-text citation:
Jerry Kenney and others describe the positive impact of CDFIs on entrepreneurship in rural Texas. |
|
| Parenthetical in-text citation:
First-time business owners received coaching and mentorship on effective business practices (Kenney et al.). |
MLA websites, no author or group author
Some webpages and online reports don’t include author name(s). This is common for online encyclopedias, dictionaries, newspaper editorials, and reports authored by the organizations that also published the content rather than individuals.
When an organization is both the author and the website name, begin the Works Cited entry with the article or report title, followed by the website name (in italics), the publication date, and the URL.
In-text citations for websites without authors usually include the title in place of an author. Only include page numbers in the in-text citations if the document has numbered pages.
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MLA websites, division or department author
There’s an exception to MLA guidelines for websites without human authors. When a department or division of a larger organization created the source, begin the Works Cited entry with the organization and division/department names from largest to smallest.
Also cite the organization name in the in-text citations.
Over 90 percent of US adolescents have school issued devices, but many classrooms only use them for passive learning tasks such as watching instructional videos or taking tests (US Department of Education 15).
(These citations have page numbers because the source is a PDF with numbered pages.)
MLA websites with no date
If the website doesn’t provide a publication date, leave it out of the Works Cited entry. At the end of the entry, include the date when you accessed the website or online article instead.
Where to find the details for MLA website citations
For most websites, the details for the Works Cited entry are located at the top of the page. These details include the author, title, and publication date. If you don’t see these details at the top, scroll to the bottom to see if they’re located there instead.
The URL is located in the browser bar, and you can highlight that to copy/paste at the end of a Works Cited entry.
For reports that are PDFs, some Works Cited details may be located on the landing page where you downloaded the report, and others are usually on the first 1–3 pages of the PDF.
Frequently asked questions about MLA website citations
- When should I use et al. in citations?
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How you use “et al.” in citations depends on the style guide you are using.
In MLA, “et al.” is used both for in-text citations and the Works Cited page when a source has three or more authors.
In APA 6th edition, works with three to five authors are listed using “et al.” after the first citation. In APA 7th edition, works with three or more authors are listed using “et al.” from the first in-text citation.
In Chicago style, works with four or more authors are listed using “et al.” from the first citation.
- How do you cite a government website in MLA?
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To cite a government website in MLA, begin the Works Cited entry with the name of the country, the department name, and then the committee or division name if applicable. Separate each part of the government with a comma.
The rest of the Works Cited entry should have the title of the page/article/report in quotation marks, the website name in italics, the publication date, and the URL.
The in-text MLA website citation should include the name of the government department and a page number if there are numbered pages to cite. If there aren’t numbered pages, only cite the department name, which you can also abbreviate.
MLA government websites examples Works Cited entry:United States, Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Highlights of Women’s Earnings in 2023.” BLS Reports, Aug. 2024, bls.gov/opub/reports/womens-earnings/2023/home.htm.In-text citation:
(US Dept. of Labor)
QuillBot’s free Citation Generator can help you create correct citations for government websites.
- How do you write a website title in MLA?
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To write a website title in MLA, use quotation marks for the page or article title and italics for the website name.
For both titles, capitalize all of the principal words (e.g., nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and subordinating conjunctions).
Don’t capitalize minor words, which include prepositions (e.g., “above” or “between”), coordinating conjunctions, or “to” when it’s part of an infinitive unless any of these words are the first or last word of the website name or the first word after a colon.
Website titles in MLA website citations don’t need “.com” or other details from the URL.
MLA website title example Krebs, Eric. “No Matter Who Wins, the Real Work of Sustainability Will Continue.” Reasons to Be Cheerful, 31 Oct. 2024, reasonstobecheerful.world/no-matter-who-wins-sustainability-energy/.QuillBot’s free Citation Generator can help you use correct capitalization and formatting in MLA website citations.
- When do you need a page number in an MLA website citation?
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You only need a page number in an MLA website citation when the source has numbered pages.
Most MLA website citations don’t have page numbers because websites don’t usually have numbered pages. MLA in-text citations for sources without numbered pages only include the author.
You can cite the author in the narrative of the sentence or in parentheses at the end of the sentence, like this example (Currin).
If you’re citing a PDF version of a report from a website, include the author and the page number of the information you’re quoting or paraphrasing, like this example (Carr 5).
Works Cited entries for websites, whether they’re paginated or not, don’t need page numbers.
QuillBot’s free Citation Generator can help you write correct MLA website citations.
