How to Cite a Website in MLA

MLA 9th edition builds every Works Cited entry from the same core elements, in order. For a webpage those are: author, page title, site name, publication date, and the URL.

The MLA website format

The template for a Works Cited entry is:

Author. “Title of the Webpage.” Site Name, Day Month Year, www.example.com/page-address.

Author: surname first, then the full first name as given. An organisation can be the author; if the organisation is also the site name, start with the page title instead.
Page title: title case, in quotation marks, with the full stop inside the closing quote.
Site name: title case and italic — it is the container that holds the page.
Date: day, month, year, in that order (8 June 2023), with months longer than four letters abbreviated (Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.).
URL: give it without the https:// prefix. A DOI, if the page has one, is preferred over a URL. If the page shows no publication date, end with your access date: Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Worked examples

Webpage with an author and date
Garcia, Maria L. “Five Ways to Revise More Effectively.” Study Skills Hub, 8 June 2023, www.studyskillshub.org/revision-tips.

No named author
“Understanding Plagiarism and How to Avoid It.” Academic Integrity Office, 2025, www.academicintegrityoffice.edu/plagiarism-guide.

No publication date — access date given
“Local History Collections.” City Public Library, www.citypubliclibrary.org/local-history. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.

In-text citations

MLA in-text citations are the author’s surname, with a page number only when the source has stable pages: (Garcia). Webpages usually have no page numbers, so the surname alone is correct — do not invent paragraph numbers in MLA. With no author, use a shortened form of the page title: (“Understanding Plagiarism”).

Common mistakes

Leaving https:// at the front of the URL — MLA omits it.
Putting the site name in quotation marks instead of italics — the page is the part in quotes; the site is the container.
Writing the date in US order (June 8, 2023) — MLA Works Cited entries run day month year.
Adding an access date to every entry — it is optional, and matters most when the page has no publication date.

Generate it instead

Fill in the details once and copy the finished reference — formatted, with italics and hanging indent preserved.

Or open the full MLA website citation generator.

Check your reference against your institution’s guidelines — lecturers sometimes vary the style.

Cite this page

Referencing this guide in your own work? Add it to your list exactly as a website source, formatted for you.