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Citing Sources: Websites

Tips

Author

It can sometimes be difficult to find out who the author of a website is. Remember that an author can be a corporation or group, not only a specific person. Author information can sometimes be found under an "About" section on a website. 

If there is no known author, start the citation with the title of the website instead. 

Date

The best date to use for a website is the date that the content was last updated. Unfortunately this information may not be provided or may be hard to find. Often date information is put on the bottom of the pages of a website.

If you do not know the complete date, put as much information as you can find. For example you may have a year but no month or day.

If there is no date provided, put the letters (n.d.) in round brackets where you'd normally put the date.

Retrieval Date

If the content of a website is likely to change over time (e.g. Wikis) and an archived version is not available, you must provide the date you last visited the website. Include a retrieval date before the website or webpage URL. 

Long URLs

If a URL is too long to fit onto one line, you may use shortened URLs if desired. URLs from bit.ly or other URL shortening services are acceptable so long as you check the link to ensure that it takes you to the correct location. 

Webpage on a Website - Individual Author

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year webpage was updated/published, Month Day if given). Title of webpage. Title of Website. URL

Note: If the author and site name are the same (e.g. the name of a government agency), omit the site name from the citation. 

Example

Price, D. (2018, March 23). Laziness does not exist. Medium. https://humanparts.medium.com/laziness-does-not-exist-3af27e312d01
In-Text Paraphrase (Price, 2018)
In-Text Quote

(Price, 2018, para. 8)

Note:When there are no visible page numbers or paragraph numbers, you may cite the section heading and/or the number of the paragraph in that section to identify where your quote came from. If no paragraph numbers are provided, count the paragraphs manually. 

Webpage on a Website - Corporate or Group Author

Corporation/Group/Organization's Name. (Year website was last updated/published, Month Day if given). Title of webpage. Site name. URL

Example

World Health Organization. (2019, April). Questions and answers about autism spectrum disorders (ASD)​. https://www.who.int/features/qa/85/en/

Note: When the author and the site name are the same, omit the site name from the citation.
In-Text Paraphrase (World Health Organization, 2019)
In-Text Quote

(World Health Organization, 2019, How Common Are Autism Spectrum Disorders section) 

Note: When there are no visible page numbers or paragraph numbers, you may cite the section heading and the number of the paragraph in that section to identify where your quote came from. In this example the section under the heading contains a single paragraph, so a paragraph number is not necessary.

 

Article on a News Website

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year article was published, Month Day if given). Title of article. Title of Website. URL

Note: Use this format for articles published in online news sources that are not also published in print (e.g. BBC News, Huffpost, Salon, CNN). See Newspaper Article from a Website to cite an article from the website of a newspaper that is also published in print (e.g. Toronto Star, New York Times). 

Example

Li, S. (2020, February 21). How Instagram culture is contributing to the climate crisis. Huffpost. https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/social-media-fast-fashion-climate-change_n_5e4da24cc5b6db259021de1a?ri18n=true
In-Text Paraphrase (Li, 2020)
In-Text Quote

(Li, 2020, para. 5)

Note: When there are no visible page numbers or paragraph numbers, you may cite the section heading and/or the number of the paragraph in that section to identify where your quote came from. If no paragraph numbers are provided, count the paragraphs manually. 

Report or Document from a Website – Corporate or Group Author

Corporation/Group/Organization's Name. (Year document was published, Month Day if given). Title of document: Subtitle if given. (edition or Report No. if given). URL

Example

Ministry of Children and Youth Services. (2016, September 12). Student nutrition program nutrition guidelines 2016. http://www.children.gov.on.ca/htdocs/English/documents/studentnutrition/SNP-nutrition-guidelines-2016.pdf
In-Text Paraphrase (Ministry of Children and Youth Services, 2016)
In-Text Quote

(Ministry of Children and Youth Services, 2016, p. 20)

Wikipedia

Title of entry. (Year of archived version used, Month Day). In Wikipedia. URL of archived page

Note: Cite the archived version of the page so that readers can retrieve the version you used. Access the archived version on Wikipedia by selecting "View history" and then the time and date of the most recent version. 

Wikipedia may not be considered an acceptable source for a college or university assignment. Be sure to evaluate the content carefully and check your assignment.

Example

Veterinary medicine. (2020, February 8). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Veterinary_medicine&oldid=939678536
In-Text Paraphrase

("Title of Entry," Year)

("Veterinary Medicine," 2020)

Note: Use double quotation marks around the title of an article in the in-text citation. Capitalize the title using title case, even though sentence case is used in the reference list entry. If the title is long, shorten it for the in-text citation.
In-Text Quote

("Title of entry," Year, Section Name section, para. Paragraph Number)

("Veterinary Medicine," 2020, Paraveterinary Workers section, para. 1)

Note: Because Wikipedia does not have page numbers, cite the section heading and the number of the paragraph in that section to identify where your quote came from.