How to Cite a Website in MLA Style: A Complete Guide with Examples

Knowing how to cite a website in MLA style is a core skill for any student or researcher in the humanities. Web pages, online articles, blog posts, and social media now appear in nearly every paper. MLA style has clear rules for each one. This guide covers the Works Cited entry and the matching in-text citation. It walks through the container system, no-author and no-date cases, access dates, and specific source types like blog posts, YouTube videos, and social media, each with a worked example.

Quick Answer: How Do You Cite a Website in MLA?

Works Cited format.
Author Last, First. "Title of the Page." Title of Website, Publisher, Day Month Year, URL.

In-text format.
(Author Last). Example: (Etton). Web pages usually have no page number, so give the author name alone.

Core elements you need.
Author, title of the page, title of the website, publisher, publication date, and URL. Add an access date when the page has no date of its own.

The Basic MLA Website Citation Format

MLA 9 uses a container system. For a web page, the page itself is the source and the website is the container that holds it. The general structure for a Works Cited entry is this.

Author Last, First. "Title of the Page." Title of Website, Publisher, Day Month Year, URL.

Here's a worked example.

Etton, Karla. "The Association Between Variable X and Variable Y." Nature Neuroscience, Springer Nature, 27 Mar. 2024, www.natureneuroscience.com/variable-x-variable-y.

Breaking this example down:

Etton, Karla. The author's name, last name first, followed by a period.
"The Association Between Variable X and Variable Y." The page title in quotation marks and title case, followed by a period inside the closing quotation mark.
Nature Neuroscience, the title of the website, italicized, followed by a comma.
Springer Nature, the publisher or sponsoring organization, followed by a comma. Omit this when it's the same as the website name.
27 Mar. 2024, the publication date in day-month-year order. Months longer than four letters are abbreviated.
www.natureneuroscience.com/variable-x-variable-y. The URL, followed by a period. Drop the "https://" but keep the rest.

For a fuller look at how the container system works across every source type, read our guide to the MLA Works Cited page.

MLA In-Text Citation for a Website

Every Works Cited entry pairs with an in-text citation in the body of your paper. Most web pages have no page numbers. So the in-text citation usually gives just the author's last name.

Parenthetical. Put the author's last name in parentheses at the end of the sentence. Example: One study links the two variables (Etton).
Narrative. Name the author in your sentence and add nothing in parentheses. Example: Etton links the two variables.
No author. Use a shortened form of the page title instead. Put it in quotation marks. Example: ("Association Between Variable X").

Don't add "n.p." or a paragraph number unless the source numbers its own paragraphs. For the full set of rules on parenthetical and narrative form, see our guide to MLA in-text citations.

How to Cite a Website with No Author

Many web pages have no named author. When that happens, start the Works Cited entry with the page title. Don't use "Anonymous," and don't list the organization as the author if it's also the publisher.

"How to Format a Reference List." Style Guide Online, Modern Language Association, 12 Jan. 2023, www.styleguideonline.org/reference-list.

The matching in-text citation uses a shortened title: ("How to Format").

How to Cite a Website with No Date

Some pages don't show a publication date. MLA handles this differently from APA. APA uses "n.d." in place of the date. MLA has no date abbreviation. Instead, MLA lets you add an access date at the end of the entry.

Etton, Karla. "Understanding Variable X." Neuroscience Notes, www.neurosciencenotes.com/variable-x. Accessed 14 Feb. 2024.

The access date is the day you last viewed the page. It sits at the very end, after the URL, introduced by the word "Accessed." Use this whenever the page has no date of its own, or when the content is likely to change.

When to Include an Access Date

Access dates are optional in MLA 9 for pages that show their own publication date. But they're useful in two cases, and required in one.

Required when there's no publication date. If the page shows no date, the access date is your only time marker. Always include it.
Recommended for changeable content. Wikis, live databases, and pages that update often can change between visits. An access date shows which version you saw.
Optional for stable, dated pages. A news article with a clear publication date usually doesn't need one. Adding it does no harm.

How to Cite Specific Types of Online Sources

The container system flexes to fit different online sources. The core pattern stays the same. What changes is the container and the extra details.

Blog Post

A blog post is cited like a standard web page. The post title goes in quotation marks. The blog name is the container, italicized.

Etton, Karla. "Variable X in Clinical Populations." Neuroscience Notes, 20 Mar. 2024, www.neurosciencenotes.com/variable-x-clinical.

Online News or Magazine Article

For an article on a news or magazine site, the publication is the container. Include the full date when the site provides one.

Rivera, Tomás. "The Future of Open Access." The Atlantic, 3 Feb. 2024, www.theatlantic.com/science/open-access.

YouTube or Online Video

For a video, the person or channel that uploaded it acts as the author. The video title goes in quotation marks. YouTube is the container.

PBS Eons. "How Whales Got So Big." YouTube, 18 Apr. 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=example.

Social Media Post

For a social media post, use the account's display name, then the handle in brackets when it differs. Use the full text of a short post as the title, in quotation marks. The platform is the container.

Modern Language Association [@MLAstyle]. "The ninth edition streamlines the container system." X, 9 Jan. 2024, x.com/MLAstyle/status/example.

MLA Website Citation Examples at a Glance

Source Type	Works Cited Format	In-Text Example
Web page (one author)	Etton, Karla. "Title of Page." Title of Website, Publisher, Day Month Year, URL.	(Etton)
Web page (no author)	"Title of Page." Title of Website, Publisher, Day Month Year, URL.	("Title of Page")
Web page (no date)	Etton, Karla. "Title of Page." Title of Website, URL. Accessed Day Month Year.	(Etton)
Blog post	Etton, Karla. "Title of Post." Blog Name, Day Month Year, URL.	(Etton)
Online news article	Rivera, Tomás. "Title of Article." The Atlantic, Day Month Year, URL.	(Rivera)
YouTube video	Channel Name. "Title of Video." YouTube, Day Month Year, URL.	(Channel Name)
Social media post	Name [@handle]. "Text of the post." Platform, Day Month Year, URL.	(Name)

Common MLA Website Citation Mistakes to Avoid

Italicizing the page title. The page title goes in quotation marks. The website title is the one that's italicized.
Using "n.d." for a missing date. That's an APA habit. MLA has no date abbreviation. Add an access date at the end instead.
Keeping "https://" in the URL. MLA 9 drops the protocol. Start the URL at "www" or the domain name.
Putting the date in the wrong order. MLA uses day-month-year, such as 27 Mar. 2024. Abbreviate months longer than four letters.
Listing the organization as both author and publisher. If the site's organization has no separate author, start with the title and list the organization once as publisher.
Adding a page number that doesn't exist. Most web pages aren't paginated. Give the author name alone in the in-text citation.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you cite a website in MLA style?

Use this Works Cited structure: Author Last, First. "Title of the Page." Title of Website, Publisher, Day Month Year, URL. The page title goes in quotation marks and the website title is italicized. The date uses day-month-year order, like 27 Mar. 2024. Drop the "https" from the URL. The matching in-text citation usually gives just the author's last name, like (Etton), because most web pages have no page numbers.

How do you cite a website with no author in MLA?

Start the Works Cited entry with the page title in quotation marks. Don't use the word "Anonymous," and don't list the sponsoring organization as the author if it's also the publisher. The matching in-text citation uses a shortened form of the title in quotation marks, like ("How to Format").

How do you cite a website with no date in MLA?

MLA has no date abbreviation, so it doesn't use "n.d." the way APA does. Instead, add an access date at the end of the entry, introduced by the word "Accessed," like Accessed 14 Feb. 2024. The access date is the day you last viewed the page. It becomes your only time marker when the page shows no publication date of its own.

Do you need an access date for a website in MLA?

An access date is required when the page shows no publication date, since it's the only time marker available. It's recommended for content that changes often, such as wikis and live databases, so the reader knows which version you viewed. For a stable page that shows its own publication date, the access date is optional in MLA 9.

Do you include https in an MLA website URL?

No. MLA 9 drops the protocol from the URL. Begin the URL at "www" or at the domain name and leave off the "https" prefix. Keep the rest of the address intact so the reader can find the source. The URL is followed by a period at the end of the entry.

How do you cite a YouTube video in MLA?

Treat the person or channel that uploaded the video as the author. Put the video title in quotation marks and list YouTube as the italicized container. Add the upload date in day-month-year order and the URL. For example: PBS Eons. "How Whales Got So Big." YouTube, 18 Apr. 2023, followed by the video URL.

What is the difference between an MLA and APA website citation?

Both cite the same core source, but the format differs. MLA puts the page title in quotation marks and italicizes the website name, uses day-month-year dates, and gives just the author name in the in-text citation. APA uses sentence case for the page title, places the year in parentheses after the author, and uses "n.d." when no date is available. For a full walkthrough of the APA version, see our guide on how to cite a website in APA style.

Related MLA and Citation Guides

This article is part of our MLA citation cluster. For more depth, read the complete guide to MLA style, our breakdown of MLA in-text citations, and our guide to the MLA Works Cited page. To cite other source types, see how to cite a book in MLA style and how to cite a journal article. For a broader overview of all the major styles, read our guide to citation styles.

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