How to Cite a Website with No Author in APA 7th

If no author is given for a web page, APA Style suggests using the web page title (or a short form of it) in the signal phrase or parenthetical citation:

(Stereotyping and prejudice 2018)

If the title is too long or unwieldy, you can use a shortened form. The shortened form should include the first key word from the full title. For example, if you are citing the Association for Psychological Science website, you might use “APS website” as your shortened title.

In your reference list entry, start with the title of the web page in sentence case followed by a period. Next, provide the date on which you accessed the page in day-month-year format, followed by a period:

Stereotyping and prejudice. (2018, August 28). Retrieved from https://www.psychologicalscience.org/

Introduction

There are many times when you will come across a website with no author listed. When this happens, you will need to know how to cite the website in APA 7th edition format.

The basic format for citing a website with no author in APA 7th edition is as follows:

Title of Website. (Date of publication). URL.

For example:

World Health Organization. (2020). Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

What is APA?

APA Style is a writing style and format for academic documents such as scholarly journal articles and books. It is commonly used for citing sources within the social sciences. The APA citation style was developed by the American Psychological Association, and it is used in many disciplines, including psychology, education, and other social sciences. The 7th edition of the APA Publication Manual was released in October 2019.

The APA Format

The APA format is the standard citation format for psychology and other social sciences. This guide will show you how to cite a website with no author in APA 7th edition.

If there is no author listed for a website, the title of the page or document you are citing takes the place of the author in your citation. Here is an example of how to cite a website with no author in APA 7th edition:

Title of document or page. (Year, month day). Retrieved from URL

Example:
Sharks. (2020, July 1). Retrieved from https://www.floridasharks.org/

How to Cite a Website with No Author in APA Format

The last date you accessed the website.
The website’s URL.
Include an in-text citation (paraphrasing or quoting) of the information you found on the website.
How you cite a website with no author in APA format depends on whether the page has a designated title and whether it is part of a larger website.

If the page does not have a title, use the webpage’s URL as the in-text citation for paraphrased or quoted information from that particular page only. For example:
According to the U.S. Census Bureau (https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html), “The United States Census Bureau is the federal government’s primary data collection agency.”

If the page has a title, use it as your in-text citation for paraphrased or quoted information from that particular page only. For example:
According to “Population Estimates” (2020, https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.2020.html), “the U.S. Census Bureau is the federal government’s primary data collection agency.”

How to Cite a Website with an Unknown Author in APA Format

Refer to the homepage of the website you’re citing. In parentheses, write (n.d.) if there is no date listed on the website. Include the title of the webpage you’re citing, which is usually in headline case. Capitalize only the first word and any proper nouns. Follow with a period. Italicize the title and put it in quotation marks if it’s part of a larger work like a website. If not, just italicize the title and put it in quotation marks if it’s a shorter work like a newspaper article, chapter title, or blog post.

How to Cite a Website with No Date in APA Format

In APA Style, if a source has no date, you should put “n.d.” in the space where the date would go. Here’s how to do it:

(Author, n.d.)

If there is no author, start with the title of the page instead:

(Title of page, n.d.)

How to Cite a Website in APA Format

If you’re citing a website in APA format, and the website has no author, you can use the website’s title in place of an author. Include the title of the website, followed by a period. Then, include the date you accessed the website, formatted as “Retrieved [month] [day], [year].” Finally, include the URL of the website, without “https://” or “http://.”

How to Cite a Website with an Author in APA Format

Citing a website with an author in APA format is pretty simple. You just need the author’s last name, the date of publication, and the full URL of the article you’re referencing. Here’s how you would cite an article from the APA Style Blog:

Langsdale, S. (2019, August 19). How to cite a website with no author in APA 7th. Retrieved from https://www.APAStyle.org/blog/citing-website-no-author-apa-7th

If you want to include the author’s first initial in your citation, you can simply add it after their last name:

Langsdale, S. (2019, August 19). How to cite a website with no author in APA 7th. Retrieved from https://www.APAStyle.org/blog/citing-website-no-author-apa-7th

If you’re citing an entire website instead of a specific article, you don’t need to include an author or date:

APA Style Blog. (n.d.). APA Style Blog. Retrieved from https://www.apastyle.org/

How to Cite a Website with No Author or Date in APA Format

In APA Style, a Web page that doesn’t specify an author or date is organized differently than other pages.

A Web page without an author or date follows this basic format:

Title of the web page. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://URL

For example:

Coffee Roast Guide. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://example.com/coffeeroasts

How to Cite a Website with No Author in APA 7th