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APA Website Citation: How to Cite a Website in APA

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How to Cite a Website in APA
APA website citation: rules & examples
- Website Article
- Website article with an author
- No author
- No date
- Online periodical with DOI assigned
- Online periodical with DOI assigned
- Online scholarly journal article citing DOIs
- Online interview
- Government documents
- Book on a Website
- Social media
- Blog post
- Youtube or video blog
- Image
- Educational materials
- Online encyclopedias/dictionaries
General rules for referencing
APA Website Citation Generator

APA Website Citation Rules: How to Cite a Website in APA

It is hardly possible to imagine a research paper or any written assignment without digital sources and website references these days. From YouTube video citation to a website with no author's name, this formatting style has specific rules. In addition to the APA format website citation generator that we provide you with, our writing experts at EduBirdie have worked hard to present you with a brief APA citation format guide. It will assist you with formatting rules by showing both actual APA in-text citation website templates and the Reference page citation examples. Here, we focus on the correct citation format, so get your digital sources ready!

APA Website Citation Rules and Examples:

Article on a website APA citation

When citing single web publications, articles or documents hosted online, APA format requires similar rules as it is in print content. If necessary, the URL entry can be made active. Any information about translators, publication date or editing should be included as with most print sources.

Author, A. B. & Author A. B. (Publication Date). Page title [Formatting description]. Retrieved
from https://www.address.com/

(Jones, 2014)

Jones, R. (2014). Nursing Theorists Analysis [PDF]. Retrieved from http://site.com

If a website refers to some publishing company, it has to be included and put in italics.

APA Citation Website with No Author

If a website article's author is not known, start with a title, year, and proceed with a source or website's name, finished with the URL. In APA citation for website that has only title, for both in-text and References, use this example:

("Marine Moleculas," 2016)
Marine Moleculas. (2016). National Archive of Marine Sciences. Retrieved from
http://www.site.com/

APA Citation Website With No Date

If there is no date of publication listed, use the (n.d.) abbreviation. As in example:

Nuclear Synthesis Made Easier. (n.d.). Website or Source Name. Retrieved from
https://www.site.com/

Article from an online periodical with DOI assigned

In the latest APA, 7th edition, DOIs are given as alphanumeric strings that are the active links. Follow an exact format as presented in a source. If there is an older numeric string, use that.

The main formatting template is:

Author, A. B., & Author, X. Y. (Publication Date). Article Title. Journal's title, volume
number, page range. doi:0000000/000000000000 or https://doi.org/10.0000/0000

Article from an online periodical with no DOI assigned

In APA, if no DOI number is given, it is necessary to write the URL or any source information that will help to find and identify the article's location.

Author, A. B., & Author, X. Y. (Publication Date). Article Title. Journal's title, volume
number, page range. Retrieved from https://www.journalhomepage.com/full/url/

Online scholarly journal article: citing DOIs

Due to online peculiarities when citing DOIs in online periodicals, it is necessary to avoid cross links and resolvers. If there are links to online libraries, look for a front page or footnotes where the DOI number can be found as it'll help to create accurate APA website citation.

Online interview on website citation

If an online interview is not in audio or print form, such interview type is cited only in paper's text as an in-text citation, but not in the References page. As a rule, provide month, day, and the year.

As shown below:

("Personal Interview," March 13, 2011).

If an audio file or transcript are available online, it follows this format:

Anch, R. (Interviewer) & Sterling, R. (Interviewee). (2009). Business Management Outsourcing
[Interview transcript]. Retrieved from XYZ website: https://www.site.com

Government documents on website

For APA website citation of government documents, follow this format:

Government Department (Year published). Document title (pub no). Retrieved from
http://www.url.com

U.S. Department of Finances. (2009). Managing Tax Payments: A guide for Parents (DOF
Publication No. 04-2340). Retrieved from http://www.site.gov

Book on a Website in APA citation

Electronic books or books published on a website relate to personal websites or databases.
This format is only used when it is not possible or difficult to find a book in print.
If not directly available online, use "Available from" instead of "Retrieved from".
Include publishing date, if available, in parentheses, after specifying author's name.
If DOI is available, it is provided at the end of a reference.

Michaels, J. (2018). The Indian Tales. Available from https://www.site.com

Twitter:

Twitter handle (Tweet date). Tweet text [Twitter post]. Retrieved from
Tweet URL.

As in example:

Scuba_Diver. (2009, June 24). This year scuba diving in Egypt has been… . [Twitter Post].
Retrieved from https://www.site.com

Instagram:

Account owner's Last Name, First Initial or Username (Year, Date Published). Photo title [Photo
description]. Retrieved from URL

If the account owner's full name and a username are both available, place full name first and then the [username] inside brackets right next. If there is an official title, place its description in brackets for APA style.

This example can be seen below:

Glacier Archive [@Glacierarchive]. (2018, January 3). [Photo of Northern Lights by Gustav
Berg]. Retrieved from http://www.instagram.com/url/?taken-by=glacierarchive.

Facebook:

Username or Group Name. (Date or n.d.). In Facebook [Page type]. Retrieved Month
Day, Year, from http://www.facebook.com/specificpageURL

Blog post citation on website

For APA website citation for blog, both message's title and URL should be included. Remember that titles for items in online communities (like blogs, newsgroups or forums) are never italicized. If author's name is absent, use the screen name instead.

R Cole. (2018, May 1). Abbreviations and slang online. [blog post #23]. Retrieved from
https://www.site.com

Youtube or video blog entry APA citation

Since most creators of YouTube and online videos go by diverse screen names, include such information after the author's name exactly as it is written (capital letters, if there are any), if available.

Author, A. A. [Screen name]. (year, month day). Video Title [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.url.com/full/url/

Image on a Website APA

To cite an image found online, use its title or a general description in a text. Then cite it using the first element in your References page and date. For an in-text citation:

The Thinker (Plateau, 1810) has puzzled art critics…

For References:

Creator's last name, first initial. (Creator's Role). (Creation Year). Image's Title or description.
[Type of work]. Retrieved from URL/database

Educational materials on Website

For APA website citation of educational materials, follow this format:

Author Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial., & Author Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial.
(Year). E-textbook title: Subtitle (Number ed.) [edition]. Retrieved from URL.

Presentation slides citation (Alternative Section title – Presentation slides)

For any lecture notes and presentation slides, make sure to include the file format in brackets after placing a title. For example [PowerPoint], [Word document]. Follow this format:

Harley, V. Shakespeare's Motives and Settings [PDF document]. Retrieved from XYZ Website:
https://www.site.com

Online encyclopedias/dictionaries

Since most encyclopedias and dictionaries do not provide author's names, place the entry's title to the front. Provide publication's date or use (n.d.), if there is none. For example:

Futurism. (n.d.). In Encyclopaedia Britannica online. Retrieved from https://www.url.com/

General Rules for Accurate Referencing

APA format stands for American Psychological Association, which is most commonly used for Psychology and Social Sciences writing assignments and research papers. According to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association handbook, the latest is 7th edition. Here are additional APA website citation rules:

Using APA style, the brackets should directly surround one's content without spaces. Like: [PDF].
Include the year, month, and date, in the References page, if available.
If month and date are unknown, use publication's year.
If you speak to an idea from some other work, yet not quoting directly, use only the author's name and publication year. Do not use page number in an in-text reference.
In the Reference page, only the first word of a Title is capitalized. An example: Gospel hymns in Chicago.
Make sure to include relevant keywords from online sources in an Abstract page.

APA Website Citation Generator: APA Format Made Fast and Easy

With the APA citation generator, any kind of citation is made fast and easy. Here are some automatic APA citation benefits:

No ads and forms to register.
It saves you time spent for typing and making sure everything is correct.
It is automatic.
Fill in the information you know and click submit.
It's a free APA citation generator for website or any electronic sources.
Choose any type of citation from images to a book.
Use as many sources of any complexity as required.

Majority of the modern college students in the United States have to face 7-8 written assignments at once, which makes the References part time-consuming and way too challenging. Citing 10-15 sources in APA format can take more than an hour due to all checking and making sure that everything is alphabetically and in place. Keeping the fact in mind, the writing experts at EduBirdie came up with the APA citation generator, which can help you save time and work with any kind of source automatically. Alternatively, available information can be entered manually.

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