Website Citation Generator
Create website citations from public URL metadata or manual details. Starts in APA 7. First 3 sources free. Check the page author and date.
Add a website
Start with a link or identifier. We’ll find the details for you to review.
Saved in this browser. Edits, style changes, copies and exports don’t use another free citation.
Cite from real papers in AnswerThis
Find papers and develop your writing with linked sources. Review the evidence behind each claim. Opens in a new tab; references saved here stay in this browser. Copy or export before continuing.
How to cite a website
Use the page author, page title, website name and publication date, not the site’s copyright year. Enter a group author in braces. Add the date you accessed changing content when your style requires it; a missing publication date stays blank.
Citation software formats the information supplied to it; it cannot confirm that every field is complete or that a source is suitable for your work. Compare the output with the original source and the current instructions you must follow.
Use the selected source and style together
Start with the specific public webpage you read, not the website homepage. URL lookup inspects published page metadata. It can be blocked or incomplete, so compare the returned page title, creator and date with the visible article. This page starts in APA 7; change the style when your assignment requires another system.
For the shared lookup and formatting walkthrough, see the citation generator guide. Keep this page’s edition and source-specific checks beside your output as you review it.
What to check
- Using a footer copyright year as the page date
- Entering the site owner when a named page author is shown
Webpage example · APA 7
In-text citation
(Bologna, 2019)
Full reference
Bologna, C. (2019, October 31). Why some people with anxiety love watching horror movies. HuffPost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/anxiety-love-watching-horror-movies_l_5d277587e4b02a5a5d57b59e
Checked against the official APA webpage example and pinned CSL file. Use the page’s publication date, not a footer copyright year. The webpage title is italicized; the site name is not. Leave a missing date blank rather than guessing.
Check the official style guideWhich fields identify this website?
Separate the author of a page from the owner of the website. A named byline should not be replaced with an organization merely because the organization appears in the footer. When the organization actually wrote the page, enter it as a group author. Record the item title and site name in their respective fields, and retain a stable URL to the item. Publication, modification and access dates describe different events; do not treat whichever date is easiest to find as the publication date.
Worked website walkthrough
The Bologna webpage example below supplies a personal author, the specific page title, the HuffPost site name and a publication date of October 31, 2019. Those fields produce a short author–year marker and a full APA reference. The URL points to the article itself. Compare that structure with your page: if your source has no byline or publication date, the example is a field guide, not permission to invent values that make your output look equally complete.
Before using your website reference
A public URL can expose metadata for a whole site rather than the item you meant to cite. Check that the returned title is the article title and that the author is credited on that page. Dynamic or login-only content may need manual entry. Keep a record of access information where your style requires it, especially for changing material. The citation helps a reader find the page; it does not preserve a permanent copy of its content.
Metadata and formatting
DOIs use Crossref, with DataCite when Crossref has no record; PMIDs use NCBI PubMed and ISBNs use Open Library. Public URLs use page metadata; YouTube oEmbed supplies title and channel, but no upload date. Pinned CSL styles format the records. No AI generates citation details, and PDFs are not uploaded or read here.
Frequently asked questions
Can AnswerThis read a webpage from its URL?
Yes, it looks for metadata in public HTML pages. Some sites block requests or need JavaScript. Review imported details and enter missing fields manually; the tool does not infer a date from a footer or treat a modification date as publication.
What if the webpage has no date?
Leave the date blank rather than guessing. The selected style decides how missing dates appear.
Which citation style does this website page use?
It starts in APA 7. Select the exact edition and system your assignment or publisher requires before generating. The source type and the style are separate choices: identifying the work correctly supplies the fields, while the selected CSL file controls the reference and short citation. Use older APA or MLA editions only when explicitly required.
Can I enter website details manually?
Yes. Start with the specific public webpage you read, not the website homepage. URL lookup inspects published page metadata. It can be blocked or incomplete, so compare the returned page title, creator and date with the visible article. This page starts in APA 7; change the style when your assignment requires another system. If lookup cannot supply a field, inspect the original record and enter what you can verify. Leave unavailable information blank instead of creating a complete-looking reference from guesses.
How do I cite an organization as the website creator?
Enter the organization as a group author in braces, such as {World Health Organization}. This keeps it as one creator rather than splitting the words into a personal name. First confirm that the organization actually created the work: a repository, platform or publisher is not automatically the author. Preserve any credited personal authors in their published order.
What if the website has missing or conflicting dates?
Check the original publication or repository record and identify what event each date describes. A modification, download or access date is not automatically the publication date. Leave an unknown date blank and review the selected style’s missing-date output rather than guessing a year.
Can I export the website citation for free?
The first 3 sources are free per browser, shared across citation pages. Copy the formatted entry or export saved references as BibTeX or RIS for a compatible reference manager. Check imported fields and document formatting after transfer. Download a copy before leaving; browser storage can be removed, and signing up for AnswerThis does not automatically move the saved references into a project.