Not every source found online should be cited as a webpage. APA treats a source as a webpage only when it does not fit into another category. Evaluate your material carefully to determine whether it is a blog post, journal article, newspaper article, magazine article, encyclopedia, eBook, etc. Use the format which most accurately describes the source.
If you mention an entire website without referring to specific information within, you do not list it on the reference page. Instead, you refer to the website in your body's text (in sentence) and include the website URL (in parentheses).
Ex: An excellent source of demographic data is freely available on the Census website (www.census.gov).
Apps, software, and other programs may be treated similarly. For apps and software, you do not have to list the URL.
Note: Use this format for articles published in online news sources such as BBC News, HuffPost, CNN, etc.
| Format |
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication, Month Day if Given). Title of article: Subtitle if any. Name of News Website. URL |
| Example |
Epstein, D. (2017, February 22). When evidence says no, but doctors say yes. ProPublica. https://www.propublica.org/article/when-evidence-says-no-but-doctors-say-yes |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(Author's Last Name, Year) Ex: (Epstein, 2017) |
Note: APA treats online newspaper sites like The New York Times differently than CNN. To us, they might feel the same: news articles in digital format. However, the sources are different: NYT is a long-running newspaper and CNN is a television news network that branched out when the World Wide Web became a common way for people to access information.
| Format |
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication, Month Day if Given). Title of article: Subtitle if any. Name of Newspaper. URL |
| Example |
Burbach, C. (2021, March 2). 'This is a good day for us': Omaha-area teachers to get COVID vaccinations on Saturday. Omaha World-Herald. https://omaha.com/news/local/education/this-is-a-good-day-for-us-omaha-area-teachers-to-get-covid-vaccinations-on/article_6142b35a-7b72-11eb-a5f1-df303c0c6291.html#tracking-source=home-top-story-1 |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(Author's Last Name, Year) Ex: (Burbach, 2021) |
| Format |
Author's Last Name, First initial. Second Initial if Given or Username if real name not provided. (Year blog post was published, Month Day). Title of blog post. Title of Blog. URL |
| Example |
Ouellette, J. (2019, November 15). Physicists capture first footage of quantum knots unraveling in superfluid. Ars Technica. https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/11/study-you-can-tie-a-quantum-knot-in-a-superfluid-but-it-will-soon-untie-itself/ |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(Author's Last Name, Year) Ex: (Ouellette, 2019) |
Note: Dating these sources can be tricky. If a date is provided (usually bottom or top of entry), include it in your citation. If it is continuously updated but does not appear to be archived or stable or list a date, then you will use (n.d.) as the year of publication and your retrieval date.
| Format |
Known author: Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication).Title of entry. In Editor's First Initial. Second Initial if given. Last Name (Ed.), Name of encyclopedia or dictionary (edition if given and is not first edition). Retrieved date from URL Group author: Name of Group Author. (Year of Publication). Title of entry. In Editor's First Initial. Second Initial if given. Last Name (Ed.), Name of encyclopedia or dictionary (edition if given and is not first edition). Retrieved from date URL |
| Example |
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Caprice. Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved December 16, 2019, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/caprice |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(Group author, Year) Ex: (Merriam-Webster, n.d.) |
| Format | Author of Entry, A. A. (Year of Publication). Title of entry. In B. B. Editor & C. C. Editor (Eds.), Title of encyclopedia (edition). Publisher. URL or DOI |
| Example |
Author, no date: Zelazko, A. (n.d.). Was Santa Claus a real person? Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved December 16, 2019, from https://www.britannica.com/story/was-santa-claus-a-real-person
No author, no date: Encyclopaedia Britannica. (n.d.). Santa Claus: Legendary figure. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Santa-Claus |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(Author's Last Name, Year) Ex: (Zelazko, n.d.) |
| Format | Title of entry. (Year article was edited, Month Day). In Wikipedia. URL for archived version of the article |
| Example |
Archived entry: Groundhog Day. (2021, February 10). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Groundhog_Day&direction=next&oldid=1005909166
Non-archived entry: Groundhog Day. (2021, February 10). In Wikipedia. Retrieved February 17, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
("Title of entry", Year) Ex: ("Groundhog Day", 2021) |