To cite a website article in APA 7, record the author, the most specific publication date, the page title, the site name and the URL: Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. Site Name. URL (APA Style). MLA uses the same details in another order and treats the access date as optional (MLA Style Center).
Below is the same real article cited in APA, MLA and ABNT (the Brazilian standard), extra APA cases for no individual author and for pages that need a retrieval date, a comparison table, and what to save before the page changes.
This guide is part of A guide to saving articles and reading them later, which organizes every guide on the topic. For Keep Analog terms such as “eligible link” and “issue,” see the Keep Analog glossary.
What details do you need to cite a website article?
Whatever the style, the same five details come up again and again: who wrote it, when it was published, what it is called, where it was published and the address. APA’s webpage examples use exactly those elements: the author (a person, or an organization when no person is credited), the most specific date available, the title of the page, the site name and the URL (APA Style).
A sixth detail depends on the style: the date you accessed the page. That is where APA, MLA and ABNT differ most.
The same article cited in three styles
Example made by KeepAnalog with a real report: When Online Content Disappears, by Athena Chapekis, Samuel Bestvater, Emma Remy and Gonzalo Rivero, published by Pew Research Center on May 17, 2024. The access date is the day this guide was last checked.
APA 7:
Chapekis, A., Bestvater, S., Remy, E., & Rivero, G. (2024, May 17). When online content disappears. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/data-labs/2024/05/17/when-online-content-disappears/
MLA:
Chapekis, Athena, et al. "When Online Content Disappears." Pew Research Center, 17 May 2024, www.pewresearch.org/data-labs/2024/05/17/when-online-content-disappears/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.
ABNT (NBR 6023:2018):
CHAPEKIS, A. et al. When online content disappears. Pew Research Center, Washington, DC, 17 maio 2024. Disponível em: https://www.pewresearch.org/data-labs/2024/05/17/when-online-content-disappears/. Acesso em: 14 out. 2026.
Three details explain the differences. MLA normally gives only the first author followed by “et al.” when there are three or more, and drops the “https://” from the URL (MLA Style Center). ABNT, according to the University of São Paulo’s guide, lists up to three authors and uses “et al.” from four on, and closes every online reference with “Disponível em:” and “Acesso em:” (USP, 2019).
APA 7: no individual author, and pages that need a retrieval date
APA’s official webpage examples also cover organization authors and changing pages (checked via APA Style’s webpage reference page on October 14, 2026):
Organization as author (no individual credited)—pattern from APA’s “webpage on a website with an organizational group author”:
World Health Organization. (2018, May 24). The top 10 causes of death. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death
When the author and the site name are the same, APA omits the site name from the source element to avoid repetition.
Retrieval date (page designed to change and not archived)—pattern from APA’s “webpage on a website with a retrieval date”:
U.S. Census Bureau. (n.d.). U.S. and world population clock. U.S. Department of Commerce. Retrieved January 9, 2020, from https://www.census.gov/popclock/
Use “n.d.” when there is no date. Include “Retrieved … from” only when the page’s contents are designed to change over time and are not archived. APA says to ignore “last reviewed” dates because a reviewed page has not necessarily changed.
What each style asks for
Table made by KeepAnalog from the sources cited in each row.
| Detail | APA 7 | MLA | ABNT (NBR 6023:2018) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Author | Person, or organization if no person is credited | First author + “et al.” from three authors | Up to three; “et al.” from four | | Date | Most specific date; “n.d.” if there is none | Publication date, if the page has one | Place and date of publication | | URL | Full, at the end | Without “https://” | After “Disponível em:” | | Access date | Only if the page is designed to change and is not archived | Optional; useful if there is no date or the page may change | Always, after “Acesso em:” |
Sources: APA Style, MLA Style Center on access dates and on authors and URLs, and the USP guide to NBR 6023:2018.
If your school, journal or employer has its own guide, it takes precedence over this summary.
What to save before the page changes
A reference only works if the details are still there when you need them. Pew’s study, the same one used in the example, found that 38% of the pages that existed in 2013 were no longer accessible in 2023. Copy the details the day you read the article, and keep an archived copy if the page matters to you; when links disappear explains how to do it and how far to trust an archived copy.
KeepAnalog turns public links chosen by one person into a printed issue for Argentina. In its preview, each article appears with its title, the author when the page states one, and the site it comes from, so where each text came from stays visible on the page.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to include the date I accessed the website?
It depends on the style. APA includes a retrieval date only when the page’s content is designed to change over time and is not archived (APA Style). In MLA it is optional, but useful if the page has no date or may change (MLA Style Center). ABNT always asks for it (USP, 2019).
How do I cite a webpage with no author or no date?
In APA, if no person is credited, the organization responsible for the page goes in the author position, and if there is no date you write “n.d.” (APA Style). In MLA you leave out the publication date and can add the access date instead (MLA Style Center).
Should I use the “last reviewed” date?
No. APA says to use an update date only when it clearly applies to the content you are citing, and to ignore “last reviewed” dates, because a reviewed page has not necessarily changed (APA Style).
What if the article is no longer online?
Look for an archived copy of the same address and check that it shows the text you read. The steps are in when links disappear. To avoid getting there, save the details when you first read the article, as suggested in saving is not returning.
For now, KeepAnalog’s pilot is in Argentina only, with no delivery in the United States.