To cite a website in MLA format, you need two things: a works-cited entry at the end of your paper and an in-text citation wherever you reference the source. The works-cited entry follows a specific order of elements, and the in-text citation is usually just the author’s last name in parentheses. Once you learn the template, you can adapt it to almost any web source, from a news article to a YouTube video.
The Basic Works-Cited Template
MLA uses a single template of “core elements” for every source type. You evaluate what information is available for your source, then list each relevant element in order. For a standard webpage, the entry looks like this:
Last name, First name. “Title of the Page.” Title of the Website, Publisher, Day Month Year, URL.
Here’s a concrete example:
Weinstein, Joshua. “The Hidden Cost of Fast Fashion.” The Atlantic, 15 Mar. 2023, www.theatlantic.com/hidden-cost-fast-fashion.
A few formatting details matter. The page title goes in quotation marks. The website name is italicized. Months longer than four letters are abbreviated (Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.). The URL comes last, with no period after it if your instructor prefers it that way, though MLA’s default is to end the entry with a period. You can include or omit the “https://” portion of the URL. Whether to make the URL a clickable hyperlink is optional.
If the website name and the publisher are the same entity, you only need to list the name once (as the website title) and skip the publisher element. For example, if you’re citing an article on CNN’s website, “CNN” is the website title, and you don’t repeat it as the publisher.
When There’s No Author
Many webpages don’t list an author. When that happens, skip the author element entirely and begin the entry with the page title in quotation marks:
“Solar Energy Tax Credits for Homeowners.” Energy.gov, U.S. Department of Energy, 8 June 2024, www.energy.gov/solar-tax-credits.
If the author is identified only by a screen name or username, use that name in the author position. This comes up often with social media posts and forum contributions.
When There’s No Date
Some webpages have no visible publication date. If that’s the case, simply leave the date element out. MLA encourages you to add the date you accessed the page, formatted like this at the end of the entry:
“About Our Organization.” Sunrise Foundation, www.sunrisefoundation.org/about. Accessed 4 May 2025.
The access date is technically optional in MLA, but it’s a smart habit for any source that lacks a publication date or that could change over time (like a wiki page). Use the word “Accessed” followed by the day, abbreviated month, and year.
In-Text Citations for Web Sources
In-text citations in MLA are parenthetical, meaning you place the citation inside parentheses at the end of the sentence, before the period. For a webpage with an author, include the author’s last name:
Fast fashion contributes to roughly 10% of global carbon emissions (Weinstein).
If you mention the author’s name in your sentence, you don’t need the parenthetical citation at all:
Weinstein argues that fast fashion contributes to roughly 10% of global carbon emissions.
Most webpages don’t have page numbers, and MLA’s rule here is straightforward: when a source has no page numbers or other part numbers, don’t include a number in the parenthetical citation. Just the author’s last name is enough.
When there’s no author, use the title in the parenthetical instead. You can shorten a long title to its first few distinctive words, placed in quotation marks:
Homeowners may qualify for federal credits covering up to 30% of installation costs (“Solar Energy Tax Credits”).
Citing a YouTube Video
YouTube videos follow the same core template but have a few quirks. The video title is copied exactly as it appears on YouTube, placed in quotation marks. The container (the website hosting the video) is YouTube, italicized. Then list the upload date and the URL.
If the video has a clear primary creator, put that person in the author position:
Beyoncé. “Beyoncé – Pretty Hurts (Video).” YouTube, 24 Apr. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXXQLa-5n5w.
If there’s no clear primary creator, start with the video title and credit the uploader using “uploaded by” after the container name:
“Capybara Eat Huge Pumpkin.” YouTube, uploaded by Alex Smith, 12 Jan. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YNwxZnABzA.
If you’re citing a full-length film or other self-contained work that happens to be on YouTube, you treat the work itself as the first layer of information (title, director, studio, original year) and YouTube as a second container with its own date and URL:
Moby Dick. Directed by John Huston, MGM, 1956. YouTube, 8 Jan. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1Yc8KPH-X0.
Citing Social Media Posts
Social media posts use the same template. The author is whoever posted (use a screen name if that’s all that’s available). The “title” is the text of the post itself. If the post is long, copy the first few words and end with an ellipsis. The container is the platform name, italicized.
@NASAWebb. “The deepest infrared image of the universe ever taken . . .” X, 11 July 2022, twitter.com/NASAWebb/status/1546621080298835970.
For image-based platforms where the post has no text, use a brief description of the content in place of a title, without quotation marks or italics.
Formatting the Works-Cited List
Your works-cited entries go on a new page at the end of the paper, centered under the heading “Works Cited.” Entries are alphabetized by the first word of each entry (usually the author’s last name, or the title if there’s no author). When alphabetizing by title, ignore leading articles like “A,” “An,” or “The.”
Each entry uses a hanging indent: the first line is flush left, and every subsequent line is indented half an inch. Double-space the entire list, with no extra space between entries. Most word processors have a hanging-indent option in the paragraph settings, so you don’t have to manage the spacing manually.
Quick Reference Checklist
- Author: Last name, First name. Skip if unavailable.
- Page title: In quotation marks, matching the title on the webpage exactly.
- Website name: Italicized.
- Publisher: Include only if different from the website name.
- Date: Day Month Year format. If no date exists, optionally add an access date at the end.
- URL: Full web address. Including or omitting “https://” is your choice.
Every element is followed by a comma, except the author (followed by a period), the page title (followed by a period), and the URL (followed by a period to close the entry). If you skip an element because the information isn’t available, just move to the next one without leaving a gap or placeholder.