To in-text cite a website in MLA style, place the author’s last name in parentheses at the end of the sentence, just before the period. If the website has no author, use the article title or website name instead. Unlike books or journals, most websites lack page numbers, so your parenthetical citation will often contain just a name or title with no number after it.
The Basic Format
MLA in-text citations work on one core principle: whatever appears first in your Works Cited entry is what goes inside the parentheses. For a website with a named author, that means the author’s last name.
Parenthetical example:
- The study found that remote workers reported higher job satisfaction (Miller).
You can also weave the author’s name into your sentence directly, which is called a signal phrase. When you do this and the source has no page numbers, you don’t need a parenthetical citation at all.
Signal phrase example:
- According to Miller, remote workers reported higher job satisfaction.
That second version, with no parentheses, is perfectly correct for an unpaginated web source. The MLA Style Center confirms that when you name the author in a signal phrase and the source has no page or part numbers, no parenthetical citation is needed.
When There Is No Author
Many web pages don’t list an individual author. When that happens, use the next piece of information that starts your Works Cited entry. That’s typically the article or page title. Put the title in quotation marks inside the parentheses, and italicize it only if it’s the name of an entire website rather than a single page or article.
- Exposure to blue light before bed can delay sleep onset (“How Screen Time Affects Your Sleep”).
If the title is long, you can shorten it. Use enough words from the beginning of the title that a reader can easily locate the right entry on your Works Cited page. For example, an article titled “How Screen Time Before Bed Affects Your Sleep and What You Can Do About It” could be shortened to “How Screen Time.”
If there is no article title either, use the website name in italics:
- The recommended daily intake of fiber is 25 to 30 grams (Mayo Clinic).
Organization or Group Authors
Government agencies, nonprofits, and companies often publish web content without naming an individual writer. When the organization is listed as the author in your Works Cited entry, use the organization’s name in your citation.
- Adults should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
That can get bulky inside parentheses. A cleaner option is to move the organization name into a signal phrase:
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that adults aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week.
One important rule: if the organization name is also the name of the website, and the organization appears as the publisher in your Works Cited entry rather than the author, you would use the article title in your in-text citation instead. The key is always matching the first element of your Works Cited entry.
Why You Don’t Include Page Numbers
Most websites don’t have fixed page numbers, and MLA does not want you to invent them. Do not count paragraphs and cite by paragraph number, and do not use the page numbers your browser generates when you hit “print preview.” If the web source genuinely uses numbered sections or paragraphs as part of its design (like a legal document with numbered clauses), you can include those. Otherwise, leave the number out entirely.
This means a typical website citation is shorter than what you’re used to with books. A parenthetical with just a last name and nothing else is normal and correct.
Citing Social Media Posts
Social media posts follow the same logic. Use the shortest piece of information that points the reader to the correct Works Cited entry, which is usually the account name.
- The announcement confirmed the album’s release date (Alicia Keys).
Use the name on the account, not the handle. If the person’s real name and handle are essentially the same (like @aliciakeys and Alicia Keys), there’s no need to include the handle in the in-text citation. If the account uses only a handle and no real name, use the handle as it appears in your Works Cited entry.
URLs Do Not Go in the Text
Never paste a full URL into an in-text citation. MLA reserves URLs for the Works Cited page. The only exception is when a website’s name is itself a domain name, like CNN.com or Forbes.com. In that case, you can use the domain name as the site’s title in your citation:
- The merger was reportedly valued at $2.4 billion (CNN.com).
Matching Your Works Cited Entry
Every in-text citation must point to a corresponding entry on your Works Cited page. The word or phrase you put in parentheses (or use in a signal phrase) needs to match the first element listed in that entry. If your Works Cited entry begins with “Smith, Jordan,” your in-text citation uses (Smith). If it begins with “How Screen Time Affects Your Sleep,” your in-text citation uses that title or a recognizable shortened version of it.
When you’re unsure what to put in the parentheses, look at your Works Cited entry and grab whatever appears first on the left-hand margin. That’s always the answer.