Need to cite a website in MLA style? Use these quick tips!

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After several hours of brainstorming and browsing the internet for sources, you've gathered all the information you need for your assignment and completed the writing task.

Hold on!🫸🏼

Your professor has asked you to use MLA style to reference your sources, and you're feeling a bit lost about how to cite a website in MLA style.

Have you ever felt confused or faced difficulties while citing a source in MLA style?

Don't panic! It's easier than you think. Get those references to stand out!

When citing a website in MLA style, follow this structure of "core elements" in this order, with the following punctuation: 👇

• Author. (if available)

• "Title." (title of webpage in quotations)

• Container, (website name in italics)

• Publisher, (if different from the website name)

• Publication date, (date with month abbreviated, year)

• URL. (the web page's address)

  Format:👇

  Author. "Title of the Webpage." Name of the Website, Publisher, Publication date, URL.

Remember⚠️

• Each element ends with a comma or a period.

• If something doesn't apply, skip it!

Citation example

Check out the MLA citation for this Rumie Byte below:

Wilson, Neeba. “Need to learn protein synthesis? These simple diagrams & analogies will help!” Rumie-learn, 14 June 2024, learn.rumie.org/jR/bytes/need-to-learn-protein-synthesis-these-simple-diagrams-analogies-will-help.

Here is the breakdown of the author part when you cite a website in MLA style:

Single author

• Last name, First name.

  E.g. Smith, David.

No author

• If there isn’t an author listed, skip it!

  Start the citation with the title.

Two authors

• Last name, First name, and First name Last name.

  E.g. Smith, David, and Jane John.

Three or more authors

• Cite only the first author's name, et al. Last name, First name, et al.

  E.g. Smith, David, et al.

In MLA style, citing webpages in-text follows the format shown below:

• (Author's last name)

• ("Title of webpage") if no author is listed

If you're referencing a point made by the author (in this case, Neeba Wilson on the Rumie website), your in-text citation would look like this:

According to Wilson, MLA style is straightforward once you understand the core elements (Wilson).

If the webpage doesn't have an author, it would look like this:

MLA style is straightforward once you understand the core elements ("How to Use MLA Style").

Here's how to quickly and accurately cite a website in MLA style:

• MLA only requires the www. Address. So, simplify URLs! Drop the https://.

• If the publisher's name matches the author or the title, skip it!

• Online info can change or disappear. Download or print key documents to have a backup. You could also use the bookmark function.

• Note when you first accessed the page. It’s not required, but it’s a good habit.

Now go forth and cite with style!

Follow these steps to learn more about MLA style: