Citing a web page in APA 7 follows the same author–date logic as everything else in APA, with two differences: the title of the page is in italics, and the reference ends with the name of the website and the URL.
Format
Author, A. A. or Organisation. (Year, Month Day). Title of the page. Website Name. https://www.example.com/page
World Health Organization. (2023, December 4). Malaria. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malaria
In-text: (World Health Organization, 2023)
The parts, one by one
- Author. A person (Surname, Initials) or, very often for websites, an organisation written out in full: World Health Organization.
- Date. As specific as the page gives it: (2023, December 4). If only a year is shown, use just the year.
- Title. In italics and sentence case: Malaria, How to apply for a student loan.
- Website name. In plain text. Leave it out when it’s the same as the author, as in the WHO example above, so you don’t write the name twice.
- URL. The full address of the exact page, with no full stop at the end.
Pages with no date
Many web pages don’t show a publication or update date. Write (n.d.) instead of the year:
United Nations. (n.d.). The 17 goals. Retrieved October 1, 2026, from https://sdgs.un.org/goals
In-text: (United Nations, n.d.)
In the text this becomes (United Nations, n.d.). Because an undated page can change at any time without you knowing, add a retrieval date (the day you read it) before the URL, as above. Look for a “last updated” or “reviewed” date first, usually at the top or bottom of the page; if there is one, use it instead of n.d. and leave out the retrieval date.
When to add a retrieval date
APA 7 asks for the date you looked at a page when its content is designed to change and isn’t archived: live statistics, a regularly revised dictionary entry, a social media profile, or an undated page like the one above. Add “Retrieved”, the date and “from” before the URL:
Retrieval date
Organisation. (n.d.). Title of the page. Retrieved October 1, 2026, from https://www.example.com/page
For a normal dated article or fact sheet, leave the retrieval date out.
In-text citations
- Parenthetical: Malaria remains a leading cause of death in children (World Health Organization, 2023).
- Narrative: The World Health Organization (2023) reports that…
If an organisation has a well-known abbreviation, you can introduce it the first time and use it afterwards: (World Health Organization [WHO], 2023), then (WHO, 2023). Only do this if you cite it several times.
Is it really a “web page”?
Use the web page format only for content that has no better category. A news article on a news site, a blog post, a report published as a PDF or a journal article you read online each have their own APA formats. A report from an organisation, for example, is cited like a book, with the organisation as both author and publisher (and the publisher then left out).
Common mistakes
- Repeating the organisation name as author and website name. If they’re the same, keep only the author.
- Using the home page URL instead of the exact page.
- Adding “Retrieved from” to every website. APA 7 only uses it for pages that change or have no date.
- Forgetting italics on the page title.