PERRLA/Guides/MLA 9/Webpage

How to Cite a Webpage in MLA 9

An MLA 9 Works Cited entry for a webpage gives the author's last name and first name, the page title in quotation marks, the website's name in italics, the date the page was published or updated, and the URL without https://. When an organization wrote the page and also runs the site, start with the title instead. The in-text citation is the author's last name alone, since webpages have no page numbers: (Galewitz).

The format

Last Name, First Name. "Title of the Webpage." Website Name, Day Month Year, www.example.com/page.

PERRLA MLA Experts ยท Updated October 27, 2026
Checked against the MLA Handbook, 9th edition. Every example is formatted by PERRLA's reference engine.

First, the easy way: PERRLA

Paste the page's URL into PERRLA's reference search. PERRLA reads the page and fills in the authors, the date, the title, and the website name, then puts the finished entry on your Works Cited page in alphabetical order, hanging indent and all. Give the date a quick look against the page before you move on: sites label their dates in different ways, and only you can see which one belongs to the content you read.

Adding one by hand? Choose Webpage, then fill in the authors (or a Group Author (Organization)), the Page Title, the Website Name, the Publication Date, and the URL (Web address). When the group author and the website name match, PERRLA starts the entry with the title. Add a Retrieval Date for a page with no date or one that changes, and PERRLA writes it as the access date at the end.

Look up
Paste a URL, get the reference

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/08/25/americans-want-transparency-when-ai-is-used-in-their-healthcare/

Yam, Eileen, et al. "Americans Want Transparency When AI Is Used in Their Healthcare." Pew Research Center, 25 Aug. 2026, www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/08/25/americans-want-transparency-when-ai-is-used-in-their-healthcare/.

Not using PERRLA yet? Here is how to build the same works cited entry by hand.

The parts of the works cited entry

1. Author

Start with the person who wrote the page: last name, a comma, and the first name as the page prints it. End with a period.

Galewitz, Phil.

Two authors: invert only the first name, then write and and the second name in normal order. Three or more: give the first author, a comma, and et al.

Yam, Eileen, et al.

No person named? If an organization wrote the page and also runs the website, skip the author and start with the title. If one organization wrote it and a different one runs the site, the organization that wrote it is the author. Only when nobody takes credit does the title move to the front for that reason. See the guide to webpages with no author.

2. Page title

A webpage is part of a larger website, so its title goes in quotation marks, in title case, with a period inside the closing quotation mark. Use the headline printed on the page, not the browser tab title, which often adds the site name.

"Americans Want Transparency When AI Is Used in Their Healthcare."

MLA title case capitalizes the first and last words and every major word. Articles, prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions stay lowercase in the middle of a title, however long they are.

3. Website name

The website is the container, so its name goes in italics, followed by a comma.

Pew Research Center,

MLA usually leaves out the publisher of a website when it has the same name as the site, as it does here, so you rarely need both.

4. Date

Give the date as day, month, and year, with months longer than four letters abbreviated (Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.). End with a comma.

25 Aug. 2026,

If the page shows more than one date, MLA tells you to use the one that matters most for your use, which on a webpage is usually the date it was last updated. No date at all? Leave the date out and add an access date at the end.

5. URL

Give the URL of the exact page you read, without http:// or https://, and end it with a period.

www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hypertension.

In a paper that will be read on screen, the URL can still be a live link. Only the text you see drops the https://.

6. Access date (when it helps)

MLA makes the access date optional, and says it's especially useful when the page has no date or is likely to change, like a live counter or a data page. Write Accessed, then the date you viewed the page, at the very end.

Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Examples

A webpage with individual authors

A Pew Research Center short read with three authors. MLA names the first author, then et al. The website's name follows the title, and Pew's name isn't repeated as a publisher.

  • In-text citation(Yam et al.)
  • Narrative citationAs Yam et al. report, ….

A story on a news website

A KFF Health News story by one reporter. A news site that isn't a printed newspaper works like any other website: the story's headline in quotation marks, then the site's name in italics. The headline is two sentences, and both keep their capitals.

  • In-text citation(Galewitz)
  • Narrative citationAs Galewitz reports, ….

When the organization wrote the page and runs the site

The World Health Organization's fact sheet on hypertension, dated 25 September 2025. WHO wrote the page and publishes the site, so MLA skips the author and starts with the title. WHO's name appears once, as the website. The in-text citation uses the title, in quotation marks.

  • In-text citation("Hypertension")
  • Narrative citationThe World Health Organization's fact sheet "Hypertension" explains that ….

A page with no date, with an access date

The U.S. Census Bureau's population clock updates its numbers constantly and shows no date. The Census Bureau also runs the site, so the entry starts with the title, leaves the date out, and ends with the date you viewed the page.

  • In-text citation("U.S. and World Population Clock")
  • Narrative citationThe Census Bureau's "U.S. and World Population Clock" showed ….

In-text citations

An MLA 9 in-text citation for a webpage is usually just the author's last name, because webpages have no page numbers. Don't count paragraphs or screens yourself; give a paragraph or section number only when the page numbers them.

  • One author: (Galewitz)
  • Two authors: both last names, joined by and
  • Three or more authors: the first author and et al.: (Yam et al.)
  • An entry that starts with the title: the title in quotation marks, shortened if it's long: ("Hypertension")
  • Name in your sentence: with no page to add, no parentheses are needed: Galewitz describes a wearable sensor that replaces the call button.

If you cite two pages by the same author, add a short version of each title: (Galewitz, "Forget Ringing").

Common mistakes

  • Yam, Eileen, et al. Americans Want Transparency When AI Is Used in Their Healthcare. Pew Research Center,Yam, Eileen, et al. "Americans Want Transparency When AI Is Used in Their Healthcare." Pew Research Center,A webpage is part of a larger website. MLA puts the part in quotation marks and the website, the container, in italics.
  • World Health Organization. "Hypertension." World Health Organization,"Hypertension." World Health Organization,When the organization that wrote the page also runs the site, MLA starts with the title so the name isn't listed twice.
  • https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/08/25/americans-want-transparency-when-ai-is-used-in-their-healthcare/www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/08/25/americans-want-transparency-when-ai-is-used-in-their-healthcare/.MLA drops the http:// or https:// from the printed URL and ends the entry with a period.
  • (Galewitz par. 4)(Galewitz)The KFF Health News story doesn't number its paragraphs, so there's nothing to point to. Counting them yourself isn't MLA style.
  • Galewitz, P. (2024, May 8).Galewitz, Phil.That's APA. MLA spells out the first name and moves the date after the website name, written day, month, year: 8 May 2024.
  • www.pewresearch.org.www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/08/25/americans-want-transparency-when-ai-is-used-in-their-healthcare/.Link to the exact page you read, so your reader lands on the same content.

Quick checklist

  • Author inverted with the full first name, or the title first when the organization runs the site
  • Page title in quotation marks and title case, from the headline on the page
  • Website name in italics
  • Date as day, month, year, with long months abbreviated
  • URL of the exact page, without https://, ending with a period
  • Access date at the end for a page with no date or one that changes

Questions students ask

Do I need an access date for a website in MLA 9?

It's optional. MLA says one is especially useful when the page has no date or might change or disappear, like a data page or a live counter. Write Accessed and the date you viewed it at the end of the entry: Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Is the webpage title italicized or in quotation marks in MLA?

In quotation marks. A webpage is part of a larger website, and MLA puts parts in quotation marks. The website's name, the container, goes in italics.

Do I include https:// in an MLA citation?

No. MLA recommends dropping http:// and https:// from URLs in the Works Cited list. Keep the rest of the address, including www. if it's there, and end the entry with a period.

What if the webpage has no page numbers?

Most don't, and that's fine. Cite the author's last name alone, (Galewitz), or name the author in your sentence and skip the parentheses. Give a paragraph or section number only when the page itself numbers them.

What if an organization wrote the page?

If the organization also runs the website, start the entry with the page title and let the website name carry the organization. If a different organization runs the site, list the one that wrote the page as the author. Either way, cite the first word or words of the entry in the text.

How is MLA different from APA for a webpage?

MLA spells out first names, puts the page title in quotation marks and the website in italics, and puts the date after the website name. APA uses initials, the year right after the author, and an italic page title. In the text, MLA uses the author alone where APA adds the year.

Rules checked against the MLA Handbook (9th ed.), chapter 2 (titles and capitalization), chapter 5 (the core elements, containers, organization authors, and optional access dates, 5.111), and chapter 6 (in-text citations, 6.3–6.30, and shortened titles, 6.10), and the MLA Style Center pages "How to Cite an Online Work," "Styling Titles of Online Works," "How do I cite a source that has no author?," "If the author, publisher, and name of a website are all the same, do I need to list the author or publisher?," and "When should I include an access date for an online work?" Example sources verified on each page itself: Pew (all three bylines and date), KFF Health News (byline and date), WHO (date), and the Census Bureau's population clock (title, no date, and site name).

PERRLA builds the MLA webpage entry from its URL, with the author, the date, and the website in the right places.

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