PERRLA/Guides/MLA 9/Webpage by an organization

How to Cite a Webpage by an Organization in MLA 9

When an organization writes a webpage and also runs the website, MLA 9 skips the author and starts the Works Cited entry with the page title in quotation marks, then the website's name in italics (for most organizations, their own name), the date, and the URL without https://. If the page names people as its writers, they're the authors. The in-text citation is the first thing in the entry: a short title in quotation marks, like ("Nursing"), or the author's last name, like (Tolbert et al.).

The format

"Title of the Page." Website Name, Day Mon. Year, www.url.com.

PERRLA MLA Experts ยท Updated October 30, 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. For organizations PERRLA knows, like the World Health Organization and the American Nurses Association, it fills in the organization as the group author along with the title, the date, and the website name. When the group author matches the website name, PERRLA starts the entry with the title, which is just what MLA wants.

Then check the result against the page. If the page has a byline, the people named are the authors: change the group author to an Individual Author (person) for each of them. Make sure the date is the one the page shows for its content, like a "Last Updated" date, not the copyright year in the footer.

Adding one by hand? Choose Webpage and fill in the Page Title, the Website Name, the Publication Date, and the URL (Web address). Add a Group Author (Organization) only when it's the same as the website name (PERRLA leaves it out for you) or when one organization wrote a page that a different organization publishes. No date on the page? Fill in Retrieval Date, and PERRLA ends the entry with the date you accessed it.

Look up
Paste a URL, get the reference

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/nursing-and-midwifery

"Nursing and Midwifery." World Health Organization, 11 Aug. 2026, www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/nursing-and-midwifery.

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: usually nobody

Here's the part that surprises APA users. When an organization wrote the page and also publishes it, MLA doesn't list the organization as the author. Skip the author and start with the title. The organization still gets credit: on most organization sites, the website's name is the organization's name.

"Nursing and Midwifery." World Health Organization, …

Look for a byline first. A page that lists its writers, like KFF's brief on the uninsured, has people as its authors, so the first author starts the entry, last name first. With three or more authors, give the first one and et al. Leave degrees and credentials like MD, RN, or PhD out.

Tolbert, Jennifer, et al.

An organization goes in the author spot only when it wrote the page and a different organization publishes it, or when a division or committee wrote it for its parent organization.

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 heading printed on the page, not the browser tab title.

"Key Facts about the Uninsured Population."

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

3. Website name

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

KFF,

For many organizations, the website name is just the organization's name, like World Health Organization for who.int.

4. Publisher: left out when it's the site's name

MLA leaves the publisher out when it's essentially the website's name, so the organization's name doesn't print twice. That covers most organization sites: the World Health Organization runs World Health Organization, and KFF runs KFF. The entry goes straight from the website name to the date.

World Health Organization, 11 Aug. 2026,

5. Date

Use the date the page gives for its content, written day, month, year, with the month abbreviated (except May, June, and July). If the page shows only a month, give the month and year.

16 June 2026,

When a page shows more than one date, MLA tells you to use the one most relevant to your use, which is usually the "Last Updated" date. The copyright year in the footer doesn't count: it covers the whole website, not this page.

6. URL and access date

End with the full URL of the page you read, not the organization's home page, without https://, followed by a period.

www.aacnnursing.org/news-data/fact-sheets/nursing-shortage.

No date on the page? Add an access date at the very end: Accessed, then the day you viewed it. MLA makes it optional, and it's most useful for exactly this kind of undated page.

Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Examples

An organization's page where the author and site name match

The World Health Organization's fact sheet on the global nursing workforce. WHO wrote it and WHO runs the site, so the entry starts with the title, the website name stands in for both author and publisher, and the date is the one printed under the title.

  • In-text citation("Nursing")
  • Narrative citationThe World Health Organization's fact sheet "Nursing and Midwifery" reports that …

A page on an organization's site with a byline

KFF's brief on the people in the United States without health insurance, on its own site, KFF. The page lists four authors, Jennifer Tolbert, Sammy Cervantes, Clea Bell, and Anthony Damico, so the entry starts with the first author and et al. KFF publishes the site under its own name, so no publisher follows KFF. The page says "Published: June 16, 2026."

  • In-text citation(Tolbert et al.)
  • Narrative citationTolbert and her coauthors report that …

A page dated with a month and year

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing's nursing shortage fact sheet, which ends with "Updated: October 2026." The organization runs the site under its own name, so the entry starts with the title, and the date is the month and year the page gives.

  • In-text citation("Nursing Shortage Fact Sheet")
  • Narrative citationThe American Association of Colleges of Nursing's "Nursing Shortage Fact Sheet" reports that …

An organization's page with no date

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses' page on healthy work environments. It shows no date for its content (only a copyright range in the footer), so the entry leaves the date out and ends with the day the page was accessed.

  • In-text citation("Healthy Work Environments")
  • Narrative citationThe American Association of Critical-Care Nurses' page "Healthy Work Environments" describes …

In-text citations

An MLA 9 in-text citation starts with whatever starts the Works Cited entry. For most organization pages, that's the title, not the organization.

  • Entry that starts with the title: the title in quotation marks, shortened to its first noun and any words before it, minus an opening A, An, or The: ("Nursing") for "Nursing and Midwifery." A title that's already short can stay whole.
  • A page with a byline: the author's last name, or the first author and et al. for three or more: (Tolbert et al.).
  • An organization in the author spot: the organization's name as the entry gives it, shortened to its first few words if it's long.
  • Name in your sentence: name the organization and the page title in your sentence, and no parentheses are needed: The World Health Organization's fact sheet "Nursing and Midwifery" describes the global nursing workforce.

Webpages have no page numbers, so don't count paragraphs. Give a section or paragraph number only when the page numbers them. MLA doesn't use APA's bracketed abbreviation, (World Health Organization [WHO], 2026), and never adds the year.

Common mistakes

  • World Health Organization. "Nursing and Midwifery." World Health Organization, 11 Aug. 2026,"Nursing and Midwifery." World Health Organization, 11 Aug. 2026,When the organization wrote the page and runs the site, MLA skips the author so the name doesn't print twice. Start with the title.
  • "Nursing Shortage Fact Sheet." American Association of Colleges of Nursing, American Association of Colleges of Nursing, Oct. 2026,"Nursing Shortage Fact Sheet." American Association of Colleges of Nursing, Oct. 2026,When the website is named after the organization that runs it, MLA leaves the publisher out so the name doesn't repeat.
  • "Key Facts about the Uninsured Population." KFF,Tolbert, Jennifer, et al. "Key Facts about the Uninsured Population." KFF,When a page names its writers, they're the authors, even on an organization's website. With three or more, give the first author and et al.
  • World Health Organization. (2026, August 11). Nursing and midwifery."Nursing and Midwifery." World Health Organization, 11 Aug. 2026,That's APA. MLA puts the page title in quotation marks and title case, the website in italics, and the date after the website, day first.
  • "Healthy Work Environments." American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, 2026,"Healthy Work Environments." American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, www.aacn.org/nursing-excellence/healthy-work-environments. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.The copyright year in a site's footer isn't the page's date. With no date of its own, leave the date out and add an access date.
  • (World Health Organization [WHO], 2026)("Nursing")MLA in-text citations match the first words of the Works Cited entry and never take a year. Here the entry starts with the title.

Quick checklist

  • Check for a byline: a named person is the author
  • Organization wrote it and runs the site? Start with the title
  • Page title in quotation marks and title case
  • Website name in italics, with no publisher when it's the organization's own name
  • The page's own date or update date, day first; no date means an access date
  • The page's URL without https://, ending with a period

Questions students ask

Why doesn't my MLA citation start with the organization's name?

Because the organization also runs the website. MLA doesn't list an organization as the author of a work it also publishes, so the entry starts with the title. When the website is named after the organization, the website's name covers it, so the name appears just once.

Do I include the website name if it's the same as the organization?

Yes. The website name is the container, so it stays, in italics. What drops out is the repeat: the organization as author, and the organization as publisher when the site already carries its name.

Can I abbreviate the organization's name in MLA?

Not in the Works Cited entry: write the full name, like American Association of Colleges of Nursing. When an organization does start the entry, the in-text citation can shorten a long name to its first few words, or use well-known initials like NIH, as long as you use the same form every time. Most entries on this page start with the title, so the organization doesn't appear in the citation at all.

Which date do I use if the page shows several?

The one most relevant to the version you read, which is usually the "Last Updated" or "Last Reviewed" date. It tells your reader how current the information is. Don't use the copyright year in the footer.

What if the organization's page is a PDF?

A PDF that stands on its own, like a report, a guideline, or a policy brief with its own title, is cited as a report, not a webpage. Its title goes in italics, and the organization still goes in the publisher spot when it's also the author. Link straight to the PDF.

Should I use the organization's "How to cite this page" box?

Check it against MLA first. Many organizations' suggested citations follow APA or put the organization's name in twice. Use the details it gives you, and build the entry in the order shown on this page.

Rules checked against the MLA Handbook (9th ed.), chapter 2 (titles and capitalization), chapter 5 (the core elements, organization authors and publishers, when to omit a publisher, dates, and optional access dates), and chapter 6 (in-text citations and shortened titles), and the MLA Style Center pages "How do I cite a source that has no author?" (an organization that is also the publisher is listed only as publisher), "If the author, publisher, and name of a website are all the same, do I need to list the author or publisher?," "If the author of a work is given as a division of an organization, do I still omit an author?," "How do I abbreviate the name of a corporate author in my in-text citation?," "When citing a work on a website, should I use the original publication date or the last-updated date?," "Is a compound subject a noun phrase for the purposes of abbreviating a title?," and "How to Cite an Online Work." The WHO and both AACN pages are the ones verified for the APA 7 page, reopened by curl on October 27, 2026, to confirm each title, site name, and the date it shows; the KFF brief was opened by curl on October 30, 2026, for its title, four authors, site name, and published date. The access date is the day the undated page was reopened.

PERRLA builds an organization's webpage entry from the URL and starts it with the title when the organization runs the site.

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