To quote a website in MLA, put the borrowed words in quotation marks and follow them with an in-text citation naming the author, or the article title if there is no author. Because most web pages have no page numbers, the in-text citation is usually just the author’s last name: (Smith). The full source then appears in the Works Cited list. The trick with websites is knowing what to use when the author, date, or page number is missing.
How do you quote a website in MLA in-text?
Give the exact words in quotation marks, then cite the author’s last name in parentheses: “The effect is measurable” (Smith). Web pages rarely have page numbers, so you stop at the name, do not invent a page or paragraph number unless the source itself numbers its paragraphs. If you name the author in your sentence (“Smith argues that…”), you do not repeat the name in parentheses; the sentence already credits the source.
When a page has no named author, use a shortened version of the title in quotation marks instead: (“Climate Basics”). Match whatever begins the Works Cited entry, because the in-text citation is a pointer to that entry.
How to format the Works Cited entry for a website
The MLA template is: Author. “Title of the Page.” Title of the Website, Publisher, Date, URL. For example: Smith, Jane. “How Memory Works.” Cognition Today, 12 Mar. 2024, cognitiontoday.com/how-memory-works. Drop the “https://” from the URL and omit any element the site does not provide. If the website’s name and publisher are the same, list it once. The overall citation logic matches MLA quote citation.
What if there is no author or date?
Websites often leave out one or both. With no author, begin the entry with the page title and cite a shortened title in-text. With no date, simply omit it, but add an “Accessed” date at the end of the Works Cited entry when the content might change: Accessed 5 July 2026. Do not use “n.d.” in MLA; that is an APA convention. Handling missing pieces is the main thing that separates a web citation from quoting an article or a printed book.
How to quote a long passage from a website
If the quotation runs longer than four lines of your text, set it as a block quote: start it on a new line, indent the whole thing half an inch, and drop the quotation marks. The parenthetical citation goes after the closing punctuation of the block, not before. The full mechanics are in MLA block quotes.
How to introduce a website quote
Frame the quote with a signal phrase that says where it comes from, especially online, where readers cannot see the source: “According to Cognition Today, …”. Naming the site adds credibility and orients the reader before the quotation. See how to introduce a quote for signal-phrase patterns, and how to quote in MLA for the full method.
FAQ
How do you cite a website quote in MLA in-text?
Put the words in quotation marks and add the author’s last name in parentheses: (Smith). With no author, use a shortened title: (“Climate Basics”). No page number is needed for most web pages.
What does an MLA Works Cited entry for a website look like?
Author. “Page Title.” Website Name, Publisher, Date, URL. Omit any element the site does not provide, and drop “https://” from the URL.
What if the website has no date?
Omit the date and add an “Accessed” date at the end of the entry if the content may change. Do not use “n.d.” in MLA.
Do website quotes need a page number in MLA?
No. Most web pages are unpaginated, so the in-text citation stops at the author or title. Only cite a number if the source numbers its own paragraphs.
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