To quote a website, put the borrowed words in quotation marks and add an in-text citation naming the author, then list the full source in your Works Cited (MLA) or References (APA). The one thing that trips people up is page numbers: web pages usually do not have them, and the rule is that you leave the number out rather than invent one. In MLA you cite by author’s last name alone; in APA you cite author and year, adding a paragraph or heading locator only for a direct quote.
Here is the exact format for each style, plus what to do when the page has no author.
How do you quote a website in MLA?
In MLA, an in-text citation for a quote from a website is the author’s last name in parentheses, with no page number if the page has none:
She argues that attention is “the rarest and purest form of generosity” (Weil).
If the page has no author, use a shortened version of the title in quotation marks instead: (“Digital Reading”). Your Works Cited entry gives the full details: author, title of the page in quotation marks, name of the website in italics, publisher if different, date, and URL. Only add a paragraph or section number if the source itself numbers them, using the label “par.” or “sec.” Never count paragraphs yourself. For the fuller MLA rules, see how to quote a website in MLA.
How do you quote a website in APA?
In APA, the in-text citation is author and year. For a direct quote you also give a location, but since web pages rarely have page numbers, use a paragraph number, a heading, or both:
The report notes that remote work “reshaped the school day” (Alvarez, 2023, para. 4).
If there is no author, move the title to the author position: use a short title in quotation marks for a page (“Screen Time,” 2022). Your References entry lists author, year, title of the page in italics, site name, and URL. For a page with no date, use “n.d.” in place of the year.
What if there’s no page number?
This is the normal case for websites, and both styles handle it the same way in principle: do not make up a number. In MLA, simply give the author’s name with nothing after it. In APA, for a direct quote, point the reader to the spot another way, by paragraph number (“para. 4”) or by the section heading the quote falls under. For a paraphrase, APA does not require a locator at all. For the general rule across styles, see how to cite a quote.
Direct quote versus paraphrase
Quote directly only when the exact wording matters; otherwise paraphrase. A direct quote needs quotation marks and the citation; a paraphrase drops the quotation marks but still needs the citation, since the idea is not yours. In APA, a direct quote is where you add the paragraph or heading locator, while a paraphrase can stand on author and year alone. For how to fold a quotation into your own sentence, see how to introduce a quote, and for turning a quote into a paraphrase, how do you paraphrase a quote.
FAQ
How do you cite a website quote with no page number?
Leave the page number out. In MLA, give the author’s last name alone. In APA, for a direct quote, point to a paragraph number (“para. 4”) or a section heading instead.
How do you quote a website with no author?
Use a shortened title in quotation marks in place of the author, both in the in-text citation and at the start of the full reference entry.
Do you need quotation marks when quoting a website?
Yes, for a direct quote, always. If you reword the idea into your own sentence, drop the quotation marks but keep the citation, because you are paraphrasing, not quoting.
What’s the difference between MLA and APA here?
MLA cites by author (and page only if one exists); APA cites by author and year, adding a paragraph or heading locator for direct quotes from unpaginated web pages.
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