The MLA paper format is primarily used for writing articles and citing sources in the humanities. This article will show you how to cite a website or a web page in MLA format. If you need a free MLA formatting sample, visit wr1ter.

Citing a Website or web page in MLA Guidelines

Prior to citing a website, you must first get some information about it. The following list provides basic information. Unfortunately, not each web page can contain this information. Nevertheless, try to get as much of this data as you can:

- The article's title.

- The name of the website, database, or project.

- Information about the publisher (name, publication date, etc.)

- Last name of the editor or author

- Medium of publication

- Date when you got access to the material

With the information gathered, you proceed to cite the website. Again, there exist different ways to do it. For instance, you can cite a specific article or to the whole website.

When citing a website, you must use the following format:

- Contributor information: the name of the editor, author, or compiler.

- The title of the work (quotes) is in inverted commas.

- The name of the website (italicized).

- The website version number. 

- The name of the institution/organization associated with the website (sponsor or publisher).

- The date of electronic publication.

- Medium of publication (Web).

- Access date. 

E.g., Fellugo, Dana, "A Handbook of Critical and Literary Theory," jbm.com, Oxford U, 21 Oct. 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.

When you cite a web page or site, the medium must be indicated as "web."

For the name of the author or editor, first, write the last name, followed up by a comma and the first name. For instance:

Schneider, Paul.

Handerson, Edgar.

For the publication date and website visit date, use the following format: Date Month Year. For instance:

22 Apr. 2016

19 May 2019

If you do not know the name of the publisher, use the "no publisher" abbreviation "n.p.". If the publication date is unavailable, use the "no date" abbreviation "n.d.".

E.g., Fellugo, Dana, "A Handbook of Critical and Literary Theory," jbm.com, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.

If the author or editor is unknown, you can directly start the citation from the website name:

Web Writing Center, Glory University. n.d. Web. 22 May 2017.

If you are citing one page of a website, you must use the following format:

- Contributor information: the name of the editor, author, or compiler.

- The title of the work (quotes) is in vertical commas.

- The name of the website (italicized)

- The name of the institution or organization associated with the website (sponsor or publisher).

- The date of electronic publication.

- Medium of publication (Web).

- Access date. 

For instance:

Lynch, Thomas. "At what age are you most alone?" Psychology Today. Wessex Publishers, LLC, 22 May 2017. Web. 25 Jul. 2018.

You can also use the same format for citing a webpage where the author is not mentioned:

"At what age are you most alone?" Psychology Today. Wessex Publishers, LLC, 22 Apr. 2016. n.p. Web. 25 Sept. 2018.

If you are citing an online newspaper, journal, or magazine, you can use this MLA structure:

Sharp, Douglas. "Sharing the cost." New York Times. New York Times, 2 Sept. 2017. Web. 3 Oct. 2019.