How to Cite a Website in MLA 9 — Free Generator & Examples

To cite a website in MLA 9, use this format: Author, First Last. "Page Title." Website Name, Day Month Year, URL. Example: Smith, John. "How to Write a Research Paper." MasterClass, 15 Mar. 2024, masterclass.com/articles/how-to-write.

The free citation generator formats this automatically. Below is the rule-by-rule breakdown including no-author, no-date, and multi-author cases.

MLA 9 website citation format

MLA 9 uses the container system. For a website:

Author. "Title of Page." Website Name, Publication Date, URL.

• Author: Last, First. Full first name (not initials). Leave blank if no byline.
• "Page Title": In quotation marks, title case.
• Website Name: Italicized. Not the URL domain — the actual site name ("The New York Times," not "nytimes.com").
• Publication Date: Day Month Year with abbreviated month (15 Mar. 2024). Skip elements you don't have.
• URL: Without "https://" is acceptable in MLA 9; with it is also fine. The generator includes https:// for clarity.

End with a period.

When the website has no author

Most organizational pages have no bylined author. MLA 9's rule: start with the page title.

Format: "Page Title." Website Name, Date, URL.

Example: "How to Write a Research Paper." MasterClass, 15 Mar. 2024, masterclass.com/articles/how-to-write.

In the generator, leave the author fields blank. The tool applies the no-author rule automatically.

Corporate author. If the website itself is functionally the author (CDC, American Heart Association), put the organization in the author field. Skip the website name if it duplicates the author:

American Heart Association, 10 Feb. 2024, heart.org/topic/...

When there's no publication date

MLA 9 handles missing dates more simply than APA. If no date is available, skip the date entirely (MLA 9 doesn't require "n.d." like APA).

Format: Author. "Page Title." Website Name, URL. Accessed Date.

MLA 9 recommends adding an access date for undated or likely-to-change content:

Example: Smith, John. "The Changing Landscape." Blog Name, example.com/article. Accessed 5 Mar. 2024.

Access date is optional but recommended for wikis, blogs with dynamic content, or pages without clear publication dates. Skip for stable, dated content.

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Multiple authors

MLA 9 rules:

• 1 author: Smith, John.
• 2 authors: Smith, John, and Sarah Lee. (Note: first author inverted, second in first-last order.)
• 3+ authors: Smith, John, et al. In-text: (Smith et al.) — no page needed unless direct quote.

The generator supports one author. For 2–3 authors, manually add the second and third per these rules. For 3+, use "et al." after the first.

In-text citations for websites (MLA 9)

MLA 9 in-text uses (Author) or (Author page-number). For websites without page numbers:

• (Smith) — standard.
• (Smith, "Title") — if you cite multiple works by the same author.
• ("Page Title") — for no-author sources, use a shortened version of the title in quotes.

Unlike APA, MLA 9 doesn't include year in the in-text. Just the author name (or shortened title).

No page numbers for most websites — MLA 9 doesn't require paragraph or section numbers the way APA does. If the source has a section name, you can add it: (Smith, "Methods section").

Specific website types

Blog posts: Treat as website. Blog post title in quotes, blog name italicized.

Online news articles: Same as website. Newspaper name italicized. Examples: Smith, John. "Political Analysis." The New York Times, 10 Mar. 2024, nytimes.com/article.

Wikipedia: Treat as website; list "Wikipedia" as container. "Article Title." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Date, URL.

Government websites: Organization as author. Example: United States, Environmental Protection Agency. "Climate Change Overview." EPA, epa.gov/climate-change.

Social media posts: Use author handle, post content as title (in quotes), platform as container.

Podcast web pages: Treat as website; podcast title italicized, episode title in quotes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I italicize the page title in MLA 9?

No. Article/page titles are in quotation marks. The website name (the container) is italicized. Example: "Page Title." Website Name.

What if the URL is too long?

MLA 9 allows shortened URLs but recommends full URLs for stability. The generator preserves whatever URL you paste. Don't use bit.ly or other shortened URLs unless the source is genuinely only accessible that way.

Do I need to include "Accessed" date?

Only for content that's likely to change (wikis, undated pages, user-generated content). Stable dated content doesn't need access dates. When in doubt, include it for undated online sources.

How do I cite a page where the author is an organization?

Put the organization name in the author field: American Psychological Association. "APA Style Guide." APA, apa.org/style. If author and website name are identical, skip the website name field to avoid redundancy.