How to Reference a Website in APA When No Author Is Present

In the Body of the Paper

• 1

  Cite the full name of the publishing organization either in the text of a sentence or at the beginning of a parenthetical reference.

• 2

  Add a comma and a space after the publishing organization, if you cited it within the parentheses.

• 3

  Cite the website's year of publication, either alone in the parentheses or after the organization, comma and space. The full citation should look something like this: "American Psychological Association (2011)" or "American Psychological Association, 2011)."

In the Reference List

• 4

  Write out the full name of the publishing organization, followed by a period.

• 5

  Add a set of parentheses. In the parentheses, write the year of publication. If the website also cites the month and day of its publication, then cite that too, separated from the year by a comma. Spell out the name of the month, and do not add any letters to the number of the day. Write a period immediately after the set of parentheses. For example, you could write, "(2011, April 16)."

• 6

  Write the name of the article or web page in italics, followed by a period. Only capitalize the first word, names and other proper nouns. If you are citing an entire website, not a specific page, then write the official name of the website.

• 7

  Write the name of the website, if it differs from the name of the publishing organization. Capitalize the website name however it appears on the website, and add a period at the end of the site's name. If the name of the website is the same as the name of the publishing organization, then skip this step.

• 8

  Write a retrieval statement: Write the words "Retrieved from," followed by a space. If the web page or website changes over time, for example, if it is frequently updated or edited, then include the exact date of retrieval in the retrieval statement: "Retrieved April 16, 2011, from".

• 9

  Paste the exact website URL. Do not add a period, or anything else, to the end of the URL. In the end, the citation should follow this format, except use italics for the web page title:

  American Psychological Association. (2011). When do you include a retrieval date in a citation? APA Style. Retrieved from http://www.apastyle.org/learn/faqs/when-include-retrieval-date.aspx