How to Cite a Website with No Author
When researching for an academic paper, a project at work, or your own blog, you may come across an article or website that does not list an author. You will obviously want to keep the valuable information that the site gave you without the fear of being unable to properly reference it. There is a way to combat the dilemma, and we have all the tips below for how to cite a website with no author.
Although it is always important to check that the source is reliable, some instances still leave an author out of the equation from a website. That website still needs to be referenced in an academic or professional setting.
For this blog, we will dive into each of the most popular citation styles and how you can take a website with no author and bring it into your reference list. It is important to know and understand different styles of citations and reference lists. There are more than the 3 examples below, but APA, MLA, and Chicago are the most popular in regard to academia and professionals across the country.
APA
In American Psychological Association, better known as APA style, when there is no author or group of authors present, the title will move to the first position in the reference. The generally simple citation will take on a more basic formation, seen below.
Title. (Date). Source
Example:
Why It’s Important to Know How to Cite a Podcast. (2022). Retrieved From https://www.blogherald.com/multimedia/podcasts/how-to-cite-a-podcast/
In-text citations will follow the examples of (“Title”, Date) or (Title, Date) rather than the typical (Author, Date). The presence of italics in the title follows the general rules of APA.
Following the example above, the in-text citation would be (“Why It’s Important”, 2022). The title would be abbreviated, typically to the first few words, in an in-text citation if longer than 2-4 words.
MLA
The Modern Language Association is most commonly practiced in the liberal arts and humanities fields of study and professionalism. The standard reference layout begins with the title at the forefront, similar to APA.
“Title of the Article or Individual Page.” Title of the website, Name of the publisher, Date of publication, URL.
Example:
“Why It’s Important to Know How to Cite a Podcast.” Blog Herald, Adogy, 2022, https://www.blogherald.com/multimedia/podcasts/how-to-cite-a-podcast/
In-Text citations with no known author use the title only as the in-text citation, rather than using the date in addition, as shown in the APA example. The difference in the title words chosen comes down to nouns. The title should be reduced to a noun phrase if the title is more than one word. If it cannot be reduced to one single noun, it needs to be reduced to a noun phrase, as in the example below.
(“Important to Cite”, 2022).
Chicago
Business, history, and the fine arts typically use the Chicago style to write and reference articles, and other forms of copy. Different from
Owner of Site, “Title of Page,” date last modified or accessed, URL.
Example:
Blog Herald, “Why It’s Important to Know How to Cite a Podcast,” 2022, https://www.blogherald.com/multimedia/podcasts/how-to-cite-a-podcast/
For Chicago In-Text citations, the first word of the title is used, disregarding both definite and indefinite articles. Using the same example above, the Chicago In-Text for this website would be, (Why 2022).
As you can see, in-text citations are the most similar between the 3 styles, being that the only thing that changes is the first word. The title is edited slightly between each style, but can still be easily understood as to what article and website you are referencing within the text. Reference lists between the 3 styles are a bit more noticeable in their differences.
Wrap Up
Referencing a website with no author can feel like a tough challenge at first. As long as you confirm the source is reliable, there is no reason you would have to leave that source out. Now that you know how to cite a website with no author, you should be able to tackle any obstacle regarding citing your sources.
