Is citing an online news article different from a website?

Online articles from news organizations and magazines follow similar format to websites but emphasize publication date. Include date in (Year) format, then availability information.

Should I cite different versions of the same article?

If you access an updated or revised version, cite that version with its access date. Include the URL version-specific if possible.

What if the online article is a PDF with page numbers?

Include page numbers as you would for print articles (p. or pp.). The Harvard format remains the same.

How to Cite an Online Article in Harvard Style

Online articles from news organizations, magazines, and online publications are increasingly important sources. Harvard referencing accommodates online articles with consistent formatting while allowing for URL and access date information. This guide covers online article citations across various platforms.

Basic Online Article Format

In-Text Citation

(Author Year)
(Williams 2024)

Reference List Format

Author, A. (Year) 'Article title', Publication Name, Day Month. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Example:

Thompson, E. (2024) 'Breaking news on climate legislation', The Guardian, 15 March. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/climate-news (Accessed: 16 March 2026).

News Articles Online

In-text:

(Williams 2024)

Reference list:

Williams, R. (2024) 'New climate legislation advances', The New York Times, 15 March. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/climate-legislation (Accessed: 16 March 2026).

Magazine Articles Online

Author, A. (Year) 'Article title', Magazine Name, Month. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Example:

Chen, M. (2024) 'The future of digital work', Business Today Magazine, March. Available at: https://www.businesstoday.com/articles/digital-work (Accessed: 16 March 2026).

Online-Only Publications

Author, A. (Year) 'Article title', Online Publication Name. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Articles Without Author

Start with article title:

'Article headline' (Year) Publication Name, Date. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Multiple Authors

Two authors:

Park, J. and Williams, S. (2024) 'Article title', Publication Name, 15 March. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Three or more:

Park, J. et al. (2024) 'Article title', Publication Name, 15 March. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Dated vs. Undated Articles

With publication date:

Author, A. (Year) 'Title', Publication, Date. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

No publication date (use access date):

Author, A. (n.d.) 'Title', Publication. Available at: URL (Accessed: 16 March 2026).

Journal Articles Online

When citing online versions of journal articles:

Author, A. (Year) 'Article title', Journal Name, volume(issue). Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Key Points

Include publication date (day and month if available)
Use publication name (not just URL)
Always include complete URL
Include access date in (Accessed: date) format
Single quotation marks around article titles
Italicize publication names

Step-by-Step Process

Identify author or publication
Note article title (exact)
Find publication name and date
Copy complete URL
Record access date
Format according to type (news, magazine, journal)
Alphabetize in reference list

Common Mistakes

Omitting publication date
Using shortened URLs
Inconsistent date formatting
Missing access date
Forgetting quotation marks around titles
Not italicizing publication names
Incomplete URLs

Practice Examples

Example 1: News Article

In-text: (Johnson 2024)

Reference: Johnson, A. (2024) 'Tech giants report record earnings', Financial Daily, 14 March. Available at: https://www.financialdaily.com/tech-earnings (Accessed: 16 March 2026).

Example 2: Magazine Article

Reference: Davis, R. (2024) 'The future of artificial intelligence', Science Today, March. Available at: https://www.sciencetoday.com/articles/ai-future (Accessed: 16 March 2026).

Example 3: Multiple Authors

Reference: Chen, S., Park, M. and Thompson, E. (2024) 'Climate change impacts on cities', Environmental News, 12 March. Available at: https://environmentalnews.org/climate-cities (Accessed: 16 March 2026).

Mastering Online Article Citations

Online articles provide current information and diverse perspectives essential to contemporary research. Properly citing them enables readers to access timely sources while demonstrating your engagement with current scholarship. With these Harvard guidelines, your online article citations meet academic standards across disciplines.

Use our citation generator to format online articles and explore guides for other source types.