How to Cite a Website in Harvard Style

Websites have become essential academic sources. Harvard style requires careful formatting to distinguish between page title, website name, and access information. This guide covers website citations with examples for various scenarios.

Basic Website Format

In-Text Citation

(Author/Organization Year)
(National Archive 2024)

Reference List Format

Author/Organization (Year) 'Page title', Website Name. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Example:

National Archive (2024) 'Digitized historical documents', National Archive. Available at: https://www.nationalarchive.org/documents (Accessed: 16 March 2026).

Website with Author

Reference list:

Author, A. (Year) 'Page title', Website Name. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Example:

Chen, S. (2024) 'Climate change policy updates', Environmental Affairs Network. Available at: https://www.environmentalaffairs.org/climate-policy (Accessed: 16 March 2026).

Website Without Author

Start with page title:

'Article title' (Year) Website Name. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Example:

'Data privacy guidelines' (2024) Privacy International. Available at: https://www.privacyinternational.org/guidelines (Accessed: 14 March 2026).

Organization as Author

World Health Organization (2024) 'Global health statistics', WHO.int. Available at: https://www.who.int/publications/health-statistics (Accessed: 10 March 2026).

Blog Posts and Online Articles

Author, A. (Year) 'Post title', Blog Name. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Example:

Rodriguez, J. (2024) 'The future of remote work', WorkplaceTrends Blog. Available at: https://workplacetrends.blog/future-remote-work (Accessed: 16 March 2026).

Government and Institutional Websites

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2024) 'Air quality standards', EPA.gov. Available at: https://www.epa.gov/air-quality-standards (Accessed: 12 March 2026).

Social Media Posts

@Username (Date) Post description, Platform. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Example:

@NationalArchives (14 March 2024) New digitized documents from 1920s available online, Twitter. Available at: https://twitter.com/NationalArchives/status/example (Accessed: 16 March 2026).

Online Videos

Creator, A. (Year) 'Video title', Platform. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Example:

Chen, S. (2024) 'Quantum physics explained', YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=example (Accessed: 16 March 2026).

Key Points

• Page title in single quotes
• Website name (not URL) stated clearly
• “Available at:” format for URL presentation
• Access date included in (Accessed: date) format
• Complete URL with protocol (https://)
• Alphabetize by author or organization in reference list

Step-by-Step Process

1. Identify author or organization
2. Note page title (exact as displayed)
3. Identify website name
4. Copy complete URL
5. Record access date
6. Format: Author (Year) ‘Title’, Website. Available at: URL (Accessed: date)
7. Alphabetize in reference list

Common Mistakes

1. Using URL instead of website name
2. Omitting access date when no publication date exists
3. Including unnecessary URL parameters
4. Inconsistent date formatting
5. Forgetting single quotes around page title
6. Missing protocol in URL (http:// or https://)
7. Not including “Available at:” before URL

Practice Examples

Example 1: Standard Website

In-text: (Adams 2024)

Reference: Adams, J. (2024) 'Digital transformation in business', Business Review Online. Available at: https://www.businessreviewonline.com/digital-transformation (Accessed: 16 March 2026).

Example 2: Government Website

Reference: U.S. Census Bureau (2024) '2024 population estimates', Census.gov. Available at: https://www.census.gov/population-estimates (Accessed: 16 March 2026).

Example 3: Blog Post

Reference: Williams, M. (2024) 'AI ethics in healthcare', Tech Ethics Today. Available at: https://techethicstoday.blog/ai-healthcare-ethics (Accessed: 16 March 2026).

Mastering Website Citations

Websites provide current information across all academic disciplines. Properly citing them demonstrates engagement with contemporary sources while enabling readers to verify your information. With these Harvard guidelines, your website citations meet academic standards.

Use our citation generator to format website citations and explore our guides for other source types.