How do I cite a website with no author?

Leave the author fields empty. The title moves to the front of the citation, and the in-text citation uses a short form of the title instead of a name. If an organization wrote the page, such as the World Health Organization, add it as the author and turn on Organization.

What does "n.d." mean in a citation?

It means "no date". APA uses (n.d.) when a source does not show a publication date, and Harvard writes (no date). Leave the year empty and the citation generator adds it for you. MLA and Chicago leave the date out and use the date you viewed the page instead.

Do I need the date I accessed a website?

It depends on the style. Harvard (Cite Them Right) includes it for every web source without a DOI. MLA and Chicago use it when the page has no publication date. For APA, this tool adds a retrieval date only when the page has no date. Fill in the date you viewed the page and each style uses it where it should.

What is a DOI and where do I find it?

A DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is a permanent ID for a journal article, book, or dataset. It starts with 10. and is usually printed on the first page of an article or on the article's web page. Paste it into the lookup box and the form fills in the authors, title, journal, volume, issue, and pages.

What is the difference between a reference list, a bibliography, and Works Cited?

They are names different styles use for the list of sources at the end of a paper. APA calls it References, MLA calls it Works Cited, Harvard calls it a Reference list, and Chicago calls it a Bibliography. A reference list includes only the sources you cite, while a bibliography can also include sources you read for background.

How do I make a hanging indent in Word or Google Docs?

Reference lists use a hanging indent, where every line after the first is indented. In Word, select the list, open the Paragraph settings, and under Indentation set Special to Hanging (0.5 inches is standard). In Google Docs, use Format, then Align and indent, then Indentation options, and set Special indent to Hanging.

Why does APA use lowercase letters in titles?

APA uses sentence case for the titles of articles, books, and web pages: only the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns are capitalized. Journal names stay in title case. Click "Change to sentence case" under the title field, then capitalize any names or places by hand.

Is Harvard style the same at every university?

No. Harvard is a family of author-date styles, and universities use slightly different versions. This tool follows Cite Them Right (12th edition), the version many UK universities use. Check your course guide for small differences in punctuation.

Are the citations always correct?

The formatting comes from the official Citation Style Language styles, the same style files Zotero and Mendeley use. The result is only as good as the details you enter, so check the spelling of names, the title's capitalization, and the dates against the source.

Is my information private?

Yes. Citations are created in your browser, and your saved list stays in this browser on this device. The only thing sent anywhere is a DOI you choose to look up, which goes to doi.org to fetch the article details.

Citation Generator

Cite websites, books, journal articles, and news articles in APA, MLA, Chicago, or Harvard style. Fill in the form or paste a DOI, then copy the citation and its in-text version. Everything runs in your browser.

Fill in from a DOI (optional)

Journal articles and many books have a DOI. The lookup sends only the DOI to doi.org.

Authors

Organization

Page title

APA writes this title in sentence case.

Website name

Year

Month

Day

URL

Date you viewed it

Harvard always shows it. MLA and Chicago use it when there is no date published.

APA style, 7th edition

Citation (APA)

Your citation will appear here once you add an author or a title...

In-text citationFill in the form above

Page you cite

Copies with italics, ready to paste into Word or Google Docs.

Your References (0)

Citations you add show up here, sorted the way APA style orders them. Switch styles to reformat the whole list.

Saved in this browser only.

What is a citation generator?

A citation generator turns the details of a source (who wrote it, what it is called, when and where it was published) into a correctly formatted citation. Each style has its own rules for the order of those details, the punctuation between them, and which parts are in italics, so writing them by hand is slow and easy to get wrong.

A citation has two parts: the full entry in the list at the end of your paper, and a short in-text citation (or a footnote, in Chicago) at the spot where you use the source. This tool gives you both.

Why use our citation generator

·Official style rules. Formatting comes from the Citation Style Language styles that Zotero and Mendeley also use.
·Current editions. APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18, and Harvard (Cite Them Right 12).
·DOI lookup. Paste a DOI and the article details fill in for you.
·Keeps the italics. Paste into Word or Google Docs with the formatting intact.
·Free and private. No account needed. Your list is saved in your browser.

Citation examples in APA, MLA, Chicago, and Harvard

Here is the same web page and the same journal article in each style, exactly as this tool formats them.

How to cite a website

APA: Lopez, M. (2024, March 5). How to brew better coffee at home. Serious Eats. https://www.seriouseats.com/coffee-guide
MLA: Lopez, Maria. “How to Brew Better Coffee at Home.” Serious Eats, 5 Mar. 2024, https://www.seriouseats.com/coffee-guide.
Chicago: Lopez, Maria. “How to Brew Better Coffee at Home.” Serious Eats, March 5, 2024. https://www.seriouseats.com/coffee-guide.
Harvard: Lopez, M. (2024) How to brew better coffee at home, Serious Eats. Available at: https://www.seriouseats.com/coffee-guide (Accessed: 13 October 2026).

How to cite a journal article

APA: Petit, C., & Sieffermann, J. (2007). Testing consumer preferences for iced-coffee: Does the drinking environment have any influence? Food Quality and Preference, 18(1), 161–172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2006.05.008
MLA: Petit, Caroline, and Julien Sieffermann. “Testing Consumer Preferences for Iced-Coffee: Does the Drinking Environment Have Any Influence?” Food Quality and Preference, vol. 18, no. 1, 2007, pp. 161–72, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2006.05.008.
Chicago: Petit, Caroline, and Julien Sieffermann. “Testing Consumer Preferences for Iced-Coffee: Does the Drinking Environment Have Any Influence?” Food Quality and Preference 18, no. 1 (2007): 161–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2006.05.008.
Harvard: Petit, C. and Sieffermann, J. (2007) ‘Testing consumer preferences for iced-coffee: Does the drinking environment have any influence?’, Food Quality and Preference, 18(1), pp. 161–172. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2006.05.008.

How to create a citation

1
Pick the type of source
Choose Website, Book, Journal article, or News article. The form shows the fields that source needs.
2
Fill in the details
Type the authors, title, date, and the rest. For a journal article or book with a DOI, paste the DOI and click Look up to fill in the form for you.
3
Choose a citation style
Pick APA, MLA, Chicago, or Harvard. The citation and the in-text citation update right away. Add a page number to cite a specific page.
4
Copy it or build a list
Copy the citation with its italics, or click Add to list to collect your sources in a sorted reference list you can copy in one go.

Which citation style should you use?

Use the style your teacher, course, or journal names. If none is given, these are the fields each style is most common in.

·APA (7th edition). Psychology, education, nursing, business, and most social sciences. Uses author and year in the text, like (Lopez, 2024), and a References list.
·MLA (9th edition). English, literature, languages, and other humanities classes. Uses author and page in the text, like (Lopez 45), and a Works Cited list.
·Chicago (18th edition, notes and bibliography). History, art history, and many publishers. Cites sources in numbered footnotes and lists them in a Bibliography.
·Harvard (Cite Them Right, 12th edition). Common at universities in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Uses author and year in the text, like (Lopez, 2024), and a Reference list.

How to cite a source with no author or no date

Many web pages leave out the author, the date, or both. Leave those fields empty and each style handles it its own way. Here is a web page titled "Coffee and caffeine facts" on Healthline, with no author and no date:

Style	In the text	What changes
APA	(Coffee and Caffeine Facts, n.d.)	The title moves to the front, "n.d." replaces the year, and a retrieval date is added.
MLA	(“Coffee and Caffeine Facts”)	The entry starts with the title and ends with the date you accessed the page.
Chicago	A footnote starting “Coffee and Caffeine Facts,” Healthline	The site name stands in for the author in the bibliography, and the access date is added.
Harvard	(Coffee and caffeine facts, no date)	The title moves to the front and "no date" replaces the year.

Who uses a citation generator

·High school and college students. Build the reference list for an essay or research paper in the style your teacher asks for, and get the in-text citations to match.
·University students and researchers. Paste a DOI to cite a journal article in seconds, then switch the whole list between styles when a different course or journal needs it.
·Writers and bloggers. Credit the studies, books, and news articles you quote with a clean, consistent citation.
·Teachers and librarians. Show students what a correct citation looks like in each style, side by side with the details that go into it.