How to Cite Online Sources in MLA
MLA online citation sources are any electronic publications, such as websites, online articles, emails, and images. Usually, your citation should include URL (without https://) or DOI and the date of access. In this case, highlighting the date when the information was accessed may be important as websites and publications are updated regularly.
In general, the citation will look like this:
Author. Title. Title of Container. Publisher. Date. Location (DOI, URL, pages, or paragraphs). Date Accessed (when necessary).
In our citation examples we use the following color coding:
- Red – Author
- Blue – Title of book/article/charter/webpage
- Pink – Date
- Orange – Website/Publisher
- Turquoise – Place of publication
- Green – Title of journal
- Violet – Editor/Translator
- Black – Volume/Issue
- Sienna – Pages
- Gray – URL/database/website where the source is retrieved
- Gold – Book, a part/chapter of which is being cited
Entire website
When citing the entire website, it is necessary to provide the full URL (without https://) and the date, when the source was accessed.
Starbucks: Coffee and Espresso. Starbucks Coffee Company, 2024,
www.starbucks.com/. Accessed 24 Jan. 2024.
Page from website
Walsh, Kathryn. “A Very Felt Christmas.” eHow, 12 Dec. 2023,
www.ehow.com/13778836/felt-christmas.
In this case, if the exact author is unknown, one should skip this part and start with the title of the page (see Page from Website with Unknown Author for an example).
Image from website
This format can be actively used when citing famous paintings, sculptures, and artworks that are available online.
Amos, Emma. Without Feather Boa. 1965. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. MoMA
Collection, www.moma.org/collection/works/426633. Accessed 14 Mar. 2024.
Be sure to use this format for images from the Internet too. The common problem is that there’s no author mentioned. That’s not the problem. Just skip it and cite everything in a usual way.
Burtynsky, Edward. “Silver Lake Operations #16. Lake Lefroy, Western Australia.” National,
Geographic, www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/proof/2017/01/edward-
burtynsky-earth-human-landscapes/. Accessed 24 Feb. 2024.
Online book
The basic book format is used, and the edition type should be added.
Plummer, Ken. Sociology: The Basics. E-book ed., Routledge, 2021.
Portion of an online book
A chapter or a book that is a part of a larger work is taken in parenthesis. The name of an electronic library (italicized) should be followed by an URL.
“Sociological Research.” Introduction to Sociology, edited by Tonja R. Conerly et al.,
OpenStax, 2021. OpenStax Books, openstax.org/books/introduction-sociology-3e/
pages/2-introduction.
Article in an online journal (journal article from a database)
Gardner, William L., et al. “The Leadership Trilogy: A Review of the Third Decade of the
Leadership Quarterly.” The Leadership Quarterly, vol. 31, no. 1, 2020. Medieval
Fragments, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2019.101379.
If the article can also be found in print, it is necessary to mention the page numbers.
Perry, Samuel L. “American Religion in the Era of Increasing Polarization.” Annual Review of Sociology, vol. 48, 2022, pp. 87-107,
www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-soc-031021-114239.
Article in an online magazine/newspaper
Athas, Eric. “How to Have a Healthier Relationship with Your Phone.” The New York Times, 21 Mar. 2024,
www.nytimes.com/2024/03/21/well/social-media-phone-addiction.html.
Entire blog
The date can be usually found at the bottom of the web page along with the copyright information.
McKenney, Sally. Sally’s Baking Addiction. 2024, sallysbakingaddiction.com. Accessed 14
Mar. 2024.
Blog entry
McKenney, Sally. “The Great Pumpkin Pie Recipe.” Sally’s Baking Addiction, 15 Sept. 2022,
sallysbakingaddiction.com/the-great-pumpkin-pie-recipe/. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.
Gilbert, John. E-mail to Louis J. Hansen. 18 Aug. 2023.
Video or film
If there is a general discussion of a film, the title of it should be followed by the names of creators and/or performers. A name of the distributor is also required.
Together. Directed by Stephen Daldry, BBC Film, 2021.
If there is a need to focus on a specific participant, start the line with his or her name.
Daldry, Stephen, director. Together. BBC Film, 2021.
Podcast/YouTube
The name of the video is followed by the name of a hosting website (italicized). A name or a username of an uploader should be mentioned with the download date.
“Midwest Access: The Importance of Teen Sleep.” YouTube, uploaded by KTTC, 28 Mar.
2024, www.youtube.com/watch?v=zueTsus1yMs.
Lecture/Public address
If the lecture or other live performance is cited, the city must be mentioned. However, it should be left out if it is already in the name of the event. The name of an organization should follow the name of the meeting. The speech title is taken into quotation marks.
Blush, Greta. “The Basics of Good Project Management.” California Southern Business,
Mar. 2020, California Southern U, Chandler. Lecture.
Government publication
If the author is unknown, mention the government and the department. The name of the publishing office must follow the title of the document.
United Nations Department of Economic. World Social Report 2021: Reconsidering Rural
Development. UN Press, 2021.
Dissertation
Citing a dissertation is common to a book, but it has to include the “dissertation” word along with the name of the institution issuing a degree and the year it was awarded.
Nadella, Geeta Sandeep. Validating the Overall Impact of IS on Educators in US High
Schools Using IS-Impact Model – A Quantitative PLS-SEM Approach. 2023. U of
the Cumberlands, PhD Dissertation.
Page from website with unknown author
“Type 2 Diabetes: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment.” WebMD, 2023, www.webmd.com/
diabetes/type-2-diabetes. Accessed 25 Feb. 2024.