There are two ways to reference an online article. The first is to write the article’s name in italics, and include the website address and year it was published. In the case of multiple authors, you should include the article’s page and article number. Alternatively, you can also use the Multiple Authors guidelines and list the names of the authors, if applicable. You should follow the guidelines outlined in the manual to avoid any confusion or inconsistency.
APA citation of a website
If you have a webpage from which you have taken information for your essay, you will need to cite it in APA format. The APA format is simple: in the body of the text, you must cite the website URL, author’s last name, comma, and date of publication. The website URL must match the reference entry in the reference list. If you wish to use paraphrases or quotes, you can omit the comma and put the website address in the body of the text.
APA website citation format contains the corresponding title, author, and publication information. The citation format is different from that for printed sources, but there are some differences that you should be aware of. In general, you should capitalize the first letter of the title, subtitle, and author. Be sure to include the webpage’s URL, as well. Remember, this style is for website content, so don’t use it for articles or other sources.
Italicize the name of the article
APA style states that the title of an article should be italicized. However, certain types of titles should not be italicized. A general rule of thumb is to italicize the name of a book, journal, or article title, and to quote part of a work. It is important to note, however, that the rules for citing sources differ between the body of the paper and the reference page. A title within quotation marks will not be italicized.
Titles of magazines, journals, and newspapers should be italicized, but not article titles. Depending on the type of publication, the title may be in normal font or even enclosed within double quotation marks. If the title is in quotation marks, italicize it. Otherwise, leave it in its normal font. APA 7th edition has an additional rule about citing titles: if an article is published in a journal, you should put the issue number and year in round brackets.
Include the year of publication
When citing an online article, the APA 7th edition format requires you to include the date of publication in parentheses, separated by a period. Most books and journals list the date of publication on the reverse of the title page, so you can simply enter the month and year as appropriate. Newspapers and magazines generally list the day and year as well, but make sure you spell the month correctly.
The APA 7th edition provides a guide for how to reference articles that don’t have page numbers, like Wikipedia articles. While Wikipedia articles are generally considered secondary sources, the APA manual does recommend that you include the year of publication if you’re citing an article from that source. For these articles, you’ll have to follow the same formatting rules as when citing print sources.
Include the site address
When referencing an online article, APA style requires that you include the site address as well as the DOI number. A DOI stands for a direct object identifier, and these numbers are usually the last items in an APA website citation. DOI numbers should not be followed by a period, since a long URL will inevitably be rolled over to the next line. Also, be sure to put all punctuation closest to the left margin.
In some cases, the author may not be present on the website, in which case you need to include the site address when referencing the online article. However, the website can be legitimate and reliable without any author. The website can be run by a government entity, a university, or another reputable organization. It is also acceptable to cite the website’s title in APA style.