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How to reference a website using the Harvard referencing style
This guide covers how to reference a website in Harvard style. When citing information sourced from the web, it is of paramount importance that you make very clear what it is you are referencing. As sources on the internet can vary widely, your reference should aim to provide a trail that can lead the reader directly to the source. An internet source could be almost anything, including but not limited to scholarly journal articles, newspaper articles, blog posts, and personal web pages. Your reference format for internet sources will vary based on the type of source.
Since most websites are updated from time to time, it is possible that anything you quote may be changed or removed. This means that it is important to record within your citation the date that you last accessed the site.
Another important fact to be mindful of is that most websites do not have page numbers. If you need to reference a specific location on a website, you can use paragraph numbers in place of page numbers (abbreviated ‘para.’ in your in-text citation).
Citation styles for different online sources
This section will elaborate on the citation style to be utilized for the following sources, along with examples for each source type.
Web pages authored by an individual/individuals
Your references for this type of web page will include the following information:
- Author’s/Authors’ names
- The year the site was published or last updated (in round brackets)
- Title of the web page (in italics)
- Available at: URL (Accessed: date)
In-text citation
B. Johnson (2016) made his argument quite clear stating…
Reference list
Johnson, B. (2016) The rise of the Ubermensch. Available at: http://www.bjohnsonsworld.co.uk/theriseoftheubermensch (Accessed: 23 October 2017).
In-text citation (two authors)
After years of research, Russell and Verstappen (2013) found that…
Russell, J. and Verstappen, M. (2013) Rubber compounds and their rate of wear . Available at: http://www.dailysciencefixforyou.com/rubbercompounds (Accessed: 24 November 2019).
Web pages authored by a company or organization
Here’s the information you will need to include for this type of reference:
- Name of the company/organization
- Year the site was published or last updated (in round brackets)
- Title of the web page (in italics)
- Available at: URL (Accessed: date)
A patient may suffer mild psychosis (Rural Health Institute, 2018) as a result of…
Rural Health Institute (2018) The effects of shock therapy. Available at: http://www.rhi.co.uk/shocktherapy (Accessed: 31 October 2019).
Web pages with no author
Citation structure :
- Title of the webpage (in italics)
- The year the site was published/last updated (in round brackets)
- Available at: URL (Accessed: date)
Renderings of the architect’s master plan can be found online ( Gumpert’s Modernism, 2013) …
Reference List
Gumpert’s Modernism (2013) Available at: https://www.stellararchitecture.com/modernism/ (Accessed: 24 July 2020)
Web pages with no author or title
Citation structure:
- URL of the page
- (Accessed: date)
In-text citation
Salt dough cookies (http://www.wholesomerecipes.com/saltdough.html, 2018) are a wonderful way to….
http://www.wholesomerecipes.com/saltdough.html (2018) (Accessed: 12 September 2020).
Web pages without a date
Citation information:
- Author’s name
- Mention that no dates were available (use ‘no date’ in round brackets)
- Title of the web page, if available (in italics)
Cuba struggled through the decade (Banana Republic News, no date) facing a constant onslaught of….
Banana Republic News (no date) The trials and tribulations of Cuba. Available at: https://www.bananafyinews.com/cuba.html (Accessed: 15 July 2019).
Multiple pages from the same website
If you need to cite multiple pages from the same website, and the pages have different authors and/or publication dates associated with them, then you can simply use corresponding individual in-text citations and reference list entries for each page that you cite. In this case, you would also include the unique URL for each page in its corresponding reference list entry. However, if the pages you are citing all have the same author and publication date, you can differentiate between them in both your reference list entries and in-text citations by adding a lowercase letter after the date.
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022a)
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022b)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2022a) International travel . Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/international-travel/index.html (Accessed: 18 July 2022).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2022b) Cruise ship travel during COVID-19 . Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/cruise-travel-during-covid19.html (Accessed: 18 July 2022).
Note that if the web page has no date, insert a hyphen between the words ‘no date’ and the lowercase letter to improve readability, for example: (no date-a) or (no date-b).
Web blogs or video blogs
When citing any information from blogs or vlogs, you need to keep in mind that you are treading a very thin line between objectivity and subjectivity. Blogs or vlogs are meant to be informal as most people use them to express their perspectives on issues or topics that are close to their heart, or to comment on issues from the public domain. So, be incredibly careful as most blogs are not very well reasoned or objective in their stance.
- The year that the blog/vlog was published or last updated (in round brackets)
- Title of the blog/vlog (in single quotation marks)
- Title of the site that hosts the blog/vlog (in italics)
- The day or month the blog/vlog was posted
Note that if you’re trying to cite a vlog that was posted on YouTube, you’ll need to know how to cite a YouTube video in Harvard style .
Engelbert D’Souza (2015) has expounded on the “Mandela Effect” at great length….
D’Souza, E. (2015) ‘The Mandela Effect’, Engelbert’s monthly blog , 6 November. Available at: https://www.engelbertsmonthlyblog/november/mandelaeffect/ (Accessed: 11 September 2016).
Social networking sites
Citation information:
- Year (in round brackets)
- Title of the post (in single quotation marks)
- [Instagram]
- Day/month of the post
- Available at: URL (Accessed: date)
In-text citation
Hendrix was a master of distortion and feedback (Casanova, 2018) …
Casanova, G. (2018) ‘Jimi Hendrix: wild blue angel’ [Instagram]. 18 September. Available at: https://www.instagram.com (Accessed: 7 October 2019)
- Author (if available, otherwise use the title)
- The year the article was published or last updated (in round brackets)
- Title of the post (in italics)
- Day/month the post was uploaded
The Trump rally drew large crowds in South Carolina ( Trump campaign , 2016).
Trump campaign (2016) [Facebook] 24 October. Available at: https://www.facebook.com (Accessed: 28 February 2019).
- Author of the tweet
- Twitter handle (in square brackets)
- The year the tweet was posted (in round brackets)
- The full body of the tweet (if it is too long, use an ellipsis to shorten it)
- The day/month the tweet was posted
Jasper Kuhn (2018) was quite critical about the proceedings…
Kuhn, J. [@kuhnper] (2018) It was appalling to see the leaders of the state bicker like rabid dogs in the assembly [Twitter] 31 January. Available at: https://twitter.com/kuhnper/status/161664645.654654.655 (Accessed: 17 July 2018).
Key takeaways
- While referencing anything from a website, the main aim is to provide a trail that can lead the reader directly to the source.
- An important point to keep in mind is that you will need to cite the date you last accessed the site.
- Since most websites do not have page numbers, use paragraph numbers to show where you found the information you used.
Published October 29, 2020.
Harvard Formatting Guide
Harvard Formatting
- et al Usage
- Direct Quotes
- In-text Citations
- Multiple Authors
- Page Numbers
- Writing an Outline
- View Harvard Guide
Reference Examples
- View all Harvard Examples
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