How To Cite An Anonymous Author Of A Blog Website

Do you want to include a website in your APA 7 style paper, but it has no author? How you cite a website in APA with no author is to use the article's title instead. Although it is acceptable to include information from sources with no author listed in your APA website citation, make sure it at least comes from a reliable website, such as a government entity, university, or reputable organization.

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How To Reference a Website With No Author Name Listed – APA 7th Edition

Online citations in APA style have four different components: the author, date, title, publisher, and URL. Many times, especially in local newspapers, articles are printed as staff articles or without any author's name listed. If you do not know the author's name or the article's date, you can still cite a webpage in your APA 7 style reference list by using the title of the article.

Format for News Website With No Author APA

Title of the article. (year, Month day). News Organization. URL (no period after the URL)

APA citation newspaper website article no author

APA News Website With No Author – Reference List Example

Concert raises thousands for earthquake victims. (2019, August 9). The News Review. http://www.news-ridgecrest.com/news/story.pl?id=0000010343

500,000 Oregon residents evacuate statewide due to wildfires. (2020, September 10). HuffPost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/oregon-residents-evacuations-wildfire

APA Journal Website With No Author – Reference List Example

Language learning with the unique language used today. (2019, August 20). Psychological Review, 1-15. http://www.psychologyreview.org/language_learning_as_language_us

APA Magazine Website With No Author – Reference List Example

Stars who battled eating disorders. (2020, August 20). Us Weekly. https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-body/pictures/stars-who-battled-eating-disorders

Note: The style of the title follows the format it would take without the author missing. Therefore, it includes italics or no italics as needed. Online newspaper articles with a print version follow the format of a magazine.

Citing a Website With No Author & No Date – APA

When making an APA website citation with no author and date, you use n.d., which means no date, in the place of the year.

Format for Website With No Author & No Date APA

Title of the publication. (n.d.). Website. URL

APA Website No Author, No Date – Reference List Example

FREE MLA & APA citation generator (n.d.). Bibliography.com. http://bibliography.com

guide for missing information APA citations

How to Cite a Website With an Anonymous Author – APA

Another situation you might encounter in your APA research paper citations is an anonymous author of a website. Rather than listing the title as you would for no author, you use "anonymous" as your author.

Format for Website With an Anonymous Author APA

Anonymous. (Date). Title. Publication. URL

APA Citation for a Website Anonymous Author – Reference List Example

Anonymous. (n.d.). Understanding the human brain. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/understanding_the_human_brain/

How to In-Text Cite a Website With No Author – APA

When creating an in-text citation in APA without an author, you use the title. For the in-text citation, use only the first few words if it's a long title. Use the full title if it's a shorter title.

In-Text Citation Example for APA No Author

(Concert Raises Thousands, 2019)

("Language Learning," 2019)

In-Text Citation Example for Anonymous

(Anonymous, 2020)

Note: Italicize in-text citations in APA that are italicized in the reference list. Quotations go around entries that are not italicized, like magazine articles, per section 8.14 of the APA manual. Additionally, in-text citations use title case.

example APA in-text citation no author

APA Citations for Online Articles With Organization Author

For some websites, the organization is the author of the article. In this case, you'll include the organization's name for the author in your APA citations.

Reference List Example for Organization Author

Experis. (2019, August 1). 20 Tips for great job interviews. https://www.experisjobs.us/exp_us/en/career-advice/20-tips-job-interviews.htm

If there is no date available, use n.d. in place of the year.

Experis. (n.d.). 20 Tips for great job interviews. https://www.experisjobs.us/exp_us/en/career-advice/20-tips-job-interviews.htm

In-Text Citation Examples for Organization Authors

(Experis, 2019)
(Experis, n.d.)

Tips for Evaluating Online Articles

It doesn't matter if you're writing a short essay or a long research paper; you can use online articles with no authors as sources. Just be sure to include reliable primary and secondary sources to back up your research. Therefore, your research should focus on finding authoritative sources.

One way to establish authority is to inspect the author's name and professional background. For example, if an article describes how to treat a medical condition, you would undoubtedly want to know the author's credentials before following any advice.
Although you may find articles with no author listed on reputable sites, it is better to establish the authority of your article by using sources written by established authors. If you find a random article that seems "formula" created with no listed author or references, bypass that source and choose a better one for your APA format paper.

No Author, No Problem

When it comes to creating a website citation in your reference list or in-text without an author, it's not as hard as you think. You need to make sure you follow APA rules for citations and include the title first. When it comes to citations, APA has every situation covered. And if you need more information about your APA reference page, check out the APA reference page guide.

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FAQ Creating APA Citations for Websites With No Author

How do you reference a website with no author?

To reference a website without an author in APA, the title of the article moves up to the first position in the citation. An example of a no author citation looks like:
Title of the article. (year, Month day). Website. URL (no period after the URL)

How do you cite a website in APA 7th edition no author?

When you have a website in APA 7 with no author, you use the title, date, publisher, and URL. There is no period after the URL in the citation. Additionally, a website title is in italics.

How do I cite websites in APA format?

To cite a website in APA format, you need the author, date, title of the article, name of website, and URL. You will not place a period after the URL and the website article title is in italics. A web citation example looks like:
Betts, J. (n.d.) How to Cite a Website. Bibliography.com. https://www.bibliography.com/how-to-cite-a-website/

How do you cite an organization in APA with no author?

When an article is authored by an organization in APA, then you use the name of the author in place of the author. You write the organization's full name with no acronyms. An organization example citation in APA looks like:
Organization. (Date). Title of the article. URL

How do you reference a website in APA with no author or date?

When an article reference in APA has no author and no date, you start with the title of the article then you follow it with (n.d.) which stands for no date. An example of a citation with no author and no date looks like:
Title of the article. (n.d.). Organization. URL