APA Format – Online Sources – Page 1 of 2

How to Cite Online Sources (APA 6th ed.)

For more information about APA format, visit butlercc.libguides.com/apa

FORMATTING ONLINE SOURCES ON YOUR REFERENCES PAGE

Online sources frequently don't have the same types of publication information that you'd find for a print source. Use as much
information as you have.
Other formatting requirements:
 Your entire paper, including your References page, should be double-spaced.
 Alphabetize your References list by the first word of the citation (usually the author's last name).
 Indent the second & following lines of the citation 0.5 inches (a hanging indent).
 Multiple authors:
o For 2-7 authors, your list of names will look like this: Wingert, P., Smith, J., & Brown, P.
o More than 7 authors: provide the first six authors, an ellipsis, and the final author. For example: Wingert, P.,
Smith, J., Brown, P., Harris, F., Johnson, A., Thompson, R.,...Lovett, M.
 Only capitalize the first word of the document title. If there is a colon in the title, capitalize the first word after the
colon.
 For electronic sources, do not include a period after the DOI number or URL.
 Dates: Use n.d. (no date) when a publication date is not available.
 Do not include the date you retrieved the source unless it is likely to change (for example, Wikipedia).

WEBSITES
Entire Website
Usually, you’ll use only part of a website (a section or article – see the next example). Only cite an entire website if you really did
use all of it.
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2015). Occupational
(Date of publication). Title of
document. Retrieved from URL Outlook Handbook. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/ooh/

Section/Article from a Website

Last Name, First Initial(s). (Year,
Month Day). Title of
document. Name of Website If
Relevant. Retrieved from URL
Cush, A. (2016, June 24). Hours after Brexit vote, leader of "Leave"
movement admits one major promise was a sham. Gawker. Retrieved
from http://gawker.com/hours-after-brexit-vote-leader-of-leave-

movement-adm-1782570341

ONLINE VIDEO
Video from the Open Web
Last Name of video creator, SciShow. (2016). Sprites, jets, and glowing balls: The science of lightning
First Initial(s). (Year). Title of
video [Video file]. Retrieved [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
from URL
v=fzNk4w2k2h0
 APA Format – Online Sources – Page 2 of 2
Video from a Database
Last Name, A. (Producer), & History Education (Producer). (2005). The Presidents: 1865-1885 [Video
Last Name, B.
(Director). (Year). Title of file]. Films on Demand, http://fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?
video [Video file]. Retrieved
from URL wID=95465&xtid=43177.
Episode from a TV Series – Retrieved from a Database
Last Name, A. (Writer), & Last Friedman, L. (Writer), Kohan, J. (Writer), & Trim, M. (Director). (2013). I
Name, B. (Director). (Year).
Title of episode [Television wasn't ready [Television series episode]. In J. Kohan (Executive
series episode]. In C. Last Name
(Executive producer), Title of producer), Orange is the new black. Retrieved from
television series. Retrieved
from URL https://www.netflix.com/watch/70259443

OTHER ONLINE CONTENT

Image
There is no citation format for images listed in the APA publication manual. The APA Style Blog has provided the
correct formatting.
Artist Last Name, First Initial(s). van Gogh, V. (1889). Starry night [Painting]. Retrieved
(Year). Title of artwork [Format
of artwork]. Retrieved from Full from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:VanGogh-
URL
starry_night_ballance1.jpg
Statista / Sage Stats
Agency Responsible for National Cotton Council. (n.d.). Global cotton production volume from 1990
Statistic. (Date). Title of
statistic. In Database. Retrieved to 2016 (in 1,000 bales)*. In Statista. Retrieved
from URL
from http://www.statista.com/statistics/259392/cotton-production-

worldwide-since-1990/
Podcast Episode
Last Name, First Initial(s). Vogt, P., & Goldman, A. (Hosts). (2016, January 20). Raising the bar [Audio
(Host). (Year, Month Day). Title
of episode [Audio podcast podcast episode]. In T. Howard (Senior Producer), Reply All.
episode]. In First Initial Last
Name (Producer), Title of Retrieved from https://gimletmedia.com/episode/52-raising-the-bar/
podcast. Retrieved from URL of
episode