harvard style referencing example for websites

Harvard Citation Style: Internet / Websites

Introduction

• Books / E-Books

Company Information

Conference Proceedings

• Internet / Websites

Journal Articles

Lecture Notes

• Multi-Media Formats
• Patents and Standards

All Examples

• Writing Support
• Citation Support

In This Guide...

Click on the links below for further information on referencing each material type

• Why is Referencing Important?
• Getting Started

Reference Formats

• References by Format
• Citing Info Someone Else has Cited

Books/eBooks

• 1, 2 or More Authors
• 1, 2 or More Editors
• Chapters in Books
• Company Reports
• Company Profiles

Internet/Websites

• Web Documents
• Computer Software
• CMO Articles

Multimedia Formats

• Audio-Visual Material

Newspaper Articles

Patents & Standards

• Citing Patents: Examples
• Citing Patents: Standards
• Citing Theses: Examples
• A table of examples in all formats for quick reference

Citing Material from the Internet / Websites

When citing web sites or pages which may change it's important to make a note of the date you accessed the page or retrieved information from the page, and also note the URL of the page. You will need this information for your references.

Websites can sometimes be difficult to cite as you might have to draw information from different areas of the webpage or website to put into your citation. Some information, like authorship or publication date can be hard to find or identify. Scroll to the bottom of this page to see two brief video tutorials that give you some useful tips on where to look for information to make your citation as complete as possible.

Citing Material from the Internet/Websites: Examples

Video tutorials on citing websites.

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• Last Updated: Feb 6, 2024 10:18 AM
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Harvard Referencing Guide

About citing websites.

• Use the same capitalisation as the organisation uses for the name of a website.
• You don’t need to include the URL at the end of the reference in digital content.
• Hyperlink the title of the webpage.
• If the source is behind a paywall, hyperlink to the homepage of the website.
• Include the date you accessed the work. This is important because online sources can change. The information you’re linking to could be different to what users will find in the future.

Basic elements you need to reference a web page / document

• Author (person or organization)
• Year (or most recent date page created or revised) 
• Title of the website / webpage / blog / document / etc
• Name of website
• Date accessed (Day Month Year)

Entire website

• Hyperlink the name of the website . 
• Always include the date you accessed the site at the end of the reference.
• Include the word ‘website’ after the name of the website in square brackets.
• You can include the website URL after the website name (optional). If you do this omit the word website in square brackets.

Elements of the reference

Author a (year)  name of website , url [optional], accessed day month year., in-text citation, (esafety commissioner n.d.), australian public service commission (apsc 2021), reference list, esafety commissioner (n.d.)  esafety  [website], accessed 3 december 2020. , url included, apsc (australian public service commission) (2021)  australian government style manual , stylemanual.gov.au, accessed 3 october 2021., webpages and webpage content.

• Hyperlink the title of the webpage . Don’t link to PDFs or other downloadable documents. Instead link to the page that hosts the document.
• Include the word ‘website’ after the name of the website, unless the name of the website is a URL, for example WA.gov.au.

Webpage with authors listed

• Italicise title of webpage

Author A (Year) Title of webpage , Name of Website website, accessed Day Month Year.

(clement 2020), clement j (2020) device usage of facebook users worldwide as of july 2020 , statista website, accessed 16 september 2020., webpage written by an organisation, organisation name or abbreviation (year) title of webpage , name of website website, accessed day month year., (department of the prime minister and cabinet n.d.), department of the prime minister and cabinet (n.d.) australian national anthem , pm&c website, accessed 20 january 2020., webpage as part of a larger publication or series.

• Italicise the name of publication or series

Author A (Year) ‘Title of webpage’, Name of larger publication or series , Name of Website website, accessed Day Month Year.

Australian public service commission (apsc 2021), world wide web consortium (w3c 2019), apsc (australian public service commission) (2021) ‘author–date’ , australian government style manual , stylemanual.gov.au, accessed 3 october 2021., w3c (world wide web consortium) (2019) ‘audio content and video content’ , making audio and video content accessible , w3c website, accessed 25 august 2020., image found on the web.

• Hyperlink the title of the image .

Author A (Year)  Title of image (or a description)  [description of image type] ( i.e. photograph, cartoon, digital image of painting, etc), Name of Website website, accessed Day Month Year.

(arttower n.d.), arttower (n.d.)  humpback whale   [photograph], pixabay website, accessed 8 march 2022., blog or blog post.

• Hyperlink and italicise  the title of the blog.

Author A (Year)  Title of blog  [format], accessed Day Month Year.

(strong 2016) or strong (2016) .., strong f (2016)  sword and the script   [blog], accessed 23 july 2016..

For blog posts,  hyperlink the title .

Italicise the name of the blog.

Include the date you accessed the post at the end of the reference.

If a post doesn’t list an author, use the name of the blog.

Author A (Day Month Year) ‘Title of post: subtitle’,  Name of Blog,  accessed Day Month Year.

Name of blog (day month year) ‘title of post: subtitle’,  name of blog ,   accessed day month year., peascod (2019) .., (mashable me 2022) .., peascod s (19 december 2019) ‘ the future of work is learning ’,  digital transformation agency blog , accessed 4 january 2020., mashable me (10 march 2022) 'new mac mini will include apple's m2 and m2 pro processors' , mashable me blog , accessed 11 march 2022., comment on a blog post, author a (day month year) ‘re: title of post: subtitle’ [blog comment],  name of blog , accessed day month year., mullins p (1 january 2020) ‘re:  capturing attention in feed: the science behind effective video creative ’ [blog comment],  facebook for business , accessed 4 february 2020..

Hyperlink the title of the post .

Italicise the title of the Wiki

Author A (Year) 'Title of post',  Title of Wiki , accessed Day Month Year. 'Title of post' (Year)  Title of Wiki , accessed Day Month Year.

In-text citation , (roussel 2008), (cultural issues 2007), (cultural issues 2007, para. 2), roussel s (2008) 'sustainability indicators' ,  coastal wiki , accessed 25 may 2013.  'cultural issues affecting international trade'  (2007)  wikiversity , accessed 27 october 2009..

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