How to Cite a Website in AMA Style (11th Edition)
How to Cite a Website in AMA Style
Cite a website in AMA style with the author or organization, the page title, the website name, the date published or updated, the date you accessed the page, and the URL, in that order. American Medical Association (AMA) style follows the AMA Manual of Style, 11th edition, and it requires an access date for every web source because online pages change after publication.
The reference follows one pattern: Author. Page title. Website Name. Updated Month Day, Year. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL. The AMA Citation Generator builds this reference from a pasted URL and drops the matching superscript number into your text, which removes the punctuation errors that cost marks. The sections below explain each element so a generated or hand-built citation reads correctly.
The Elements of an AMA Website Citation
An AMA website citation has 6 elements, each in a fixed position:
- Author or organization, written surname first for a person (Smith JA) or by full name for an organization.
- Page title, in sentence case, capitalizing only the first word and proper nouns.
- Website name, which names the larger site the page sits on.
- Date published or updated, written as the month spelled out, the day, and the year.
- Access date, written as Accessed Month Day, Year, required for every web source.
- URL, with no period after it and no hyperlink formatting.
The access date is the element writers forget most. AMA style requires it because a web page can change between the day you read it and the day a reader checks your reference. The AMA website citation generator places every element in the right order and adds the access date automatically.
AMA Website Citation Format With Examples
A standard AMA website reference by an organization reads:
- American Cancer Society. Signs and symptoms of bone cancer. American Cancer Society. Updated June 17, 2024. Accessed March 8, 2026. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/bone-cancer.html
A website reference with a named person as author reads:
- Feldman SR. Managing chronic plaque psoriasis at home. DermatologyToday. Published January 12, 2025. Accessed February 20, 2026. https://www.dermatologytoday.org/psoriasis-home-care
Both entries carry a number, because AMA is a numbered style. The number marks the source’s first appearance in your paper and points to this full entry in the reference list.
How to Cite a Website With No Author
Cite a website with no author by starting the reference with the organization that publishes the page. Most health and government websites name no individual author, so the publishing body takes the author position:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About high blood pressure. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reviewed May 15, 2024. Accessed January 30, 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/about.htm
When the organization is also the website name, it appears twice, once as the author and once as the site. When no organization is named either, begin the reference with the page title and follow with the remaining elements.
How to Cite a Website With No Date
Cite a website with no publication date by omitting that date and keeping the access date. The access date is required for web sources, so a page with no published or updated date still tells the reader when the content existed:
- National Health Council. Understanding patient advocacy. National Health Council. Accessed March 2, 2026. https://www.nationalhealthcouncil.org/patient-advocacy
The access date carries the timing information here. It marks the day the page held the content you cited, which protects your reference when the page later changes.
AMA In-Text Citations for Websites
An AMA in-text citation for a website is a superscript arabic numeral placed at the point in your text where the website supports a claim:
Home blood-pressure monitoring improves control in many patients.¹
The number matches the website’s position in the reference list, and the same source keeps the same number every time you cite it. Place the numeral after a period or comma. For several sources at one point, join the numbers with commas and no spaces. The AMA in-text citation generator assigns these numbers and renumbers the list when you add or remove a source.
AMA 10th vs 11th Edition for Websites
The 11th edition, published in 2020, is the current version and the one most instructors expect in 2026. For website citations, the 11th edition sets the access-date wording and the no-period-after-URL rule used throughout this guide. The 10th edition (2007) formats web sources slightly differently, so confirm which edition your course or journal names before you submit. The AMA 11th edition citation generator formats to the current rules by default, with a toggle for the 10th edition.
How to Cite an Online PDF or Report in AMA Style
Cite an online PDF or report by the kind of document it is, then add the URL and access date. A PDF is a container, so a report saved as a PDF is cited as a report, and a journal article saved as a PDF is cited as a journal article. Identify the document type first, and the fields follow that type.
An online government or organizational report reads:
- US Department of Health and Human Services. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. 2nd ed. US Department of Health and Human Services; 2018. Accessed February 10, 2026. https://health.gov/paguidelines
The report keeps its own elements, the publisher and year, and gains the access date and URL that every online source needs. A page hosting a downloadable PDF is still cited by the document inside it, not as a generic web page.
Common Mistakes When Citing a Website in AMA Style
Three common mistakes appear in AMA website citations:
- Omitting the access date, which AMA requires for every web source.
- Capitalizing every word in the page title, when AMA uses sentence case for titles.
- Adding a period after the URL, which the 11th edition removes.
Two further errors shift a citation off format. Confusing the page title with the website name reverses two elements, so identify the specific page first and the larger site second. Adding a hyperlink to the URL breaks the plain-text format AMA expects in a reference list. Paste the URL into the AMA Citation Generator to place every element correctly and keep the punctuation consistent across a long reference list.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you cite a website in AMA style?
Cite a website in AMA style with the author or organization, the page title, the website name, the date published or updated, the date accessed, and the URL. The access date is required because web pages change. Format: Author. Page title. Website Name. Updated Month Day, Year. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL
Do you need an access date for an AMA website citation?
Yes. AMA style requires an access date for every website citation, because online pages change or disappear after publication. Write it as Accessed Month Day, Year, placed after any published or updated date and before the URL. The access date is the date you last viewed the page.
How do you cite a website with no author in AMA style?
Cite a website with no author in AMA style by starting the reference with the publishing organization. When the organization also names the website, write it once in the author position and once as the site name. If no organization is named either, begin with the page title.
How do you cite a website with no date in AMA style?
Cite a website with no date in AMA style by omitting the published date and keeping the access date. The access date is required for web sources, so a page with no publication date still carries Accessed Month Day, Year before the URL, which tells the reader when the content existed.
How do you write an in-text citation for a website in AMA style?
Write an AMA in-text citation for a website as a superscript number placed where the source supports a claim. The number matches the website’s position in the numbered reference list, and the same source keeps the same number every time it appears in the text.
Is citing a website in AMA the same as citing a web page?
Mostly yes, with one distinction. A web page is one page within a website, and AMA cites that specific page: the page title is the page you used, and the website name is the larger site it sits on. Citing a whole website with no specific page is rare in academic work, because a reference should point a reader to the exact content you used.
Can I cite a website in AMA style for free?
Yes. The AMA Citation Generator formats website references in AMA 11th and 10th edition for free, with no account. Paste the URL, confirm the author, dates, and site name, and copy the finished reference with its in-text number. Free access matters most to students, who cite websites in nearly every assignment.
Ready to run the numbers? Use the AMA Citation Generator.