AMA Source Citation Guide
AMA Website Citation: Format, Examples and Access Dates
An AMA website citation should identify the specific page you used, not just the site’s homepage. Depending on the information available, include the individual author or responsible organization, page title, website name, publication or update date, access date and the complete URL.
A practical pattern is:
Author or Organization. Page title. Website Name. Published or Updated Month Day, Year. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL.
If you already have the webpage URL, paste it into the AMA Citation Generator to retrieve available metadata, then compare the generated fields with the actual page before using the reference.
AMA website citation format at a glance
| Element | What to use |
|---|---|
| Author | Individual author when clearly identified |
| Organization | Use the responsible organization when it functions as the author |
| Page title | The title of the specific webpage used |
| Website name | The name of the containing website when relevant |
| Publication/update date | Use the date information actually displayed by the source |
| Access date | Record when you viewed the webpage |
| URL | Use the complete URL for the specific page |
What is the basic AMA format for a website?
The official AMA Manual of Style, 11th edition, includes websites within its electronic-reference guidance. For a normal webpage, a practical reference structure is:
Author or responsible organization. Title of specific page. Website Name. Published or Updated Month Day, Year. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL.
Not every page will contain every element. Website references require judgment because online pages often omit authorship, dates or clear publishing information.
The National Library of Medicine makes the same broader point in Citing Medicine: web references should contain enough identifying information for readers to recognize and locate the source, and simply attaching a URL to a title is not sufficient.
For the complete numbered citation system, see the AMA format guide.
Should you cite the homepage or the specific webpage?
Cite the most specific identifiable page you actually used. If your evidence comes from a particular guidance page, fact sheet or article, the reference should point readers to that page rather than only to the organization’s homepage.
NLM’s web-citation guidance explicitly recommends citing the most specific identifiable site or component used. It also distinguishes a normal webpage from other online source types such as books, journals and databases, which should be cited according to the rules for those source types.
For example, if you read a CDC page about a specific health topic, the URL should normally lead to that page rather than:
https://www.cdc.gov/
when a more precise article or guidance URL is available.
Which title should you use in an AMA website reference?
Use the title of the specific page or item cited. This is normally the main heading or title presented by the webpage.
Do not substitute:
- a browser-tab title when the visible page title is different;
- a search-engine result title;
- the organization’s homepage title when you used a specific subpage; or
- your own shortened description of the page.
Web metadata can sometimes return an SEO title containing branding or additional wording that does not match the article heading. Review the title field before accepting an automatically generated citation.
What is the website name?
The website name identifies the larger site containing the page. It may be the name of an organization, publication, portal or service.
Depending on the page, the organization author and website name may be similar or identical. Avoid repeating information mechanically when the current AMA rule permits a more concise treatment.
The main goal is to give readers enough information to identify the source without adding labels that are not supported by the page.
Which date should you use for an AMA website citation?
Webpages can display several kinds of dates:
- original publication date;
- last updated date;
- last reviewed date;
- copyright year; or
- no visible date at all.
Use the publication or update information that actually describes the specific content. Do not automatically treat a site-wide copyright year in the footer as the publication date of the page.
If the page prominently says it was updated, the updated date is often more informative than an older publication date because it tells the reader when the content last changed.
Does an AMA website citation need an access date?
Access dates are important for normal webpages because online content can change. Record the date you actually viewed the source.
A typical element is:
Accessed August 30, 2026.
NLM’s guidance emphasizes the importance of a citation date for web material because webpages may be revised, moved or disappear. AMA-oriented university guides and citation guidance also consistently include an access date in standard website-reference patterns.
Do not invent an access date retrospectively if you do not know when the page was consulted. Record it as part of your research workflow.
How do you cite a website with no publication date?
If a webpage does not display a reliable publication or update date, do not fabricate one. Use the information you can verify and retain the access date.
A simplified pattern may therefore be:
Author or Organization. Page title. Website Name. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL.
This is better than using a footer copyright year or a date found only in a search result without confirming that it belongs to the page itself.
Which URL should you include?
Use the complete URL for the specific page you cited. The link should identify the exact resource as directly as possible.
Before copying a URL, consider removing obvious tracking parameters when the clean canonical page address is available. For example, marketing parameters such as utm_source usually do not help readers identify the source.
Do not shorten the URL to the homepage when doing so makes the cited page harder to locate.
What if the webpage is actually a journal article with a DOI?
Do not force every URL into a generic website-reference format. If the page represents a journal article, book, report, database record or another source type with its own citation rules, cite it according to that source type.
For example, if you opened a journal article on a publisher’s website and it has a DOI, use the AMA journal citation format rather than treating the publisher page as an ordinary website.
The AMA Manual’s References chapter separates websites from journal articles, books, reports, databases and other electronic references for exactly this reason.
Should a PubMed article be cited as a website?
Usually not when your source is the underlying journal article. PubMed is a bibliographic database. If you found a research article through PubMed, cite the article using its journal metadata rather than using a generic webpage citation for the PubMed URL.
Our generator recognizes PubMed article URLs and attempts to resolve them to the underlying PubMed record.
See the AMA PubMed citation guide for PMID, PubMed URL and DOI handling.
How do you cite a government website in AMA style?
Government agencies commonly function as organizational authors. Use the agency responsible for the specific page, followed by the page title, website name where relevant, publication/update information, access date and URL.
A structural example is:
Government Agency. Title of page. Website Name. Updated Month Day, Year. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL.
If a department, center or sub-agency is clearly responsible for the content, use the attribution shown by the source rather than defaulting automatically to the broadest government body.
How do you cite a health-organization website?
The same core principles apply to health organizations, hospitals, charities and professional societies. Identify who is responsible for the page, use the exact page title, record reliable dates, and provide the page URL.
Do not confuse an organization’s name with a personal author, and do not turn a reviewer or medical advisory board into an author unless the page explicitly attributes authorship that way.
What if the website link opens a PDF?
A PDF is a file format, not automatically a source type. First determine what the document actually is.
A PDF could be:
- a journal article;
- a government report;
- a clinical guideline;
- a book chapter;
- a conference document;
- a fact sheet; or
- another standalone publication.
Cite the underlying publication type when it can be identified. Do not use a generic website citation simply because the document was downloaded from a website.
Our generator’s PDF import is designed to detect useful identifiers such as DOI or likely title information, after which the metadata should still be reviewed.
AMA website citation examples
Website with an individual author
Author AA. Title of page. Website Name. Published Month Day, Year. Accessed Month Day, Year. https://example.org/page.
Organization as author
Organization Name. Title of page. Website Name. Updated Month Day, Year. Accessed Month Day, Year. https://example.org/page.
Page with no reliable publication date
Organization Name. Title of page. Website Name. Accessed Month Day, Year. https://example.org/page.
Specific page rather than homepage
Organization Name. Specific guidance page title. Website Name. Accessed Month Day, Year. https://example.org/guidance/specific-page.
These are structural examples. Replace every placeholder with the verified information from the actual source and check the final reference against the current AMA requirements of your journal, university or publisher.
See more worked formats in AMA citation examples.
What does a website look like as an AMA in-text citation?
The webpage’s full bibliographic details belong in the reference list. In the text, it is cited using its assigned AMA reference number, commonly as a superscript.
The organization updated its guidance recently.4
If that webpage is reference 4 and you cite it again later, reuse 4.
See AMA in-text citation rules for numbering and repeated citations.
Where does a website appear in the AMA reference list?
Website references are mixed into the same numbered list as journals, books and other sources. They are not placed in a separate “websites” section.
If a webpage is the sixth new source cited in your document, it becomes reference 6. Its source type does not determine its list position.
See the AMA reference page guide for ordering and renumbering.
How to generate an AMA website citation
- Open the AMA Citation Generator.
- Paste the URL of the specific webpage.
- Confirm that the URL is genuinely a webpage rather than a journal article, PubMed record, book or another source type.
- Review the retrieved author or organization.
- Check the page title against the visible page.
- Confirm the website name.
- Review publication or update dates.
- Add or verify the access date where required.
- Remove incorrect metadata rather than filling gaps with guesses.
- Copy the finished reference or add it to your numbered list.
For details on webpage metadata retrieval and known limitations, see Methodology & Data Sources.
Common AMA website citation mistakes
Citing only the homepage
Use the URL of the specific page when that page is the actual source.
Forcing a journal article into website format
A journal article viewed online is still a journal article. Use the journal citation rules.
Using a PubMed URL as a generic webpage
When the source is the journal article, resolve the PubMed record and cite the underlying article.
Inventing an author
Use only authorship that can be supported by the webpage.
Using the footer copyright year as the page date
A site-wide copyright notice does not necessarily indicate when the specific page was published or updated.
Omitting the access date
Normal webpages can change. Record when the page was accessed and apply the current AMA rule for the source.
Using a search-result URL
Cite the source page itself rather than Google, Bing or another search results page.
Leaving tracking parameters in the URL unnecessarily
Use the clean, stable page URL when you can verify it.
Trusting automated metadata without checking the source
Website metadata is often inconsistent. Review every important field.
Is this website citation guidance based on AMA 11th edition?
Yes. The current AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors is the 11th edition, published in 2020. Its References chapter contains a dedicated section for websites under electronic references.
The online manual continues to receive updates, so specialized or high-stakes reference situations should be checked against current official guidance and the requirements of the destination publication.
Read AMA 11th edition explained for more context.
Frequently asked questions about AMA website citations
How do I cite a website in AMA style?
Identify the author or responsible organization, specific page title, website name, reliable publication or update date, access date and complete page URL. Omit or adapt elements only when the source genuinely does not provide them and the current AMA rule permits it.
Does an AMA website citation need an access date?
Access dates are important for normal webpages because online content can change. Record the date you actually viewed the page and follow current AMA or publisher requirements.
What if a website has no author?
Check whether an organization is clearly responsible for the content. If no individual or organizational author can be identified, do not invent one; follow the current AMA rule for missing authorship.
What if there is no publication date?
Do not use an unrelated copyright year as a substitute. Use the verifiable information available and retain the access date.
Should I cite the website homepage?
Only if the homepage itself is the source. Otherwise, cite the specific page you used.
Should I cite PubMed as a website?
If the evidence comes from a journal article found through PubMed, cite the underlying article. Cite PubMed itself only when PubMed as a database or service is what you are discussing.
Should an online journal article be cited as a website?
No. Cite it as a journal article using its bibliographic data and DOI when available.
Can I cite a PDF as a website?
First identify what the PDF actually represents. It may be a report, journal article, guideline, book chapter or another source type that has more appropriate citation rules.
Can the AMA Citation Generator cite a webpage URL?
Yes. It can retrieve available webpage metadata for review. Because web metadata is inconsistent, you should compare the generated fields with the actual page before using the citation.
Should I verify the URL before submitting?
Yes. Make sure it leads to the specific source, works correctly and does not contain unnecessary tracking information.
