Template:Cite web/doc

This subpage contains documentation, categories, or other content that is not part of the template.
To view the template page itself, see Template:Cite web.

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This template employs some extremely complicated or esoteric features of template syntax. Please do not attempt to alter it unless you are certain that you understand the setup and are prepared to repair/revert any consequent collateral damage if the results are unexpected. Any experiments should be conducted in a sandbox or your userspace.

This template is used by {{Published}}. If you add or remove parameters from this template, please update {{Published}} and {{Published/core}} as well. Experiments can be conducted in the template sandbox.

Usage

This template may be used to cite websites which are not serial publications (journals, magazines and newspapers) – for such sources, use {{Cite journal}}.

Template

You may copy the sample templates below for use in other pages. Unused parameters can be omitted.

Common form for situations where no author of the web page is stated (with current date)

{{cite web |title= |url= |format= |work= |publisher= |date= |dateformat= |accessdate=21 August 2026 |postscript= }}

Using the |author= parameter (with current date)

{{cite web |author= |authorlink= |coauthors= |editor= |editorlink= |title= |url= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |format= |work= |publisher= |date= |dateformat= |month= |year= |accessdate=21 August 2026 |page= |pages= |language= |quote= |postscript= }}

Using the |last= and |first= parameters (with current date)

{{cite web |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |editor= |editorlink= |title= |url= |format= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |work= |publisher= |date= |dateformat= |month= |year= |accessdate=21 August 2026 |page= |pages= |language= |quote= |postscript= }}

All parameters in a horizontal format (delete the ones you do not need)

{{cite web |last= |first= |author= |authorlink= |coauthors= |editor= |editorlink= |title= |url= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |format= |work= |publisher= |date= |dateformat= |month= |year= |accessdate= |accessdaymonth= |accessmonthday= |accessyear= |page= |pages= |language= |quote= |postscript= }}

All parameters, vertical format

{{cite web
|last           = 
|first          = 
|author         = 
|authorlink     = 
|coauthors      = 
|editor         = 
|editorlink     = 
|title          = 
|url            = 
|archiveurl     = 
|archivedate    = 
|format         = 
|work           = 
|publisher      = 
|date           = 
|dateformat     = 
|month          =
|year           = 
|accessdate     = 
|accessdaymonth = 
|accessmonthday = 
|accessyear     = 
|page           = 
|pages          = 
|language       = 
|quote          = 
|postscript     = 
}}

Parameters

All parameters are optional unless otherwise indicated.

Parameter	Description
Names of author(s)
last	The last and first names of the primary author of the web page. Alternatively, specify the primary author's name using |author=.
first
author	The primary author's name. Alternatively, specify the author's first and last names using |first= and |last=.
authorlink	The name of a Wikipedia article about the author, like this: ":en:Mark Twain" (for the article "Mark Twain" in the English Wikipedia) or ":de:Friedrich Schiller" (for the article "Friedrich Schiller" in the German Wikipedia).
coauthors	The name(s) of the co-author(s) of the web page. Names can be wikilinked, if desired. Separate a series of names with semicolons, like this: "[[:en:Harry Woolf, Baron Woolf|Lord Woolf]]; Jeffrey Jowell; Andrew Le Sueur; Catherine M. Donnelly". (You may also link to an article at the English Wikipedia like this: "[[w:Mark Twain|Mark Twain]]" or "{{w|Mark Twain}}".)
editor	The name of the editor of the web page.
editorlink	The name of a Wikipedia article about the editor. For guidance on how to use this parameter, see |authorlink= above.
Title
title	Mandatory: The title of the article.
url	Mandatory: The URL (Internet address) of the web page.
archiveurl	The URL of the web page at which the original web page has been archived using a service such as the Internet Archive or WebCite. If you use this parameter, |archivedate= must be used as well.
archivedate	The date when the original web page was archived. This parameter must be used together with |archiveurl=.
format	The format of the document at the web page, such as "DOC" for a Microsoft Word document or "PDF" for a document in the Portable Document Format. It is not necessary to specify "HTML" as a web page is assumed to be in HTML if no format is specified.
accessdate	The date when the web page on which the article appears was accessed.
accessdaymonth	The parameters |accessdaymonth=, |accessmonthday= and |accessyear= can be used instead of |accessdate=, like this: accessdaymonth=10 May and accessyear=2010 produce "Retrieved on 10 May 2010". accessmonthday=May 10 and accessyear=2010 produce "Retrieved on May 10, 2010".
accessmonthday
accessyear
Imprint
work	The name of the website in which the web page appears. The name may be wikilinked, like this: "[[Singapore Infopedia]]".
publisher	The name of the publisher of the journal. The name may be wikilinked.
date	The date when the article appeared in the journal. It may be entered a format such as "4 July 2010", "July 4, 2010" or "2010-07-04". Alternatively, state just the month and year of publication or the year of publication alone using |month= and |year=.
dateformat	If |dateformat= is not specified, readers who are logged in will see the date formatted according to their "Date format" preferences. Alternatively, one of the following date formats can be specified: "dmy", "mdy", "ymd" or "ISO 8601".
month	Use |month= and |year= to state the month and the year of the web page, or |year= alone to specify the year of publication. Alternatively, provide a full date using |date=.
year
Other parameters
page	If the document at a web page has page numbers, use |page= to specify the first page number, or |pages= to specify the first and last page numbers. Separate a span of pages with an en dash, like this: "520–534". For a PDF document, you can use |page= to link to a specific page within the document like this: "page=[http://www.example.org/file.pdf#page=123 123]".
pages
language	The language of the web page, wikilinked to a Wikipedia article if desired. It is not necessary to specify "English" as this it is assumed that a web page is in English if no language is specified.
quote	A quotation from the article.
postscript	By default, a full stop (period) is displayed at the end of the citation. To suppress the full stop, use "postscript=no". To specify a comma or some other punctuation mark, use "postscript=,". Colons and semicolons must be surrounded by <nowiki> tags, like this: "postscript=<nowiki>;</nowiki>".

Examples

Wikitext	Result
{{cite web |author=John Doe |title=My Favorite Things Part II |url=http://www.example.org |publisher=Open Publishing |date=30 April 2005 |work=Encyclopedia of Things |accessdate=6 July 2005}}	John Doe (30 April 2005). My Favorite Things Part II. Encyclopedia of Things. Open Publishing. Retrieved on 6 July 2005.
{{cite web |last=Twain |first=Mark |authorlink=:en:Mark Twain |coauthors=Smith, Peter; Smythe, Jim |editor=Shakespeare, William, ed. |editorlink=:en:William Shakespeare |title=My Favorite Things Part II |url=http://www.example.org |publisher=Open Publishing |date=2005-04-30 |accessdate=2006-05-16}}	Twain, Mark; Smith, Peter; Smythe, Jim; Shakespeare, William, ed., ed. (2005-04-30). My Favorite Things Part II. Open Publishing. Retrieved on 2006-05-16.
{{cite web |title=List of psychotropic substances under international control |url=http://www.incb.org/pdf/e/list/green.pdf |format=PDF |publisher=International Narcotics Control Board |accessdate=July 6, 2005}}	List of psychotropic substances under international control (PDF). International Narcotics Control Board. Retrieved on July 6, 2005.
{{cite web |author=François Joliet |title=Honnit soit qui mal y pense |url=http://www.example.org |date=30 April 2005 |language={{w|French language|French}} |accessdate=6 July 2005}}	François Joliet (30 April 2005). Honnit soit qui mal y pense (french). Retrieved on 6 July 2005.
{{cite web |title=My Favorite Things Part II |date=April 30, 2005 |url=http://www.example.org | accessdate=July 6, 2005}}	My Favorite Things Part II (April 30, 2005). Retrieved on July 6, 2005.
{{cite web |title=List of psychotropic substances under international control |url=http://www.incb.org/pdf/e/list/green.pdf |format=PDF |archiveurl=http://www.archive.org/2005-09-11/www.incb.org/pdf/e/list/green.pdf |archivedate=11 September 2005 |date=30 April 2005 |accessdate=6 July 2005}}	List of psychotropic substances under international control (PDF) (30 April 2005). Archived from the original on 11 September 2005. Retrieved on 6 July 2005.
{{cite web |title=My Favorite Things Part II |url=http://www.example.org |work=Encyclopedia of Things |accessdate=6 July 2005 |quote=Lorem ipsum dolor.}}	My Favorite Things Part II. Encyclopedia of Things. Retrieved on 6 July 2005. "Lorem ipsum dolor."

See also

• {{Citation}}
• {{Cite book}}
• {{Cite journal}}