Content

• Steps

If you are writing articles or working on a citation project, finding the author or owner of a website is very important. However, this information can be difficult to pinpoint, especially if the website you're researching isn't the original site for the article. There are many places where you can try to find the author of the website, but if you cannot identify it, you can still cite the site.

Steps

Part 1 of 2: Find website author

1. 

   Look at the beginning and the end of the post. Many websites contributed by employees or other writers often display the author's name at the beginning or the end of the article. This is the first place you should look for the author's name.

2. 

   
   
   Find copyright information of the website. Some websites display an author's name next to copyright information at the bottom of the page. This may be the name of the controlling company, not necessarily the actual author.

3. 

   Find the "Contact" or "About" page. If the page you are viewing does not show the author, and this page belongs to a reputable website, it is likely that the above content was written with the permission of the company or website operator. This information can be considered as the author if the specific writer is not listed.

4. 

   
   
   Ask the owner. If you can't find the contact information, you can try emailing the author of the page or article. There's no guarantee you'll get a response, but it might be worth a try.

5. 

   Use part of the text to search Google to see if the original author is found. If the website you are viewing does not respect copyright, it is possible that the content on the page has been copied from another source. Copy and paste a paragraph you are reading into Google to see if the original author can be found.

6. 

   
   
   Find website author on WHOIS - website registration database. You can try to find certain website owners here. This does not always work because the owner is usually not the author, and many owners and companies often use security services to hide information.
   • Go to and enter the website's address in the search field.
   • Look at the "Registrant Contact" information to find who registered a domain name. You can also try to contact the owner via email proxy if registration information is locked.
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Part 2 of 2: Citing website without author

1. 

   Find the page or article title. You need the current article title or page to quote. Even if it's just a blog post, you still need a title.

2. 

   Find a website name. Besides the post title, you'll also need the website name. For example, the article title is "How to find the author of a website" and the website title is "wikiHow."

3. 

   Try to find a publisher. This is the name of the company, organization or person that produced / sponsored the website. This information may not differ from the website title, but you need to check to be sure.For example, a medical organization might run its own cardiovascular health website.

4. 

   Find the date on which the site or article was published. This information is not always displayed, but if possible, you should also try to find the publication date.

5. 

   Specify the version number if possible (MLA Modern Language Association style). If the article or publication is volume or version number, you will need to record this information for the MLA citation.

6. 

   Get website URL or article (format of American Psychological Association APA and old MLA). Depending on the citation method you use (as well as the instructor's approach), you will likely need the URL for the site or article.
   • MLA7 no longer requires URL inclusion for websites. You just need the article title and the website title. Check with your instructor for sure if you are using the MLA citation format.

7. 

   Find the digital object identifier (DOI): permanent proof number) for articles in academic journals (APA style). If you are quoting a particular online academic journal, include adding the DOI number in place of the URL. This information will help readers to always find the article regardless of the URL changes:
   • For most publications, you can find a DOI number at the top of the article. You may need to click on the "Article" button or something with the publisher's name. The first full post will open with the DOI number at the top.
   • You can look up the DOI number by using the CrossRef service at (). Enter the article title or author on the web page to find the DOI number.

8. 

   Compose quotes from available information. Now that you have gathered all the information you can (even if you don't have the author's name), you can start creating a citation. Use the following formats (skip the Author section if you can't find the author):
   • MLA: Author . "Post title". Website title. Version number. Website publisher, date of publication. Webpage. Date of access.
     • Use the symbol "n.p." if there is no publisher and "n.d." if there is no publication date.
   • APA: Author . Post title. (Date of publication). Website title, period / volume, referenced page. Taken from
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