How to Cite a Website in IEEE Format (2026)

Citing websites in IEEE format requires more care than citing journals or books, because web content can change or disappear. IEEE has specific rules for handling URLs, access dates, and authorship — including cases where no author or date is available. This guide covers every scenario with examples you can use immediately.

IEEE Website Citation: Basic Structure

[#] A. A. Author. "Page title." Website Name. Accessed: Mon. DD, YYYY. [Online]. Available: https://URL

Field-by-Field Breakdown

Field	Rule	Example
Reference number	Sequential bracket	[1]
Author	Initials then last name; if no author, start with page title	J. A. Smith
Page title	In quotation marks; sentence case	«Deep learning overview»
Website/organization name	Not italicized	IEEE Spectrum
Access date	Abbreviated month, day, year	Accessed: Mar. 15, 2025.
[Online]. Available:	Fixed label before URL	[Online]. Available: https://…

Complete Examples

Example 1 — Web page with named author

[1] J. A. Smith. "Understanding transformer architecture in NLP." Towards Data Science. Accessed: Feb. 10, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://towardsdatascience.com/understanding-transformer-architecture

Example 2 — Organizational/corporate author

[2] IEEE. "IEEE code of ethics." IEEE. Accessed: Jan. 5, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.ieee.org/about/corporate/governance/p7-8.html

Example 3 — No author listed

When no individual or organization is clearly identified as the author, begin with the page title:

[3] "5G network architecture explained." TechTarget. Accessed: Nov. 20, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.techtarget.com/5g-architecture

Example 4 — Government or standards body website

[4] National Institute of Standards and Technology. "Post-quantum cryptography." NIST. Accessed: Apr. 1, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://csrc.nist.gov/projects/post-quantum-cryptography

Example 5 — Web page with a publication date

If the page shows a clear publication or last-updated date, include it before the access date:

[5] A. Ng. "Machine learning yearning: Key concepts." DeepLearning.AI, Mar. 2024. Accessed: Apr. 12, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://deeplearning.ai/ml-yearning

Example 6 — Wikipedia article

Wikipedia is generally not considered a citable academic source in IEEE contexts. If you must cite it (for example, for a general definition), treat it as a web page with no named author:

[6] "Fourier transform." Wikipedia. Accessed: Mar. 3, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourier_transform

Access Date: When It’s Required and When It’s Optional

IEEE recommends including an access date for all web sources because URLs change and pages can be removed. It is technically optional when citing a stable document with a DOI or a permanent URL — but for regular web pages, always include it. The format is:

Accessed: Mon. DD, YYYY.

Month abbreviations: Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., May, Jun., Jul., Aug., Sep., Oct., Nov., Dec.

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Correction
Omitting the access date	Always include «Accessed: Month DD, YYYY.» for web pages
Writing the URL without [Online]. Available:	IEEE requires the [Online]. Available: label before the URL
Italicizing the website name	Website/organization names are not italicized (unlike journal names)
Using the full URL in the body text	In-text, only use the bracket number [1] — never paste the URL in the sentence
Not including the page title in quotes	The specific page title (not just the site name) must appear in quotation marks

Website vs. Journal vs. Book: Quick Comparison

Feature	Website	Journal article	Book
Title format	«Quoted page title»	«Quoted article title»	Italicized Book Title
Source name	Website name (plain text)	Abbreviated journal name	Publisher info
Access date	Required	Not needed (DOI preferred)	Not needed
URL label	[Online]. Available:	doi: 10.XXXX/… or [Online].	Not required unless e-book

For more IEEE citation types — including conference papers, theses, and technical reports — see the IEEE Format Center.