How to Cite a Website in IEEE
Updated July 2026
Citing a website in IEEE comes down to one template and a handful of rules. Below: the exact numbered style format, a real example produced by our citation engine, and the in-text form — or paste your source into the generator and copy the finished citation.
The IEEE format
A. Author, “Title of page,” Site Name. URL (accessed Mon. Day, Year).
IEEE (numbered style) formats a web page reference as shown above. A real example, generated by our citation engine:
M. Alvarez, "How memory consolidation works during sleep," Science Daily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/memory-consolidation-sleep (accessed June 1, 2026).
In-text[1]
Finding the pieces
Or skip the hunt: Paste the page's full URL into the generator's Website URL tab, and every field is filled from the source's own record — then select IEEE on the result.
- Author — the article's byline, or the organization for institutional pages
- Date — under the byline or at the article's end ("Last updated…")
- Page title — the on-page headline, not the browser tab text
- Site name — the publication's brand (Science Daily), not the domain
IEEE's formatting rules at work
- Initials come before surnames: M. Alvarez
- Paper titles in quotation marks with sentence-style capitalization; containers italicized
- Months abbreviated; DOIs written as doi: 10.xxxx, not links
- Up to six authors listed; more become first author et al.
Website-specific pitfalls
- Cite the specific page you used, never the homepage
- If the author and site name are identical (a CDC page by the CDC), most styles drop one to avoid repetition
- Pages with no date: APA uses (n.d.), Harvard (no date), MLA leans on the access date
In-text citations in IEEE
IEEE cites in the text with bracketed numbers in order of first appearance: as shown in [1], consolidation requires sleep [2], [5]–[7]. The same number is reused for every later citation of that source, and the reference list is numbered to match — never alphabetized.
Author identity doesn't affect the in-text form — the bracket carries no name. The reference entry starts with whatever author information exists, or the title if none does.
Building the References
Every in-text citation pairs with a full entry on the References page, numbered in order of first citation. Add each citation to your bibliography as you generate it, and the Bibliography Builder assembles and exports the finished page to Word with the title, ordering, and indentation IEEE requires.
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Go Premium — $5/monthFrequently asked questions
- What's the basic IEEE format for a website?
- A. Author, “Title of page,” Site Name. URL (accessed Mon. Day, Year). — see the worked example above, generated by the same engine that powers the free citation tool.
- Do I need an access date?
- Depends on the style: Harvard always, IEEE parenthetically, MLA when undated or changing, APA only for content designed to change, Chicago when no publish date exists. The generator applies the right rule automatically.
- How do I cite a website in IEEE in-text?
- With a bracketed number assigned at first citation: [1]. The reference list is numbered in citation order.
- Can I get this citation in other styles too?
- Yes — every result in the generator renders APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and IEEE simultaneously. Generate once, switch styles with one click.