AMA Website Citation Format and Examples

A useful AMA website citation identifies the exact page you used, who stands behind it, when you saw it, and where another reader can find it.

A web page can change after you read it. That is why an AMA website citation needs more than a pasted link. Start with the specific page that supports your claim, then record the responsible author or organization, page title, website name, displayed date, access date, and URL. The format becomes much easier once you separate a regular web page from an online journal article, a database record, or a government report.

The AMA website citation format

For a standard web page, collect the fields in the order below. Use the wording and punctuation required by the journal, course, or department that will receive your work. Local instructions can refine a general AMA example.

Do not fill a gap with a guess. A footer copyright year does not prove when a specific page was published or updated, and a homepage URL does not prove which page supports a sentence in your paper.

Template

Author or Organization. Title of page. Website Name. Published or Updated Month Day, Year. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL.

Use only the source details you can verify, then apply the requirements of your target publication.

Field-by-field check

Organization name. Exact page title. Website name. Displayed publication or update date. The date you opened the page. Direct URL.

The Website form in AMA Cite keeps these fields separate so you can review them before copying the reference.

Cite the page that supports your claim

Most papers do not cite a whole website. They cite a guideline page, a policy notice, a patient-information page, a news release, or a data page within that site. The National Library of Medicine's web-source guidance makes the same practical point. Cite the most specific identifiable source you used.

A URL alone does not decide the source type. An article hosted on a publisher's site may still need the journal-article format. A searchable product with its own records may need the database format. A formal agency publication may fit a government-report entry better than a generic website entry. Choose the format that describes the item, then use its URL as a locator.

Collect the details before you format anything

Open the exact page you plan to cite and save its direct URL, not a search-results link or a site homepage you did not use.
Find the named writer or the organization responsible for the page. Use the page's own byline or attribution instead of assuming the host domain is the author.
Copy the page title as shown. A navigation label, browser-tab shorthand, and search-result headline can all differ from the source title.
Record a displayed publication or update date when the page provides one. If no date is shown, leave it unverified and follow the instructions for the journal or course you are writing for.
Write down the access date on the day you checked the page. That date gives a reader context when online content later changes.
Open the final URL once more and make sure it leads to the same page, not a general landing page or a session-specific result.

Three common AMA website citation cases

An organization is often the responsible author for health agencies, hospitals, professional societies, and public-health programs. Use the organization shown on the page when there is no individual byline. Keep the page title and website name separate when the source presents both.

A page with no named author still needs enough information for a reader to locate it. Start with the title or responsible organization as the applicable guide requires, preserve the website name, record the access date, and use the direct URL. Do not invent a personal author from a page editor, social-media account, or unrelated site contact.

Some pages show no publication date. That is a source limitation, not a prompt to reverse-engineer a date from the URL or copy a sitewide copyright notice. Record what the page actually discloses and check the target publication's instructions before deciding how to present the missing element.

Organization author

Organization. Page title. Website Name. Updated Month Day, Year. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL.

Use the organization only when the page identifies it as responsible for the content.

No visible date

Author or Organization. Page title. Website Name. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL.

Confirm whether your journal, instructor, or department requires a different treatment for undated sources.

The in-text citation still uses the AMA numbering system

A website reference receives a number when it first appears in the paper. Put the matching superscript close to the claim it supports, reuse that same number when you cite the page again, and keep the reference list in first-appearance order.

The reference entry tells the reader what web source you used. The superscript tells the reader which sentence depends on it. Both checks matter when a page has been updated, moved, or replaced.

A final check before you copy the citation

Formatting is the last step. The important work happened when you checked the page, identified the correct source type, and kept a record of what you saw. A generator can make the punctuation faster, but it cannot decide whether a page actually supports your claim.

Does the reference identify the exact page that supports the claim?
Did you use the author or organization named by the page itself?
Are the page title, website name, displayed date, access date, and URL drawn from the source rather than a search result?
Have you chosen Website only when the source is truly a regular web page rather than a journal article, database, or government report?
Does the reference number match the source's first appearance in the manuscript?
Have you checked the final output against the instructions for the journal, course, or institution that will receive the paper?