Clear, real-world examples of Harvard referencing for websites

Starting with concrete examples of Harvard referencing for websites

Let’s skip the theory and go straight to what you actually need: clear, realistic examples of Harvard referencing for websites that you can copy and adjust.

Below, I’ll use a common Harvard format used by many universities:

Author or Organization. (Year) _Title of page_. Website Name. Available at: URL (Accessed: Day Month Year).

Always check your own institution’s guide, because Harvard isn’t one single fixed system. But if you understand these patterns, you can usually adjust them quickly.

Classic example of Harvard referencing for a health information website

Imagine you’re writing a paper about COVID-19 and you use guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Here’s how a strong example of Harvard referencing for a website might look.

Reference list entry
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024) _COVID-19: Symptoms and care_. CDC. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html (Accessed: 15 October 2024).

In-text citations
Short parenthetical citation:

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024)

Narrative citation in a sentence:

According to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024), common COVID-19 symptoms include fever, cough, and fatigue.

This is one of the best examples of Harvard referencing for websites with a clear corporate author, a specific page title, and a well-known site name.

Examples of Harvard referencing for websites with a corporate author and no person named

Many high-quality websites don’t list a specific person as the author. Instead, the organization itself is responsible for the content. Government and university sites are classic cases.

Here are two real examples of Harvard referencing for websites where the organization is treated as the author.

Example: NIH health topic page

Reference list entry
National Institutes of Health. (2024) _High blood pressure_. NIH. Available at: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/high-blood-pressure (Accessed: 15 October 2024).

In-text citations

(National Institutes of Health, 2024)
The National Institutes of Health (2024) notes that high blood pressure often has no warning signs.

Example: Harvard University education page

Reference list entry
Harvard University. (2023) _Online learning at Harvard_. Harvard University. Available at: https://www.harvard.edu/online/ (Accessed: 10 September 2024).

In-text citations

(Harvard University, 2023)
Harvard University (2023) highlights the flexibility of its online learning options.

These examples of Harvard referencing for websites show that when no personal author is given, you simply move the organization into the author position.

Examples of Harvard referencing for websites with a named author

Sometimes a website page or article has a clear, named author — common on news sites or blogs published by organizations.

Example: News article on a major news website

Let’s say you’re citing a climate change article from a news outlet.

Reference list entry
Fountain, H. (2024) _Rising seas threaten coastal cities worldwide_. _The New York Times_. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/example-climate-article (Accessed: 20 September 2024).

In-text citations

(Fountain, 2024)
Fountain (2024) reports that coastal cities face growing risks from sea-level rise.

Example: WebMD health article

Reference list entry
Smith, J. (2023) _Understanding type 2 diabetes_. WebMD. Available at: https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/type-2-diabetes-guide (Accessed: 15 October 2024).

In-text citations

(Smith, 2023)
Smith (2023) explains that lifestyle changes can significantly affect type 2 diabetes management.

These real examples of Harvard referencing for websites with named authors follow the familiar pattern used for print sources: author, year, title, site name, URL, and access date.

Examples of Harvard referencing for websites with no date

The internet is full of undated pages. When no publication or last-updated year is visible, many Harvard styles use n.d. (no date).

Example: Undated organization page

Reference list entry
American Heart Association. (n.d.) _Healthy eating_. American Heart Association. Available at: https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating (Accessed: 15 October 2024).

In-text citations

(American Heart Association, n.d.)
The American Heart Association (n.d.) recommends a variety of fruits and vegetables as part of a heart-healthy diet.

When you need examples of Harvard referencing for websites without dates, this pattern — using n.d. — is the one you’ll reuse over and over.

Examples include long URLs, PDFs, and online reports

Not every “website” is a simple page. Sometimes you’re citing a PDF report or guidance document that just happens to live online. In Harvard style, these are often treated as web documents rather than printed books, especially if there’s no print version.

Example: Online government report (PDF hosted on a website)

Reference list entry
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2023) _Physical activity guidelines for Americans_. 3rd edn. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Available at: https://health.gov/sites/default/files/2023-physical-activity-guidelines.pdf (Accessed: 12 October 2024).

In-text citations

(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2023)
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2023) recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week for adults.

Example: WHO web-based factsheet

Reference list entry
World Health Organization. (2024) _Obesity and overweight_. WHO. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight (Accessed: 15 October 2024).

In-text citations

(World Health Organization, 2024)
The World Health Organization (2024) reports that obesity rates continue to rise globally.

These are some of the best examples of Harvard referencing for websites that host formal reports or factsheets. The pattern is the same: organization as author, year, title, site name, URL, access date.

How to build your own examples of Harvard referencing for websites step by step

Now that you’ve seen several real examples of Harvard referencing for websites, let’s reverse-engineer the process so you can create your own.

Think of it like filling in a template. Start with the author, then the year, then the title, followed by the website name, and finally the URL and access date.

1. Identify the author

Look for a named person near the top or bottom of the page. If there’s no person, use the organization. For example:

• Named person: “Smith, J.” for a WebMD article.
• Organization: “Centers for Disease Control and Prevention” for a CDC page.

If you honestly can’t find either, some Harvard guides allow you to use the page title in the author position. Always check your local style guide first.

2. Find the year (or use n.d.)

Many sites show a “Last updated” or “Reviewed” date. Use the most specific year you can justify. If you see “Reviewed: March 2023,” use (2023). If there’s nothing at all, use (n.d.) and make sure your access date is accurate.

3. Copy the page title exactly

Use the title that appears at the top of the page, in sentence case (only the first word and proper nouns capitalized), unless your university says otherwise. For example:

• _COVID-19: Symptoms and care_
• _Online learning at Harvard_

4. Add the website name

The website name is usually the organization, platform, or site brand:

• CDC
• WebMD
• Harvard University
• Mayo Clinic

Sometimes the organization and the website name are the same. That’s fine; you can repeat it.

5. Finish with URL and access date

Write “Available at:” followed by the full URL, then “(Accessed: Day Month Year).” For example:

Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html (Accessed: 15 October 2024).

Once you’ve done this a few times, you’ll start to build your own mental library of examples of Harvard referencing for websites, and the process feels much less intimidating.

Harvard referencing for websites in 2024–2025: trends and common expectations

In 2024–2025, two expectations keep coming up across major universities and style guides:

First, transparency about when you accessed the site.
Web content changes fast. That’s why the access date in all these examples of Harvard referencing for websites is non-negotiable. Many institutions now emphasize this even more for topics like public health, where guidance shifts frequently.

Second, preference for reputable sources.
Instructors increasingly encourage — or require — students to cite authoritative sites such as:

• U.S. government health agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health.
• Major medical organizations like Mayo Clinic and WebMD.
• Reputable universities like Harvard University.

If your reference list is full of random blogs and unverified sources, it doesn’t matter how perfect your formatting is — your work will still look weak. Pairing strong sources with accurate Harvard referencing is the real goal.

Quick comparison: different flavors of Harvard website references

Because Harvard has variations, your university’s examples of Harvard referencing for websites might look slightly different from the ones above. Some differences you might see include:

• Punctuation changes – Some guides put a comma after the website name; others don’t.
• Italics – Some styles italicize the website name instead of the page title.
• Access date position – A few guides place the access date right after the year.

The key is consistency. Once you choose a pattern (or are given one in a handbook), stick to it throughout your assignment or paper.

If you want to double-check your approach, many universities publish their own Harvard guides online, such as:

• Anglia Ruskin University Harvard guide (UK, .ac.uk)
• Monash University citing and referencing guide (Australia, .edu.au)

Use these as cross-checks, not as a replacement for any instructions your own institution gives you.

FAQ: Short, practical answers with examples

What is an example of Harvard referencing for a basic website page?

Here’s a simple pattern you can adapt:

Mayo Clinic. (2024) _Stress management_. Mayo Clinic. Available at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management (Accessed: 15 October 2024).

In-text:

(Mayo Clinic, 2024)

This is one of the clearest examples of Harvard referencing for websites with a corporate author.

How do I handle multiple examples of websites by the same organization in one paper?

If you cite several pages from the same organization in the same year, you usually add letters a, b, c after the year.

For example, if you use two 2024 CDC pages:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024a) _COVID-19: Symptoms and care_. CDC. ...
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024b) _COVID-19: Testing_. CDC. ...

In-text, you’d write:

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024a)
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024b)

Are there examples of Harvard referencing for websites with no author and no organization?

When there is genuinely no author and no clear organization, many Harvard guides say to move the page title into the author position. For example:

_Global tech trends in 2025_. (2024) Tech Insights. Available at: https://www.techinsights.com/global-trends-2025 (Accessed: 10 October 2024).

In-text, you’d use a short version of the title:

(_Global tech trends in 2025_, 2024)

However, if a site is so anonymous that you can’t identify an author or organization, ask yourself whether it’s reliable enough to cite at all.

Do I need to include the date I accessed the website?

Yes. Because web content can change or disappear, the access date is standard in most modern examples of Harvard referencing for websites. It shows exactly when you saw the information you’re quoting.

Can I use citation generators for Harvard website references?

Citation generators can be helpful, but they often get details wrong — especially capitalization, dates, and website names. Use them as a starting point, then compare the output with trusted examples of Harvard referencing for websites from your university guide or from patterns like the ones in this article.

If you keep a few of these real examples of Harvard referencing for websites saved in a notes app or document, you’ll never have to start from scratch. Just swap in your own author, year, title, and URL, and you’ll be well within what instructors expect in 2024–2025.