To cite a website in IEEE, give the author or organization, the page title in quotation marks, the website name, the URL and the date you accessed it. In the text, cite it with a bracketed number like any other IEEE source.
Engineering and computing reports lean heavily on online material: documentation, standards, datasets and technical blogs. This guide shows how to cite each type, and how the current IEEE format differs from the older layout some course templates still show.
The IEEE Web Page Format
[n] A. Author or Organization. "Title of page." Website name. URL (accessed Mon. Day, Year).
This is the form used in the current IEEE reference guide. Older templates write: [n] A. Author, "Title of page," Website name. Accessed: Mon. Day, Year. [Online]. Available: URL. Both carry the same details; use the one your department template shows, consistently.
What Each Part Means
| Element | What to write | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Author | Initials and surname, or the organization | Use the organization if no person is named |
| Page title | In quotation marks | Capitalize as shown on the page or in sentence style, consistently |
| Website name | The overall site | Often the organization's name |
| URL | The full address of the specific page | Not the home page or a search result |
| Accessed date | The date you viewed the page | Months abbreviated, such as Mar. or Jun. |
If the page shows a publication or update date, many templates add it before the URL. Keep the accessed date as well, because web content changes.
Web Pages with a Named Author
[1] M. Tanaka. "Choosing a microcontroller for low-power sensing." Embedded Notes. https://www.example.com/low-power-mcu (accessed Mar. 3, 2025).
[2] R. Silva and J. Brown. "Debugging timing faults in FPGA designs." Logic Lab Blog. https://www.example.com/fpga-timing (accessed Feb. 18, 2025).
These examples are illustrative. List authors as initials and surname, joining the last two with "and", exactly as for journal articles.
Web Pages with No Named Author
Most technical pages are written by organizations. Use the organization as the author. If the organization and the website have the same name, you can give it once.
Organization as author
[3] Example Semiconductor Ltd. "Power management overview." Example Semiconductor. https://www.example.com/power (accessed Jan. 22, 2025).
Software documentation
[4] Example Project. "Installation guide." Example Project Documentation. https://docs.example.org/install (accessed Apr. 2, 2025).
Only if no responsible person or body can be identified should you start with the page title.
News Articles and Blog Posts
News articles have authors and publication dates, which you should include. Blog posts from companies and researchers follow the web page pattern.
[5] K. Ahmed. "Grid operators trial battery storage at scale." Tech Daily, Mar. 1, 2025. https://www.example.com/grid-batteries (accessed Mar. 4, 2025).
| Source | Cite as | Strength as evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Peer-reviewed article online | Journal article, with DOI | Strong |
| Company engineering blog | Web page | Useful for practice, not proof |
| News article | Web page with date | Context and events |
| Personal blog | Web page | Weak unless the author is an expert |
If an online item is really a journal article, conference paper or report, cite it as that type, not as a web page.
Standards and Government Documents
Standards are cited by title and number. If you accessed one online, you can add the URL and accessed date.
Standard
[6] Title of Standard, Standard number, Year.
Government web page
[7] Agency Name. "Title of page." Agency website. URL (accessed Mon. Day, Year).
RFC
[8] A. Author, "Title of RFC," Internet Engineering Task Force, RFC xxxx, Mon. Year. URL
Copy the standard's number exactly, including any year or part suffix, because different versions of a standard can contain different requirements.
Access Through a Library Portal
Standards are often read through a university subscription. Do not paste a login-protected portal link that a reader cannot open. Cite the standard by title and number, which identifies it uniquely, and add a public URL only if one exists.
Online Videos and Lectures
For a video, give the creator or channel, the video title, the platform, the date posted if shown, the URL and the accessed date. Some templates add [Online video] after the title.
[9] Engineering Explained Channel. "How PID controllers work." Video platform, Jan. 10, 2024. https://www.example.com/watch?v=abc123 (accessed Feb. 2, 2025).
For a recorded conference talk, cite the published paper if one exists, since it is the more reliable source.
Datasets and Code Repositories
Datasets and code increasingly carry DOIs or version numbers. Include them so a reader can find the exact version you used.
Dataset
[10] A. Author. "Title of dataset," version, Repository name, Year. doi: xxx.
Code repository
[11] Author or team. "Repository name," version or release. Hosting site. URL (accessed Mon. Day, Year).
Formats for code vary between departments. Include who made it, what it is, which version and where to find it, and follow your template's punctuation.
Citing Web Sources in the Text
In the text, an online source is cited exactly like a journal article: a bracketed number in the order of first citation, placed inside the sentence before punctuation.
The manufacturer recommends a sleep current below 2 µA for coin-cell designs [3], although field reports suggest real figures are higher [1]. The installation steps followed the project documentation [4].
Avoid writing the URL in your sentence. The number points the reader to the reference list, where the full details and link appear.
Judging Online Sources for Technical Work
Online material varies widely in reliability, and technical markers notice when a design decision rests on a forum post. Before citing a web source, ask a few questions.
- Who is responsible? A standards body, manufacturer or university carries more weight than an anonymous page.
- Is it current? Documentation and specifications change between versions; check the date and version.
- Is it primary? A manufacturer's datasheet is primary; a blog summarizing it is not.
- Can it be verified? Claims with data, test conditions or references are more useful than bare opinion.
Where a web page summarizes research, find the underlying paper and cite that as well. Use web sources for implementation details, specifications and current practice, and peer-reviewed sources for performance claims.
How to Build an IEEE Website Citation
- Find the author: a person, or the organization responsible for the page.
- Copy the page title exactly from the page heading.
- Identify the website name, usually in the header or logo.
- Copy the URL of the specific page.
- Note today's date as the accessed date.
- Assign the next citation number if this is the first time you cite the page.
The free Bibloq citation generator can produce IEEE web citations from a URL, which you can then check against the page.
Common Mistakes with IEEE Online Sources
- Citing a home page when you used one specific page.
- Leaving out the accessed date.
- Using the website name as an author when a person is named.
- Citing a journal article as a web page because you found it online.
- Mixing the current and older web formats in one list.
- Pasting very long tracking URLs; trim them to the clean page address.
How Bibloq Helps with IEEE Website Citations
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Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Web content changes, so IEEE asks for the date you viewed the page.
Use the organization responsible as the author. Start with the title only if no person or body can be identified.
The current IEEE reference guide ends with the URL followed by "(accessed Mon. Day, Year)". Older templates use "Accessed:" and "[Online]. Available:". Use your department's version consistently.
Identify what it is: a report, article, standard or manual. Cite it as that type and add the URL and accessed date.
Yes, if the page shows one. Keep the accessed date too.
The web page format works, but most tutors discourage citing it for technical claims. Use it to find primary sources and cite those.
No. A reference needs the author, title and site so readers know what the source is before they visit it.
Give the creator or channel, the video title, the platform, the date posted, the URL and the accessed date.
Give the manufacturer as author, the datasheet title and part number, any revision or date, the URL and the accessed date, following your department's template.
You can, but treat it as weak evidence. Cite it as a web page with the username as author, and confirm the information from documentation or published work.