Harvard Referencing Guide

Tips

• Use the same capitalisation as the organisation uses for the name of a website.
• You don’t need to include the URL at the end of the reference in digital content.
• Hyperlink the title of the webpage.
• If the source is behind a paywall, hyperlink to the homepage of the website.
• Include the date you accessed the work. This is important because online sources can change. The information you’re linking to could be different to what users will find in the future.

Basic elements you need to reference a web page / document

• Author (person or organization)
• Year (or most recent date page created or revised) 
• Title of the website / webpage / blog / document / etc
• Name of website
• Date accessed (Day Month Year)

• Hyperlink the name of the website. 
• Always include the date you accessed the site at the end of the reference.
• Include the word ‘website’ after the name of the website in square brackets.
• You can include the website URL after the website name (optional). If you do this omit the word website in square brackets.

Elements of the reference

Author A (Year) Name of website, URL [optional], accessed Day Month Year.

In-text citation

(eSafety Commissioner n.d.)

Australian Public service Commission (APSC 2021)

Reference list

eSafety Commissioner (n.d.) eSafety [website], accessed 3 December 2020. 

URL included

APSC (Australian Public Service Commission) (2021) Australian Government Style Manual, stylemanual.gov.au, accessed 3 October 2021.

• Hyperlink the title of the webpage. Don’t link to PDFs or other downloadable documents. Instead link to the page that hosts the document.
• Include the word ‘website’ after the name of the website, unless the name of the website is a URL, for example WA.gov.au.

Webpage with authors listed

• Italicise title of webpage

Elements of the reference

Author A (Year) Title of webpage, Name of Website website, accessed Day Month Year.

In-text citation

(Clement 2020)

Reference list

Clement J (2020) Device usage of Facebook users worldwide as of July 2020, Statista website, accessed 16 September 2020.

Webpage written by an organisation

• Italicise title of webpage

Elements of the reference

Organisation Name or Abbreviation (Year) Title of webpage, Name of Website website, accessed Day Month Year.

In-text citation

(Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet n.d.)

Reference list

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (n.d.) Australian National Anthem, PM&C website, accessed 20 January 2020.

Webpage as part of a larger publication or series

• Italicise the name of publication or series

Elements of the reference

Author A (Year) ‘Title of webpage’, Name of larger publication or series, Name of Website website, accessed Day Month Year.

In-text citation

Australian Public Service Commission (APSC 2021)

World Wide Web Consortium (W3C 2019)

Reference list

APSC (Australian Public Service Commission) (2021) ‘Author–date’, Australian Government Style Manual, stylemanual.gov.au, accessed 3 October 2021.

W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) (2019) ‘Audio content and video content’, Making audio and video content accessible, W3C website, accessed 25 August 2020.

• Hyperlink the title of the image.

Elements of the reference

Author A (Year) Title of image (or a description) [description of image type] ( i.e. photograph, cartoon, digital image of painting, etc), Name of Website website, accessed Day Month Year.

In-text citation

(ArtTower n.d.)

Reference list

ArtTower (n.d.) Humpback whale [photograph], Pixabay website, accessed 8 March 2022.

Blog

• Hyperlink and italicise the title of the blog.

Elements of the reference

Author A (Year) Title of blog [format], accessed Day Month Year.

In-text citation

(Strong 2016) OR Strong (2016) ..

Reference list

Strong F (2016) Sword and the script [blog], accessed 23 July 2016.

Blog Post

• For blog posts, hyperlink the title.

• Italicise the name of the blog.

• Include the date you accessed the post at the end of the reference.

• If a post doesn’t list an author, use the name of the blog.

Elements of the reference

Author A (Day Month Year) ‘Title of post: subtitle’, Name of Blog, accessed Day Month Year.

Name of Blog (Day Month Year) ‘Title of post: subtitle’, Name of Blog, accessed Day Month Year.

In-text citation

Peascod (2019) ..

(Mashable Me 2022) ..

Reference list

Peascod S (19 December 2019) ‘The future of work is learning’, Digital Transformation Agency blog, accessed 4 January 2020.

Mashable Me (10 March 2022) 'New mac mini will include Apple's M2 and M2 pro processors', Mashable Me blog, accessed 11 March 2022.

Comment on a blog post

Elements of the reference

Author A (Day Month Year) ‘Re: Title of post: subtitle’ [blog comment], Name of Blog, accessed Day Month Year.

Reference list

Mullins P (1 January 2020) ‘Re: Capturing attention in feed: the science behind effective video creative’ [blog comment], Facebook for Business, accessed 4 February 2020.

• Hyperlink the title of the post.

• Italicise the title of the Wiki

Elements of the reference

Author A (Year) 'Title of post', Title of Wiki, accessed Day Month Year.
'Title of post' (Year) Title of Wiki, accessed Day Month Year.

In-text citation 

(Roussel 2008)

(Cultural issues 2007)

(Cultural issues 2007, para. 2)

Reference list

Roussel S (2008) 'Sustainability indicators', Coastal Wiki, accessed 25 May 2013. 
'Cultural issues affecting international trade' (2007) Wikiversity, accessed 27 October 2009.