Question

using the APA format for referencing websites; what is the formula/ or how should the format look? Thanks.

Answer 1

It depends on the type of website (blog, wiki, etc), but generally an APA website reference should follow this format:

With author:
Last, F. (date). Title of article. Retrieved Month day, year from URL
note: Retrieved date is only necessary if the article is subject to change. Hint: look for something somewhere on the page that says something like: Last updated: Date. If the date is recent I use the retrieved date. If the date is old it is likely that is the final version of the article.

Corporate author:
Name of the Corporation. (date). Title of article. Retrieved Manith day, year from URL
note: Use the full name of the corporation capitalized exactly how it is capitalized on the website.

No author (rare):
Title of article. (date). Retrieved Month day, year, from URL
note: In articles with no author, you use the title of the article in the in-text citations. You are allowed to shorten longer titles, but unlike the reference page entry, in which only the first word is capitalized, title case is used when shortening the title for the in-text citation. Example:
Non-Shortened:
(Keeping up with inflation, 1998)
Shortened:
Full title on the reference page: Housing market may be on a rebound.
(Housing Market, 2010)

As I mentioned, other types of websites vary slightly. If you have questions on a specific website type let me know.