Writing & StyleStyle guide

Are Webpage Titles in Quotation Marks?

MLA distinguishes an individual webpage from the website that contains it. The page title is treated as the title of source and normally appears in quotation marks; the site name is the container.

Quick answer

Yes—under MLA style, an individual webpage title is normally placed in quotation marks, while the website name is treated as the container.

Key details

Core Issuehow to style an individual webpage title in MLA-style prose and citations
Registeracademic, edited, and style-governed writing
RuleMLA treats an individual webpage as a source within a website container, so the page title is normally placed in quotation marks while the website title serves as the container.

Important caveats

Scope Boundary

Do not confuse an individual webpage with an entire website. Whole-site titles and stand-alone online works can follow different title treatment.

Further guidance

Recommendation

In MLA style, place the title of an individual webpage in quotation marks; style the website name separately as the container.

Sources and evidence

Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.

  1. MLA Citations: Overview (opens in a new tab)Purdue Online Writing Lab, Purdue University · Purdue OWL MLA guidance explicitly stating that an individual webpage should be listed in quotation marks, with the website name treated as the container.

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