There are a few methods you can use to determine the publication date when citing a website in your research paper or essay, but it can be difficult and unpleasant. Examine the website and its URL for a date to determine when an article or page was published. Alternately, enter the site’s URL into a standard Google search box and use the URL operator to see the date. You can browse the website’s source code to find out when it was released if you need to. Most websites will list their publishing date, but occasionally you might not. Cite the website as a “no date” page if this occurs.
Checking the Page and URL
Look beneath the headline of a blog post or article. The date and author’s name are typically listed alongside the article’s title on news websites and blogs. Look for the date directly under the article’s title or at the beginning of the text.
Between the post title and the date, there may be a 1-sentence secondary header or a picture. If the date is listed after the secondary headline or image, scroll down to find it.
Some articles may have undergone updates after they were first published. When this is the case, a disclaimer is stating when the article was edited and why should be present at the beginning or end of the article.
NOTE: If the article’s date isn’t visible, try using the website’s search function or returning to the homepage to look for it there. It’s possible to view the article’s publishing date next to the link or image.
For the copyright date, look at the bottom of the webpage. Look at the information mentioned at the bottom of the page as you scroll down. You might find a publishing remark or copyright information. Check the information to determine if the original publication date is listed. Please note that this date may not be the publication date, but rather the last time the website was modified.
The last time something was added to or altered on a website is indicated by the date it was last updated. That implies that the material you’re reading might have been released earlier. Though the information might be reliable, recent copyright or update indicates that the site is current and being updated.
NOTE: A copyright date is typically only given as a year and not by a particular month or day.
Check the URL to see if the date is included. Browse the URL by looking in the address bar. Some blogs and websites automatically fill in the date that a post was written in the web address. You might only find the month and year, or you might find the entire date.
Verify that you are on the website’s post-specific page and not an archive or index page. To make sure you’re on the post-specific page, click on the post’s headline.
You might not find the date there because many blogs shorten and simplify the URL.
To estimate, check the timestamps on any comments. Even if this method is not the most precise one, it can help you determine when an article was initially published. To find the time the comment was written, look next to the username in the comments. Up till the earliest date is found, scroll. This will be the most recent date of publication if the user interacted at the time the article was published.
This date cannot be used to reference a website. You can use it to determine the website’s publication date to get a sense of how old the content is. You could choose to utilise the website nevertheless but list the date as “no date” if it looks recent.
Using a Google Operator
Enter the website’s URL in Google’s search bar by copying and pasting it. The URL should be highlighted with your pointer before being clicked and then copied. then enter the URL into the search box on Google’s main page. You’re going to add to the URL, so don’t click search just yet.
You must copy and paste the entire address.
Before the page URL, type “inurl:” and then press search. This operator will assist you in learning more about the website’s URL link. Place your cursor first in front of the website’s URL. Then, write “inurl:” before the website. Leave no blank spaces. Hit search after adding the operator.
Leave out the quotation marks.
Although it may seem difficult, using this operator doesn’t require any additional effort on your part. Simply enter it in, and Google will take care of the rest.
After adding “&as qdr=y15” to the URL, perform another search. After the URL you just searched, move your cursor to the browser’s address bar. After that, type “&as qdr=y15” without quotation marks. Re-enter the search term to display your complete list of outcomes.
The “inurl:” operator has two components.
If copying and pasting the code makes it simpler for you, that is acceptable.
To find the date mentioned in the website description, look through the results. Browse the search results by scrolling. The link to the page you’re attempting to cite should be visible at the top. To locate the date, look to the left of the page description. You’ll typically find it there.
If the date is hidden, you might be able to add a custom search by date range to determine the article’s publication date. If the date is nonetheless unavailable, move on to the next phase.