Avoid URLs in running text. Where possible, cite a website as a footnote, particularly if the mention is descriptive and does not refer to specific information. A description uses roman and minimal capitalisation:
Further information can be obtained from the CSIRO website.1
In footnotes, only include a full stop at the end if the footnote is a sentence:
Do not include http:// in addresses that begin with www; however, https:// must be retained if the URL does not work without it, and http:// (or https://) should be retained if there is no www. Some addresses will work if the www is omitted, but it is best left in – addresses (eg csiro.au) may not clearly look like URLs without it:
When referring to a webpage, use roman and minimal capitalisation, and enclose it in single quote marks:
Further information can be obtained from the ‘Atmosphere and climate’ page of the CSIRO website.2
If referring the reader to a report by an organisation, do not send them to the organisation’s front page and force them to search for the report; specify which link to choose. Use minimal capitalisation, roman type and single quotation marks for links:
Linking to the HTML home page of a resource is preferable to linking directly to a PDF, but not all resources and documents have such a page.
The URL to a resource may be long:
A URL can be shortened by using a service such as TinyURL, especially if the reader may have to rekey a URL from a printed page. Using TinyURL, the long URL in the previous example becomes:
Do not underline URLs in documents that will be printed because the text cannot be clicked on.
See Online material for details on presenting URLs in reference lists.
