How to Cite a Website in Chicago Style | Formats & Examples

Note: This article mainly covers notes and bibliography style. For author-date style, click here.
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Chicago Reference Generator

To cite a website in Chicago style, follow the formats shown below for your footnotes and bibliography entries. Pay attention to punctuation (e.g., commas, quotation marks, parentheses) in your citations.

Chicago website citation
Chicago bibliography Author last name, first name. “Page Title.” Website Name. Month Day, Year. URL.

Caulfield, Jack. “A Step-by-Step Guide to the Writing Process.” Scribbr. April 24, 2020. https://www.scribbr.com/­academic-writing/­writing-process/.

Full note Author first name last name, “Page Title,” Website Name, Month Day, Year, URL.

1. Jack Caulfield, “A Step-by-Step Guide to the Writing Process,” Scribbr, April 24, 2020, https://www.scribbr.com/­academic-writing/­writing-process/.

Short note Author last name, “Shortened Page Title.”

2. Caulfield, “Writing Process.”

There are different formats for online newspaper articles or blog posts, images, films viewed online, and social media posts. Always make sure your sources are credible.

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Dates in Chicago website citations

Web sources should generally be cited with their specific publication date (month, day, and year).

Some web sources list a revision date instead of (or in addition to) the original publication date. When a date of last revision or update is listed, use this instead, preceded by the words “Last modified.”

Chicago bibliography Author last name, first name. “Page Title.” Website Name. Last modified Month Day, Year. URL.

Bryson, Shane. “Word Order Rules in English.” Scribbr. Last modified February 20, 2019. https://www.scribbr.com/academic-writing/word-order-rules-in-english/.

Full note Author first name last name, “Page Title,” Website Name, last modified Month Day, Year, URL.

1. Shane Bryson, “Word Order Rules in English,” Scribbr, last modified February 20, 2019, https://www.scribbr.com/academic-writing/word-order-rules-in-english/.

Short note Author last name, “Shortened Page Title.”

2. Bryson, “Word Order Rules.”

When both are available and you think it’s important for the reader to know, you can include both the original publication date and the revision date.

Chicago bibliography Author last name, first name. “Page Title.” Website Name. Month Day, Year. Last modified Month Day, Year. URL.

Bryson, Shane. “Word Order Rules in English.” Scribbr. April 21, 2015. Last modified February 20, 2019. https://www.scribbr.com/academic-writing/word-order-rules-in-english/.

Full note Author first name last name, “Page Title,” Website Name, Month Day, Year, last modified Month Day, Year, URL.

1. Shane Bryson, “Word Order Rules in English,” Scribbr, April 21, 2015, last modified February 20, 2019, https://www.scribbr.com/academic-writing/word-order-rules-in-english/.

Short note Author last name, “Shortened Page Title.”

2. Bryson, “Word Order Rules.”

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Web sources with no author

Web content often doesn’t list an individual author.

In a full note citation for a page with no author, begin with the name of the page. In short notes and in the bibliography entry, begin with the name of the organization that published the source. If the organization’s name is the same as the website name, don’t repeat it later in the citation.

Chicago bibliography Organization Name. “Page Title.” Website Name. Month Day, Year. URL.

University of Glasgow. “Climate Change Is Affecting the Way Europe Floods, Experts Warn.” October 25, 2019. https://www.gla.ac.uk/news/headline_681850_en.html.

Full note Page Title,” Website Name, Month Day, Year, URL.

1. “Climate Change Is Affecting the Way Europe Floods, Experts Warn,” University of Glasgow, October 25, 2019, https://www.gla.ac.uk/news/headline_681850_en.html.

Short note Organization Name, “Shortened Page Title.”

2. University of Glasgow, “Climate Change.”

Web sources with no date

Where neither a publication date nor a revision date is available, include the date when you accessed the page instead. Only use this when there are no other options.

Chicago bibliography Author last name, First name. “Page Title.” Website Name. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL.

Utrecht University. “Strategic Themes.” Accessed June 15, 2019. https://www.uu.nl/en/research/profile/strategic-themes.

Full note Page Title,” Website Name, accessed Month Day, Year, URL.

1. “Strategic Themes,” Utrecht University, accessed June 15, 2019, https://www.uu.nl/en/research/profile/strategic-themes.

Short note Author last name, “Shortened Page Title.”

2. Utrecht University,  “Strategic Themes.”

Online articles and blogs

To cite an article from an online version of a print newspaper or magazine, you include the exact same information as you would for the print version, but with the addition of a URL. Blog posts are cited in a similar format.

Newspaper and magazine articles

To cite an online newspaper or magazine article, put the publication title in italics, and add a URL at the end:

Chicago bibliography Author last name, first name. “Article Title.” Publication Name, Month Day, Year. URL.

Hui, Sylvia. “Non-Essential Retailers Reopening Across England After Coronavirus Lockdown.” Time, June 15, 2020. https://time.com/5853613/england-coronavirus-reopening-nonessential-retail/.

Full note Author first name last name, “Article Title,” Publication Name, Month Day, Year, URL.

1. Sylvia Hui, “Non-Essential Retailers Reopening Across England After Coronavirus Lockdown,” Time, June 15, 2020, https://time.com/5853613/england-coronavirus-reopening-nonessential-retail/.

Short note Author last name, “Shortened Article Title.”

2. Hui, “Retailers Reopening.”

Blogs

Blogs are cited in the same format as newspapers, with the word “blog” added in parentheses (unless the blog name already contains the word “blog”).

If the blog is part of a larger publication, the title of the publication appears, also italicized.

Chicago bibliography Author last name, first name. “Post Title.” Blog Name (blog), Larger Publication, Month Day, Year. URL.

Germano, William. “Futurist Shock.” Lingua Franca (blog), Chronicle of Higher Education, June 15, 2020. https://www.chronicle.com/­blogs/­linguafranca/­2017/02/15/­futurist-shock/.

Full note Author first name last name, “Post Title,” Blog Name (blog), Larger Publication, Month Day, Year, URL.

1. William Germano, “Futurist Shock,” Lingua Franca (blog), Chronicle of Higher Education, February 15, 2017, https://www.chronicle.com/­blogs/­linguafranca/­2017/02/15/­futurist-shock/.

Short note Author last name, “Shortened Post Title.”

2. Germano, “Futurist Shock.”

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Citing social media

Since most social media posts are untitled, use the beginning of the post (up to 160 characters) in place of the title. If the post is less than 160 characters long, you can quote the whole thing.

If the content was posted under a username or screen name, include it in parentheses after the real name of the poster. If a user’s real name is unknown, the username appears as the author.

Chicago bibliography Author last name, first name (Username). “First words of post.” Website Name, Month Day, Year. URL.

Obama, Barack (@BarackObama). “It’s World Health Day, and we owe a profound debt of gratitude to all our medical professionals.” Twitter, April 7, 2020. https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/1247555328365023238.

Full note Author first name last name (Username), “First words of post,” Website Name, Month Day, Year, URL.

1. Barack Obama (@BarackObama), “It’s World Health Day, and we owe a profound debt of gratitude to all our medical professionals,” Twitter, April 7, 2020, https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/1247555328365023238.

Short note Author last name, “Shortened text of post.”

2. Obama, “World Health Day.”

Citing private web content

Private digital content—emails, text messages, direct messages, but also content in private Facebook groups or other webpages not accessible to everyone – should be cited as personal communications.

Citations of personal communications do not follow a standard format; rather, you should just describe where the source you’re citing comes from:

Footnote example

1. James Smith, Twitter direct message to author, September 19, 2018.

Website citations in Chicago author-date style

In Chicago author-date style, websites are cited using in-text citations corresponding to entries in your reference list. A reference list entry differs from a bibliography entry only in the placement of the year.

Examples of author-date website citations and references are shown in the tabs below.

Chicago author-date format Author last name, first name. Year. “Page Title.” Website Name. Month Day, Year. URL.
Chicago reference entry Caulfield, Jack. 2020. “A Step-by-Step Guide to the Writing Process.” Scribbr. April 24, 2020. https://www.scribbr.com/­academic-writing/­writing-process/.
Chicago author-date citation (Caulfield 2020)
Chicago author-date format Organization Name. Year. “Page Title.” Website Name. Month Day, Year. URL.
Chicago reference entry University of Glasgow. 2019. “Climate Change is Affecting the Way Europe Floods, Experts Warn.” October 25, 2019. https://www.gla.ac.uk/­news/­headline_681850_en.html.
Chicago author-date citation (University of Glasgow 2019)
Chicago author-date format Author last name, first name. n.d. “Page Title.” Website Name. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL.
Chicago reference entry Utrecht University. n.d. “Strategic Themes.” Accessed June 15, 2019. https://www.uu.nl/­en/­research/­profile/­strategic-themes.
Chicago author-date citation (Utrecht University n.d.)
Chicago author-date format Author last name, first name. Year. “Article Title.” Publication Name, Month Day, Year. URL.
Chicago reference entry Hui, Sylvia. 2020. “Non-Essential Retailers Reopening Across England After Coronavirus Lockdown.” Time, June 15, 2020. https://­time.com/­5853613/­england-­coronavirus-­reopening-­nonessential-­retail/.
Chicago author-date citation (Hui 2020)
Chicago author-date format Author last name, first name. Year. “Post Title.” Blog Name (blog), Larger Publication, Month Day, Year. URL.
Chicago reference entry Germano, William. 2015. “Futurist Shock.” Lingua Franca (blog), Chronicle of Higher Education, February 15, 2017. https://www.chronicle.com/­blogs/­linguafranca/­2017/02/15/­futurist-shock/.
Chicago author-date citation (Germano 2015)
Chicago author-date format Author last name, first name (Username). Year. “First words of post.” Website Name, Month Day, Year. URL.
Chicago reference entry Obama, Barack. 2020. “It’s World Health Day, and we owe a profound debt of gratitude to all our medical professionals.” Twitter, April 7, 2020. https://twitter.com/­BarackObama/­status/­1247555328365023238.
Chicago author-date citation (Obama 2020)

Frequently asked questions about Chicago style citations

How do I cite a source with multiple authors in Chicago style?

In a Chicago style footnote, list up to three authors. If there are more than three, name only the first author, followed by “et al.

In the bibliography, list up to 10 authors. If there are more than 10, list the first seven followed by “et al.”

Full note Short note Bibliography
2 authors Anna Burns and Robert Smith Burns and Smith Burns, Anna, and Robert Smith.
3 authors Anna Burns, Robert Smith, and Judith Green Burns, Smith, and Green Burns, Anna, Robert Smith, and Judith Green.
4+ authors Anna Burns et al. Burns et al. Burns, Anna, Robert Smith, Judith Green, and Maggie White.

The same rules apply in Chicago author-date style.

To automatically generate accurate Chicago references, you can use Scribbr’s free Chicago reference generator.

How do I cite a source with no author in Chicago style?

In a Chicago footnote citation, when the author of a source is unknown (as is often the case with websites), start the citation with the title in a full note. In short notes and bibliography entries, list the organization that published it as the author.

Type Example
Full note 1. “An Introduction to Research Methods,” Scribbr, accessed June 11, 2020, https://www.scribbr.com/category/methodology/.
Short note 2. Scribbr, “Research Methods.”
Bibliography Scribbr. “An Introduction to Research Methods.” Accessed June 11, 2020. https://www.scribbr.com/category/methodology/.

In Chicago author-date style, treat the organization as author in your in-text citations and reference list.

To automatically generate accurate Chicago references, you can use Scribbr’s free Chicago reference generator.

How do I cite a source with no date in Chicago style?

When an online source does not list a publication date, replace it with an access date in your Chicago footnotes and your bibliography:

Example: Chicago bibliography entry with access date
Scribbr. “How to Write a Research Paper.” Accessed June 9, 2020. https://www.scribbr.com/category/research-paper/.

If you are using author-date in-text citations, or if the source was not accessed online, replace the date with “n.d.”

Example: Chicago author-date citation with no date
(Scribbr, n.d.)

To automatically generate accurate Chicago references, you can use Scribbr’s free Chicago reference generator.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2022, December 05). How to Cite a Website in Chicago Style | Formats & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved February 29, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/chicago-style/website-citations/

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Jack Caulfield

Jack is a Brit based in Amsterdam, with an MA in comparative literature. He writes for Scribbr about his specialist topics: grammar, linguistics, citations, and plagiarism. In his spare time, he reads a lot of books.
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