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How to Cite a Website in Chicago Style

How to Cite a Website in Chicago Style
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    Chicago Style Citation Website entries list the author, page title in quotation marks, the site name, the publication or revised date, and the URL. Chicago offers two systems — Notes-Bibliography and Author-Date — so pick the one your discipline requires.

    Formats on this page follow The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th and 18th editions (CMOS). Web-page rules are unchanged between them, so every example below is current.

    What is the basic Chicago format for a website?

    A Chicago website citation names the author, the specific page title in quotation marks, the name of the website, the publication or last-modified date, and the full URL. Chicago prefers a dated publication over an access date whenever a date is shown.

    The order and punctuation differ slightly between a footnote, a bibliography entry, and an author-date reference. The core elements, however, stay the same across all three, so gather them once before you format.

    Element What to record
    Author Person or organization responsible for the page
    Page title Specific article or page, in “quotation marks”
    Site name Name of the overall website, in roman type
    Date Publication or “last modified” date; access date only if none exists
    URL Full, working link to the page

    What does a Chicago website citation look like?

    The figure below breaks a real bibliography entry into its five colour-coded parts. Read left to right: author, then quoted page title, then site name, then date, then URL — each separated by a period.

    Chicago bibliography entry for a web page (Notes-Bibliography system)
    Appiah, Kwame Anthony. “The Case for Rethinking Citizenship.” The New York Times. June 4, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/04/opinion/citizenship.html.
    • Author — inverted (Last, First) in the bibliography; ends with a period.
    • Page title — the specific page, in quotation marks and headline case.
    • Site name — the website as a whole, in roman (not italic) type.
    • Date — publication or last-modified date, Month Day, Year.
    • URL — the full link, followed by a final period.

    How do I cite a website in Notes-Bibliography style?

    In the Notes-Bibliography system you place a numbered footnote in the text and a matching bibliography entry at the end. The footnote uses first-name-first order and commas; the bibliography uses last-name-first order and periods.

    First note1. Kwame Anthony Appiah, “The Case for Rethinking Citizenship,” The New York Times, June 4, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/04/opinion/citizenship.html.

    Short note2. Appiah, “Rethinking Citizenship.”

    BibliographyAppiah, Kwame Anthony. “The Case for Rethinking Citizenship.” The New York Times, June 4, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/04/opinion/citizenship.html.

    Note that a news site such as The New York Times is italicized because it is also a periodical. A general website name — for example, Google or IBM — stays in roman type.

    How do I cite a website in Author-Date style?

    The Author-Date system uses a short parenthetical citation in the text and a reference-list entry with the year placed right after the author. Sciences and social sciences most often use this system.

    In-text(Appiah 2023)

    Reference listAppiah, Kwame Anthony. 2023. “The Case for Rethinking Citizenship.” The New York Times, June 4, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/04/opinion/citizenship.html.

    When a page shows only a “last modified” date, put that year in the parenthetical and add “Last modified” before the full date in the reference entry.

    What if there is no author or no date?

    When no individual author is named, use the organization or company that owns the site as the author. When no author or organization fits, begin the entry with the page title. If no date appears at all, add an access date.

    Missing element Chicago solution
    No personal author Use the organization as author (e.g., Google)
    No author at all Start with the page title
    No date Add “Accessed Month Day, Year” before the URL
    Author-date, no year Use “n.d.” in place of the year

    Org authorGoogle. “How Google Search Works.” Accessed July 18, 2026. https://www.google.com/search/howsearchworks/.

    Company pageYale University. “About Yale: Yale Facts.” Last modified 2024. https://www.yale.edu/about-yale/yale-facts.

    What are more Chicago website examples?

    The examples below cover common real-world cases: a blog post, an organizational report, and a government page. Each is shown as a bibliography entry, which you can convert to a footnote by reversing the author and swapping periods for commas.

    Blog postOchigame, Rodrigo. “The Long History of Algorithmic Fairness.” The MIT Press Reader, January 3, 2020. https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-long-history-of-algorithmic-fairness/.

    Org reportWorld Health Organization. “Mental Health of Adolescents.” Last modified October 10, 2024. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health.

    Gov pageU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Occupational Outlook Handbook: Statisticians.” Last modified April 17, 2024. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/math/statisticians.htm.

    Footnote3. World Health Organization, “Mental Health of Adolescents,” last modified October 10, 2024, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health.

    How accurate is this guide, and what are its limits?

    Every format here matches CMOS 17th and 18th edition rules for citing web pages, which are functionally identical. Chicago is intentionally flexible, though, so two correct citations of the same page can differ in punctuation and still be acceptable.

    Judgement calls remain yours. Chicago does not require an access date unless no publication or revision date exists, and it treats site names case by case — periodicals are italicized while plain websites are not. A generator, including ours, cannot always tell which category a site belongs to, so verify italics and dates against the live page before you submit.

    Chicago website citation FAQ

    Do I need an access date for a Chicago website citation?

    No, not usually. Chicago requires an access date only when the page shows no publication or last-modified date. If a reliable date is visible, use it and omit the access date.

    Should the website name be in italics?

    Italicize the site name only when it is also a periodical, such as an online newspaper or magazine. Plain organizational or company websites stay in roman type.

    Which Chicago system should I use for websites?

    Use Notes-Bibliography for history, literature, and the arts, and Author-Date for the sciences and social sciences. Ask your instructor which your assignment requires.

    How do I cite a website with no author in Chicago?

    Use the organization or company that owns the site as the author. If none applies, begin the citation with the page title instead.

    Do Chicago URLs need “https://”?

    Yes. Include the full URL exactly as shown, including the protocol, and end it with a period. Do not underline or hyperlink it in a printed bibliography.

    Is the format the same in the 18th edition of CMOS?

    Yes. The rules for citing web pages did not change between the 17th and 18th editions, so all examples here remain current.