How to Cite a Website in Chicago Style — Free Generator

To cite a website in Chicago 17 (notes-bibliography style) bibliography, use: Author Last, First. "Page Title." Website Name. Publication Date. URL. Example: Smith, John. "How to Write a Research Paper." MasterClass. March 15, 2024. https://masterclass.com/article.

The free citation generator handles formatting. Below covers both bibliography and footnote versions plus common edge cases.

The Chicago 17 format for websites

Bibliography entry:

Author Last, First. "Page Title." Website Name. Month Day, Year. URL.

• Author: Last, First for bibliography. Skip if no author.
• Page Title: In quotation marks, title case.
• Website Name: Not italicized in Chicago (unlike MLA).
• Date: Full month name. March 15, 2024.
• URL: Full URL. End with a period.

Note: Chicago 17 doesn't italicize website names. That's different from MLA (italicized) and APA (not italicized). Small but visible detail.

Footnote format (different from bibliography)

Chicago uses footnotes for in-text citations. First mention in footnote:

1. First Last, "Page Title," Website Name, Month Day, Year, URL.

Example: 1. John Smith, "How to Write a Research Paper," MasterClass, March 15, 2024, https://masterclass.com/article.

Subsequent mentions (shortened form):

2. Last, "Shortened Title."

Example: 2. Smith, "Research Paper."

Differences from bibliography:

• Author name in first-last order (not inverted).
• Commas between elements (not periods).
• No period before URL.
• Period at end.

The generator produces the bibliography format. Converting to footnote is manual but quick — reorder the name, swap periods for commas.

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Website with no author

If no author is listed, start the bibliography entry with the page title:

"How to Write a Research Paper." MasterClass. March 15, 2024. https://masterclass.com/article.

For the footnote version:

1. "How to Write a Research Paper," MasterClass, March 15, 2024, https://masterclass.com/article.

For corporate/organizational authors, put the organization in the author position: American Heart Association. "Warning Signs of a Stroke." American Heart Association. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://heart.org.

When to include access dates

Chicago 17 recommends access dates only for content that is likely to change (wikis, news pages that get updated, user-generated content). For stable dated content (published articles, archived pages, DOI-indexed content), skip the access date.

When including it:

Smith, John. "Evolving Policy." Blog Name. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://blog.example.com.

Note the format: "Accessed [date]" between the site name and URL.

For social media posts, wiki articles, and fast-changing pages: always include access date.

Different website types in Chicago 17

Online news articles: Author. "Article Title." Newspaper Name. Date. URL. Newspaper names stay non-italicized in Chicago (some departments italicize newspaper names — check department style).

Blog posts: Author. "Post Title." Blog Name (as a blog). Date. URL.

Social media posts: Author (or handle). "Text of Post or Description." Platform, Date. URL.

Wikipedia: "Article Title." Wikipedia. Last modified Date. URL. Include "Wikipedia" as the site.

Government documents: Agency. "Document Title." Government Department. Date. URL.

YouTube videos: Use the dedicated YouTube format (see our Chicago YouTube guide).

For author-date Chicago (sciences), the reference list entry shifts slightly — year moves to right after author.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should website names be italicized in Chicago 17?

No. Chicago 17 does NOT italicize website names. That's different from MLA (italicized). Only book titles, journal names, and some other formal titles are italicized in Chicago.

Is "Chicago" the same as "Turabian" for citing websites?

For practical student use, yes — Turabian is a simplified Chicago. Website citation formatting is essentially identical between Chicago 17 and Turabian 9.

Chicago author-date vs notes-bibliography — which for websites?

Most humanities uses notes-bibliography (footnotes + bibliography). Sciences and some social sciences use author-date (in-text + reference list). Check your course style guide. The generator produces notes-bibliography format by default.

Do I need the access date for every website?

No. Chicago 17 says access dates are optional for stable, dated content. Use access dates for undated, fast-changing, or user-generated content (wikis, social media, live blogs).