Chicago Website Citations | Format & Examples

When you’re writing Chicago style essays for history courses and other disciplines, you may end up using scholarly sources from websites.

Chicago style offers two different citation systems—notes and bibliography (the most common and therefore the main focus of this article) and author-date.

In the notes and bibliography system, Chicago requires two types of citations for websites (and all other types of sources):

• A numbered footnote for each sentence that quotes or paraphrases the website
• An entry on the Bibliography page at the end of your document

The format for the footnotes and bibliography entry depends on several factors, such as the type of author. Chicago website citations don’t need page numbers unless the source has numbered pages (e.g., a PDF).

The examples and tips below cover a few variations of Chicago website citations. QuillBot’s free Citation Generator can also help you cite websites in Chicago style. Additionally, our Notepad lets you take online notes to keep track of relevant source material.

Chicago basic website citation format

Each website that you use in a Chicago style paper needs footnotes and a bibliographic entry.

Chicago style bibliography entries for websites

Chicago bibliographic entries for websites include the following elements, separated by periods:

• Name(s) of Author(s)
• “Article or Page Title in Quotation Marks”
• Website Title (no italics or quotation marks)
• Publication date
• URL

Bibliography entries also have hanging indents (all lines after the first line are indented ½ inch).

Chicago style footnotes for websites

Chicago footnotes each begin with a number that corresponds to the same superscript number after the quote or paraphrase in the main text (e.g., ⁵). The first footnote for each source has full citation details but in a slightly different format than the bibliography. Footnotes also have first-line indents (only the first line is indented ½ inch).

For subsequent footnotes, use a short note with the author’s last name and a shortened title. If the site has numbered pages (e.g., a PDF), include the page number of the quote or paraphrase at the end of each corresponding note. Separate all elements in full and short notes with commas.

Dates in Chicago website citations

When a web source provides a publication date, include it in the bibliography and the first full note. Otherwise, the following guidelines apply:

• Refrain from using the copyright date for the entire website in place of a publication date.
• If a publication date is missing but the site provides a date when the article was last revised, use “last updated” or “last modified” before the date in the bibliography and first full note. Use capitalization for this label in the bibliography, and lowercase it in the full note.
• If neither a publication nor revision date is available, use the date you accessed the article (e.g., Accessed October 31, 2024). “Accessed” is capitalized in the bibliography and lowercase in the full note.

Chicago website citations with no author

For anonymous online articles, one option is to begin the full note with the article title, in which case the short notes for the same source only need the article title. For the bibliographic entry, begin with the organization that owns or sponsors the site.

Another option is to begin the full and short notes with the organization that owns the site, followed by a shortened title. This option works well when the site is published by a professional or government organization (e.g., World Health Organization).

Citing websites in Chicago author-date system

The Chicago Manual of Style also includes an author-date citation system, which is rarely required. It’s similar to APA citation guidelines in that it focuses on sources’ publication dates, which is most common in the sciences.

In the author-date system, the bibliography is entitled “References.” The reference entries for websites have similar details as bibliography entries but in a different order. The year is right after the author’s name like in APA website citations.

Chicago author-date has in-text citations rather than footnotes. These include the author and year. In-text citations can be narrative (with the author and year in a signal phrase and the page in separate parentheses at the end of the sentence) or parenthetical (with the author, year, and page in parentheses at the end of the sentence).

Unlike APA signal phrases, Chicago signal phrases have present-tense verbs.

Where to find the details for Chicago website citations

Regardless of which Chicago system you’re using (notes and bibliography or author-date), the citation details are usually located on the page where you accessed the online article. For example, the author, title, and publication date are usually at the top of the page.

The URL is located in your browser bar, and you can copy/paste that into a bibliography entry or full note.

For online PDFs, some details may be located on the page where you downloaded the PDF, and others will be in the PDFs first few pages.

Frequently asked questions about Chicago website citations

How do you cite a PDF in Chicago style?

To cite a PDF in Chicago style, write a footnote for each sentence that quotes, summarizes, or paraphrases the PDF. Also write an entry for the bibliography page at the end of the document.

Chicago PDF citations are a form of Chicago website citations when PDFs are published online. However, the notes should have page numbers because PDFs have numbered pages (which is not the case for many websites).

Each footnote or endnote begins with a number that corresponds to a superscript number at the end of the sentence that quotes, summarizes, or paraphrases.

For the first full note, include the author, PDF title, website name, URL, and the page number where you got the information. If you cite the same PDF after that, write a short note with the author and title, which you can shorten if it’s more than four words.

The bibliography entry includes the author, PDF title, website name, and URL.

In both the bibliography and the first full note, use italics for the PDF title.

Chicago PDF citation examples

Bibliography example	Thomas, Paul. The Science of Reading Movement: The Never-Ending Debate and the Need for a Different Approach to Reading Instruction. National Education Policy Center. September, 2022.https://nepc.colorado.edu/sites/default/files/publications/PB%20Thomas_0.pdf.
Chicago full note example	8. Paul Thomas, The Science of Reading Movement: The Never-Ending Debate and the Need for a Different Approach to Reading Instruction, National Education Policy Center, September, 2022, https://nepc.colorado.edu/sites/default/files/publications/PB%20Thomas_0.pdf.
Chicago short note example	10. Thomas, Science of Reading.

QuillBot’s free Citation Generator can help you create clear and accurate Chicago PDF citations.

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

The guidelines to cite a source with multiple authors in Chicago depend on whether the source has 2 authors, 3–6 authors, or 7+ authors.

• For 2 authors, include both authors’ names in the bibliography entry and all notes.
• For 3–6 authors, include all authors’ names in the bibliography. In the notes, include the first author’s name followed by “et. al.”
• For 7 or more authors, include the first three authors’ names and et al. in the bibliography. In the notes, include the first author’s name with “et al.”

When you’re writing Chicago style citations for journal articles or other types of sources, QuillBot’s free Citation Generator can help you avoid errors. Additionally, our Notepad can help you take notes online and keep track of relevant source information for citations.

Can I use ibid. in Chicago style?

Chicago style still permits the use of “ibid.,” but the use of short notes is preferred. In either case, the choice to use “ibid.” or short notes should be consistent.

In any case, every source you reference in your academic writing should be cited correctly. QuillBot’s Citation Generator can help you cite sources correctly, and our online Plagiarism Checker can help ensure your writing is free of accidental plagiarism.

What’s the difference between APA and Chicago author-date citations?

The difference between APA and Chicago author-date citations is as follows:

• APA in-text citations need an author, year, and page for quotations but not paraphrases. Chicago author-date citations (e.g., Chicago book citations) need the author, year, and page for both quotes and paraphrases.
• APA requires “p.” before a page number, but Chicago style does not.
• APA signal phrases use past-tense verbs, and Chicago requires present-tense verbs.
• APA reference page entries use sentence case for book and article titles. Chicago reference entries use title case for all titles.

APA and Chicago author-date citations examples

APA	Bradshaw and Ellis (2016) explained, “First impressions are crucial—if either the dog or cat is spooked during their first actual physical encounter, later meetings are less likely to go well” (p. 150).
Chicago	Bradshaw and Ellis (2016) explain, “First impressions are crucial—if either the dog or cat is spooked during their first actual physical encounter, later meetings are less likely to go well” (150).

QuillBot’s free Citation Generator can help you create flawless citations in APA, Chicago author-date, or whichever citation style you’re using.