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Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) Citation Help

View examples, get interactive practice, and format your paper with Chicago Style citation

About Citing Websites

Include as many of the following elements as possible when citing websites: title or page description; page owner/sponsor/author; title or description of site as a whole; site owner/sponsor; date of publication or revision; and a URL.

Titled sections or pages of websites will go inside quotation marks.

Website names are written normally -- no italics or quotation marks and capitalized headline style (all major words capitalized). Blogs, on the other hand, are treated like periodicals, and the titles of those will be in italics.

Website Articles

Websites can often be limited to notes. If not using notes, a bibliographic entry may be included, cited by the owner or sponsor of the site.

Full Note:

1. Author First Name/Initial Surname, "Title of Page," Title or Owner of Site, date last modified or accessed, URL.

Concise Note:

2. Author Surname, "Title of Page."

Bibliography:

Author Surname, First Name or Initials. "Title of Page." Title or Owner of Site. Date last modified or accessed. URL.

Example 1 (with access date)

Full Note:

1. K. A. Johnson and J. A. Becker, "The Whole Brain Atlas," Harvard University Medical School, accessed April 29, 2011, http://www.med.harvard.edu/AANLIB/. 
 
Concise Note:

2. Johnson and Becker, "The Whole Brain Atlas."

Bibliography:

Johnson, K. A., and J. A. Becker. "The Whole Brain Atlas." Harvard University Medical School. Accessed April 29, 2011.  http://www.med.harvard.edu/AANLIB/. 

Example 2 (with publication date)

Full Note:

1. Alan Henry, "Why We Get Brain Freezes," Lifehacker, June 11, 2016, http://lifehacker.com/why-we-get-brain-freezes-1781798710.
 
Concise Note:

2. Henry, "Brain Freezes."

Bibliography:

Henry, Alan. "Why We Get Brain Freezes." Lifehacker. June 11, 2016. http://lifehacker.com/why-we-get-brain-freezes-1781798710.

Full Note:

1. "Apps for Office Sample Pack," Office Dev Center, Microsoft Coporation, updated October 20, 2015, https://code.msdn.microsoft.com/office/Apps-for-Office-code-d04762b7.

Concise Note:

2.  "Apps for Office."

Bibliography:

Microsoft Corporation. "Apps for Office Sample Pack." Office Dev Center. Updated October 20, 2015. https://code.msdn.microsoft.com/office/Apps-for-Office-code-d04762b7.

Full Note:

1. "Diabetes Myths," American Diabetes Association, last modified July 5, 2017, http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/myths.

Concise Note:

2.  "Diabetes Myths."

Bibliography:

American Diabetes Association. "Diabetes Myths." Last modified July 5, 2017. http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/myths.

Blog Post

Generally, blog entries and comments are cited only as notes. If you frequently cite a blog, however, then you may choose to include it in your bibliography. List this citation by the blog's title or, if available, the editor's name. [14.208]
 
Note: if the word “blog” is included in the title of the blog, there is no need to repeat it in parentheses after that title.

Full Note: 

1. Author-Firstname Surname, "Title of Entry," Name of Blog (blog), Name of Larger Publication/Site, date last modified, URL.

Concise Note:

2. Author Surname, "Name of Entry."

Bibliography (if needed):

Surname, Firstname, ed. Title of Blog (blog). Name of Larger Publication/Site. URL.

Full Note:

1. Mike Nizza, "Go Ahead, Annoy Away, an Australian Court Says," The Lede (blog), New York Times, July 15, 2008, http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/.

Concise Note:

2.  Nizza, "Go Ahead, Annoy Away."

Bibliography (if necessary):

The Lede (blog). New York Times. http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/.

Full Note:

1. Justin Rowlatt, "Are We Doomed by Democracy?," Ethical Man (blog), BBC, August 17, 2010, http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ethicalman.

Concise Note:

2.  Rowlatt, “Are We Doomed.”

Bibliography (if necessary):

Rowlatt, Justin, ed. Ethical Man (blog). BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ethicalman.

Full Note:

1. William, Germano, "Futurust Shock," Lingua Franca (blog), Chronicle of Higher Education, February 15, 2017, http://www.chornicle.com/blogs/linguafranca/2017/02/15/futurist-shock/.

Concise Note:

2.  Germano, "Futurist Shock."

Bibliography (if necessary):

Germano, William. "Futurust Shock." Lingua Franca (blog). Chronicle of Higher Education, February 15, 2017. http://www.chornicle.com/blogs/linguafranca/2017/02/15/futurist-shock/.

Images (Online or Physical)

Omit the URL for art you've viewed in person.

Full Note:

1. Author First Name/Initial Surname, Image Title, Year, medium, dimensions, physical location, URL.

Concise Note:

2. Author Surname, Image Title.

Bibliography:

Author Surname, First Name or Initial. Image Title. Year. Medium, dimensions. Location. URL.

Full Note:

1. Jan Griffier, Dutch Snow Scene with Skaters, c.1695, oil on canvas, 83 x 94 cm, Merchant Adventurers' Hall, York, https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/dutch-snow-scene-with-skaters-10363.

Concise Note:

2. Griffier, Dutch Snow Scene.

Bibliography: Note: Chicago does not require that you include art in your bibliography, though your professor might!

Griffier, Jan. Dutch Snow Scene with Skaters. c.1695. Oil on canvas, 83 x 94 cm. Merchant Adventurers' Hall. https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/dutch-snow-scene-with-skaters-10363.

Full Note:

1. Pablo Picasso, Bull's Head, spring 1942, bicycle saddle and handlebars, 33.5 x 43.5 x 19 cm, Musée Picasso Paris.

Concise Note:

2. Picasso, Bull's Head.

Bibliography:

Picasso, Pablo. Bull's Head. Spring 1942. Bicycle saddle and handlebars, 33.5 x 43.5 x 19 cm. Musée Picasso Paris.

Full Note:

1. Dorothea Lange, Black Maria, Oakland, 1957, printed 1965, gelatin silver print, 39.3 x 37 cm, Art Institute, Chicago, http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/220174.

Concise Note:

2. Lange, Black Maria, Oakland.

Bibliography:

Lange, Dorothea. Black Maria, Oakland. 1957, printed 1965. Gelatin silver print, 39.3 x 37 cm. Art Institute, Chicago. http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/220174.

Full Note:

1. Steve McCurry, Afghan Girl, December 1984, photograph, National Geographic, cover, June 1985.

Concise Note:

2. McCurry, Afghan Girl.

Bibliography:

McCurry, Steve. Afghan Girl. December 1984. Photograph. National Geographic, cover, June 1985.

Full Note:

1. Lone Star College-University Park Student Learning Resource Center, Collage of library photos profile image, n.d., color image, Citations: Chicago Style, http://upresearch.lonestar.edu/chicago.

Concise Note:

2. Lone Star Collage, Collage.

Bibliography:

1. Lone Star College-University Park Student Learning Resource Center. Collage of library photos profile image. N.d., color image. Citations: Chicago Style. http://upresearch.lonestar.edu/chicago.

Social Media

Include the author's real name, if known, as well as their screen name. For non-text posts, you'll include a description of the content, e.g. "Instagram photo" instead of simply "Twitter."

Due to the ephemeral nature of social media (quickly and easily edited or deleted), researchers are encouraged to keep a copy of anything they cite.

Full Note:

1. Author Real-First Name Surname (screen name), "Text of the post up to 160 characters, unless already quoted in-text," Service with description, date published, URL.

Concise Note:

2. Author Surname, "Text of the post."

Bibliography:

Author. "Text of the post up to 160 characters." Service with description, date published. URL.

Example 1

Full Note:

1. Chicago Manual of Style, "Is the world ready for singular they? We thought so back in 1993," Facebook, April 17, 2015, https://www.facebook.com/ChicagoManual/posts/10152906193679151.
 
Concise Note:

2. Chicago Manual of Style, "Is the world ready."

Bibliography:

Chicago Manual of Style. "Is the world ready for singular they? We thought so back in 1993." Facebook, April 17, 2015. https://www.facebook.com/ChicagoManual/posts/10152906193679151.

Example 2

Full Note:

1. Junot Diaz, "Always surprises my students when I tell them that the 'real' medieval was more diverse than the fake ones most of us consume," Facebook, February 24, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/junotdiaz.writer/posts/972495572815454.
 
Concise Note:

2. Diaz, "Always surprises."

Bibliography:

Diaz, Junot. "Always surprises my students when I tell them that the 'real' medieval was more diverse than the fake ones most of us consume." Facebook, February 24, 2016. https://www.facebook.com/junotdiaz.writer/posts/972495572815454.

Example 3

Full Note:

1. Conan O'Brien (@ConanOBrien), "In honor of Earth Day, I'm recycling my tweets," Twitter, April 22, 2015, 11:10 a.m., https://twitter.com/ConanOBrien/status/590940792967016448.
 
Concise Note:

2. O'Brien, "In honor of."

Bibliography:

O'Brien, Conan (@ConanOBrien). "In honor of Earth Day, I'm recycling my tweets." Twitter, April 22, 2015, 11:10 a.m.. https://twitter.com/ConanOBrien/status/590940792967016448.

Full Note:

1. Pete Souza (@petesouza), "President Obama bids farewell to President Xi of China at the conclusion of the Nuclear Security Summit," Instagram photo, April 1, 2016, https://www.instagram.com/p/BDrmfXTtNCt/.
 
Concise Note:

2. Souza, "President Obama."

Bibliography:

Souza, Pete (@petesouza). "President Obama bids farewell to President Xi of China at the conclusion of the Nuclear Security Summit." Instagram photo, April 1, 2016. https://www.instagram.com/p/BDrmfXTtNCt/.