📚 Chicago Citation Generator for Books and Websites
By ToolNimba Editorial Team · Updated 2026-06-20
One author. Type the surname first, then a comma, then the given name. Leave blank if the source has no named author.
Optional. Chicago asks for an access date mainly when the source has no clear publication or revision date.
This entry uses Chicago notes-bibliography style (Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition). Click the box or the Copy button to copy it.
Chicago style is the citation system used across history, the humanities and many publishing houses, and its notes-bibliography format trips up students because the punctuation and ordering differ from MLA or APA. This generator takes the fields you already have, the author, title, publisher, year, URL and access date, and assembles a correctly punctuated Chicago bibliography entry that you can copy with one click. It works for both whole books and web pages, and it runs entirely in your browser, so nothing you type is uploaded anywhere.
What is the Chicago Citation Generator?
The Chicago Manual of Style describes two citation systems. The first, notes-bibliography, uses numbered footnotes or endnotes in the text paired with an alphabetical bibliography at the end, and it is the style most common in history and the humanities. The second, author-date, uses brief in-text parentheses with a reference list, and it is more common in the sciences and social sciences. This tool builds the bibliography entry for the notes-bibliography system, which is what most students mean when they are told to "use Chicago style".
The order of a bibliography entry is consistent: author, title, then publication facts. The author appears surname-first (Last, First) so the list can be alphabetised, and the entry ends with a period. The treatment of the title is the single most important detail to get right. A standalone work such as a whole book is set in italics, while a smaller piece that lives inside a larger container, such as a single web page or an article, is wrapped in quotation marks. Getting that distinction wrong is the fastest way to lose marks.
Publication facts come last and differ by source type. For a book you give the publisher and the year, separated by a comma. For a website you give the name of the site or sponsoring organisation, a publication or revision year if one exists, and the URL. Chicago no longer requires an access date for most online sources, but it recommends adding one when the page shows no reliable publication or revision date, since that is the only timestamp you can vouch for. When you do include it, the access date sits just before the URL in the form "Accessed Month Day, Year."
This generator handles the punctuation and ordering for you, but it cannot judge the quality of what you type. It assumes one named author, formats a single book or web page at a time, and trusts the spelling and capitalisation you provide. For multi-author works, edited collections, journal articles with volume and issue numbers, or chapters within books, you will still want to consult the manual, because those forms add elements this simple builder does not collect.
When to use it
- Students writing history or humanities papers who were told to use Chicago notes-bibliography style and need a clean entry fast.
- Quickly turning a book you have on your desk into a properly punctuated bibliography line without memorising the rules.
- Citing a web page or online article when you are unsure where the URL, year and access date are supposed to go.
- Checking your own hand-typed Chicago entry against a correctly formatted version to catch punctuation slips.
How to use the Chicago Citation Generator
- Choose whether you are citing a book or a website from the source type menu.
- Type the author surname-first as "Last, First", then fill in the title and the publisher or site name.
- Add the year, and for a website the full URL and an access date if the page has no clear publication date.
- Click Build citation, check the result, then click the entry or the Copy button to copy it into your bibliography.
Formula & method
Worked examples
Citing a whole book: The Elements of Style by William Strunk, published by Bartleby.com in 1999.
- Set the source type to Book.
- Enter the author as "Strunk, William" so it can be alphabetised by surname.
- Enter the title; because it is a whole book it is set in italics.
- Enter the publisher (Bartleby.com) and the year (1999), joined by a comma.
Result: Strunk, William. The Elements of Style. Bartleby.com, 1999.
Citing a web page with no clear publication date, accessed on June 20, 2026.
- Set the source type to Website.
- Enter the author and the page title; the page title goes in quotation marks, not italics.
- Enter the site name and, since there is no publication date, leave the year blank.
- Add the access date and the full URL; Chicago places the access date just before the URL.
Result: Smith, Jane. "How Citations Work." Style Notes. Accessed June 20, 2026. https://example.com/citations.
Chicago notes-bibliography element order by source type
| Source type | Order of elements | Title styling |
|---|---|---|
| Book | Author. Title. Publisher, Year. | Italics |
| Website / web page | Author. "Page Title." Site Name. Year. Accessed date. URL. | Quotation marks |
| No named author | Title leads the entry, then the rest follows | Same as above |
How Chicago bibliography style differs from MLA and APA
| Feature | Chicago (notes-bib) | MLA | APA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Author name | Last, First. | Last, First. | Last, F. |
| Year position | After publisher (book) | Near the end | Right after author |
| Web access date | Optional, before URL | Optional, at end | Rarely used |
| Book title | Italics | Italics | Italics, sentence case |
Common mistakes to avoid
- Italicising a web page title. Only standalone works such as whole books or entire websites are italicised. A single web page or article is a part of a larger container, so its title belongs in quotation marks, not italics.
- Listing the author first name first. In the bibliography the lead author is always surname-first (Last, First) so the list can be alphabetised. First-name-first ordering is for the in-text note, not the bibliography entry.
- Adding an access date to every online source. Chicago only asks for an access date when the page has no reliable publication or revision date. Adding one to a clearly dated source is unnecessary clutter that some instructors mark down.
- Forgetting the final period. A Chicago bibliography entry is punctuated like a sentence and ends with a period, including after the URL. A missing terminal period is a small but frequent and easily avoided error.
Glossary
- Notes-bibliography style
- The Chicago system that pairs numbered footnotes or endnotes with an alphabetical bibliography, common in history and the humanities.
- Author-date style
- The other Chicago system, using brief in-text parentheses and a reference list, more common in the sciences.
- Bibliography entry
- The full citation listed alphabetically at the end of a paper, giving complete details of a source.
- Container
- The larger work that holds a smaller piece, such as the website that contains a single page or the book that contains a chapter.
- Access date
- The date you viewed an online source, included when the source has no clear publication or revision date.
- Sponsoring organisation
- The site name or organisation responsible for a web page, used in place of a traditional publisher for online sources.
Frequently asked questions
What is Chicago notes-bibliography style?
It is one of the two citation systems in the Chicago Manual of Style. It pairs numbered footnotes or endnotes in the text with a full, alphabetised bibliography at the end, and it is the style most often required in history and the humanities. This generator builds the bibliography entry for that system.
How do I cite a book in Chicago style?
List the author surname-first, then the book title in italics, then the publisher and the year separated by a comma, ending with a period: Strunk, William. The Elements of Style. Bartleby.com, 1999. Enter those fields and the tool assembles the line for you.
How do I cite a website in Chicago style?
Give the author if there is one, the page title in quotation marks, the site name, a publication year if available, and the URL. If the page has no clear date, add an access date just before the URL in the form "Accessed Month Day, Year."
Does Chicago require an access date for websites?
Not for most sources. Chicago recommends an access date only when the page shows no reliable publication or revision date, because that is the only timestamp you can confirm. If the page is clearly dated, you can usually leave the access date out.
When do I italicise versus use quotation marks?
Italicise standalone works such as a whole book or an entire website. Use quotation marks for smaller parts that sit inside a container, such as a single web page, an article, or a book chapter. Mixing these up is the most common Chicago formatting error.
What if my source has no named author?
Drop the author and let the title lead the entry instead, then alphabetise by the first significant word of the title. This generator does that automatically when you leave the author field blank.