How to Cite a Website in Turabian Format

Complete how to cite a website Turabian guide with step-by-step instructions and examples. Use Rephrasely's free citation generator to speed up formatting and avoid errors: Rephrasely Citation Generator.

Introduction — What Turabian Is and Who Uses It

Turabian is a citation style derived from The Chicago Manual of Style and packaged for students and researchers. It offers two systems: Notes-Bibliography (NB) for humanities and Author-Date for sciences and social sciences.

Knowing how to cite a website Turabian is essential for essays, theses, and research papers where online sources are common. This guide explains rules, examples, and quick tools to check your work.

General Rules — Key Formatting Rules

Choose the appropriate system: Notes-Bibliography (NB) uses footnotes/endnotes and a bibliography. Author-Date uses short parenthetical citations and a reference list.
Include as much of the following as you can: author, page or section title, website title, publisher or sponsor, publication or revision date, and URL. Add an access date only when no publication date is available or if required.
Use sentence-style capitalization for titles in notes and bibliography unless your instructor specifies headline-style. Italicize the website or container title.
For long URLs, include the full URL or DOI. Do not add a period after a URL that might be interpreted as part of the link.
Be consistent: apply the same Turabian system across your document and format elements (italics, commas, periods) consistently.

How to Cite by Source Type

Books

Notes-Bibliography (note and bibliography) example:

Note:
1. Firstname Lastname, Title of Book (Place of publication: Publisher, Year), page number.

Bibliography:
Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Place of publication: Publisher, Year.

Actionable tip: When in doubt about punctuation, use Rephrasely's citation generator to produce both the note and bibliography entry instantly.

Journal Articles

Notes-Bibliography example:

Note:
1. Firstname Lastname, "Article Title," Journal Title volume, no. issue (Year): page-range, DOI or URL.

Bibliography:
Lastname, Firstname. "Article Title." Journal Title volume, no. issue (Year): page-range. DOI or URL.

Author-Date reference list entry:

Lastname, Firstname. Year. "Article Title." Journal Title volume (issue): page-range. DOI or URL.

Websites (Core examples — the focus)

When you need to learn how to cite a website Turabian, follow these templates for the two systems below.

Notes-Bibliography — Note:

1. Firstname Lastname, "Title of Web Page," Name of Website, Month Day, Year, URL.

Example note:

1. Jane Doe, "How Bees Pollinate," National Pollinator Center, June 12, 2021, https://www.pollinatorcenter.org/how-bees-pollinate.

Notes-Bibliography — Bibliography:

Lastname, Firstname. "Title of Web Page." Name of Website. Month Day, Year. URL.

Author-Date — In-text and reference list:

In-text: (Lastname Year)

Reference list:
Lastname, Firstname. Year. "Title of Web Page." Name of Website. Month Day. URL.

Example Author-Date reference:

Doe, Jane. 2021. "How Bees Pollinate." National Pollinator Center. June 12. https://www.pollinatorcenter.org/how-bees-pollinate.

Blog Posts

Blogs are treated like web pages but include the blog title and, if useful, the word "blog post."

Note:
1. Firstname Lastname, "Post Title," Name of Blog (blog), Month Day, Year, URL.

Video (YouTube)

Include creator, title (italicize the container), posting date, and URL.

Note:
1. Firstname Lastname, "Title of Video," YouTube video, length of video, Month Day, Year, URL.

Bibliography:
Lastname, Firstname. "Title of Video." YouTube video, length. Month Day, Year. URL.

Government Reports or Datasets

Include issuing organization as author when no personal author exists. Add report number if applicable.

Note:
1. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Title of Report, Report no. (City: Publisher, Year), page, URL.

Bibliography:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Title of Report. Report no. (City: Publisher, Year). URL.

In-Text Citations — Rules and Examples

Notes-Bibliography: Use superscript numerals in the text that correspond to full citations in footnotes or endnotes. Subsequent citations may use shortened forms.

Text example:
Bees are essential pollinators.^1

Footnote:
1. Jane Doe, "How Bees Pollinate," National Pollinator Center, June 12, 2021, https://www.pollinatorcenter.org/how-bees-pollinate.

Shortened note for repeat citation:

3. Doe, "How Bees Pollinate."

Author-Date: Provide a brief parenthetical citation with author and year, and page numbers where relevant.

Text example:
Pollination rates have declined in several regions (Doe 2021).

Full reference in reference list:
Doe, Jane. 2021. "How Bees Pollinate." National Pollinator Center. June 12. https://www.pollinatorcenter.org/how-bees-pollinate.

Reference List / Bibliography — Formatting Rules and Example

Bibliography (Notes-Bibliography) basics:

Title the page "Bibliography" and center it (or "References" if your instructor prefers).
List entries alphabetically by the author's last name.
Use a hanging indent for each entry (first line flush left, subsequent lines indented).
Italicize book and website names; put article and page titles in quotes.

Example Bibliography entry for a website:

Doe, Jane. "How Bees Pollinate." National Pollinator Center. June 12, 2021. https://www.pollinatorcenter.org/how-bees-pollinate.

Reference List (Author-Date) basics are similar but titled "References" and formatted author-date style.

References
Doe, Jane. 2021. "How Bees Pollinate." National Pollinator Center. June 12. https://www.pollinatorcenter.org/how-bees-pollinate.

Actionable advice: after drafting your bibliography, run it through a citation generator like Rephrasely's Citation Generator and then use the plagiarism checker to verify originality if you adapted content from web sources.

Common Mistakes — Errors to Avoid

Omitting access or publication dates when needed.
If no publication date is available, include the access date in the note: accessed Month Day, Year. For Author-Date, give as much date information as possible.
Confusing the two Turabian systems.
Mixing footnotes with parenthetical author-date citations will confuse readers. Pick one system and use it consistently throughout your work.
Incorrect or missing punctuation.
Commas, periods, and placement of the URL matter in Turabian. Use a reliable citation tool or template to match punctuation exactly.
Failing to shorten repeated notes.
Turabian expects shortened citations after the first full note. Use the author's last name and shortened title for repeated references.

Practical Workflow (Fast and Reliable)

Gather all metadata when you first consult a website: author, title, site name, publisher, full date, and URL.
Decide which Turabian system applies to your assignment (NB or Author-Date).
Generate a properly formatted citation using Rephrasely's Citation Generator, then paste it into your footnote or bibliography.
Run the final draft through Rephrasely's AI Detector if your institution requires verification, and use the plagiarism checker for source integrity.
If you need rewording or clarification of source text in your paper, the AI writer/composer and paraphraser tools can help create polished prose without changing meaning.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to include an access date for every website I cite in Turabian?

No. Include an access date when a publication or revision date is not provided or when content is likely to change. If a clear publication date exists, list that date instead.

Which Turabian system should I use for website citations?

Use Notes-Bibliography (NB) for humanities and disciplines that prefer footnotes. Use Author-Date for sciences and social sciences. Always follow your instructor's or publisher's requirement.

Can I use Rephrasely to generate Turabian citations directly?

Yes. Rephrasely's free citation generator formats entries in Turabian style. After generating citations, verify details and run your document through the plagiarism checker and AI detector if required.

How to Cite a Website in Turabian Format