Blog post citation generator
Cite any blog post, including Medium and Substack posts, in any citation style.
or fill in the details below
How to cite a blog post
A blog post citation takes three steps.
Step 1
Paste the post’s link
We fill in the title, author, blog name and date. Medium and Substack posts work too, even on a newsletter’s own domain.
Step 2
Check the blog’s name
Use the blog’s own name. On Medium or Substack, that’s the publication’s name, or the platform when the post isn’t part of one.
Step 3
Copy your citation
Add the reference entry to your list and use the in-text citation in your paper. Quoting? Add the paragraph number.
How to cite a blog post in APA
APA cites a blog post like a journal article: the author, the full date, the post’s title in sentence case, the blog’s name in italics and the URL.
Format
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of post. Blog Name. URL
Example
Ouellette, J. (2019, November 15). Physicists capture first footage of quantum knots unraveling in superfluid. Ars Technica. https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/11/study-you-can-tie-a-quantum-knot-in-a-superfluid-but-it-will-soon-untie-itself/
APA’s own example.
A Substack newsletter
Alexander, S. (2022, February 8). Heuristics that almost always work. Astral Codex Ten. https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/heuristics-that-almost-always-work
In-text citation, with a paragraph number
Parenthetical: (Alexander, 2022, para. 6)
Narrative: Alexander (2022, para. 6)
How to cite a blog post in MLA
MLA gives the author, the post’s title in quotation marks, the blog’s name in italics, the date and the URL without https://.
Format
Author. “Title of Post.” Blog Name, Day Month Year, URL.
A post on Medium
Karpathy, Andrej. “Software 2.0.” Medium, 11 Nov. 2017, karpathy.medium.com/software-2-0-a64152b37c35.
In-text citation
Parenthetical: (Karpathy)
How to cite a blog post in Chicago
Chicago puts “(blog)” after the blog’s name unless the name already says so.
Bibliography
Alexander, Scott. “Heuristics That Almost Always Work.” Astral Codex Ten (blog), February 8, 2022. https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/heuristics-that-almost-always-work.
Footnote
Scott Alexander, “Heuristics That Almost Always Work,” Astral Codex Ten (blog), February 8, 2022, https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/heuristics-that-almost-always-work.
Chicago often cites blog posts in notes only. Include the bibliography entry when your instructor asks for one.
Blog post, news article or webpage?
The form you use changes the citation, so it’s worth a second look.
A blog post
A dated post on a blog, a company blog, Medium or Substack. Use this page.
A news article
Any other page
A page on a website that isn’t a post, like a guide or a fact sheet. Use the website citation generator.
Frequently asked questions
How do I cite a blog post in APA?
Give the author, the full date, the title in sentence case, the blog’s name in italics and the URL. In the text, cite the author and year, for example (Alexander, 2022).
How do I cite a blog post in MLA?
Give the author, the title in quotation marks, the blog’s name in italics, the date and the URL without https://.
How do I cite a Medium or Substack post?
Cite it as a blog post. The blog’s name is the publication’s name, or Medium or the newsletter’s own name when there isn’t one.
What if the blog post has no author?
Start with the title. If the post only shows a username, use the username as the author.
Does a blog post need an access date?
APA doesn’t use one for a dated post. MLA makes it optional, and Harvard always gives it, so the form fills in today’s date.
Is this blog citation generator free?
Yes. It’s free with no signup, and your citations go into the same list as the main Citation Generator.