<cite>

The title of a work: a book, an article, a movie, a song, a game, or a piece of software.

Display
inline
Closing tag
Required
Permitted content
Phrasing content
On this page

Example

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HTML
<p>
  To start, I recommend the book <cite>The Pragmatic Programmer</cite>,
  and for practicing logical thinking, the game <cite>Minecraft</cite>.
</p>
Preview

Definition and usage

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The <cite> element marks the title of a work: a book, an article, a movie, a TV series, a song, a game, a painting, a website, or a piece of software. Browsers display it in italics.

According to the HTML standard, <cite> wraps only the title, not the author’s name. In a quote’s caption, write the author’s name as plain text, and put only the source’s title inside <cite>.

Don’t confuse the <cite> element with the cite attribute, which on <blockquote>, <q>, <ins>, and <del> holds an invisible source address. The element shows the title to the reader; the attribute leaves the address for machines.

Syntax

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Syntax
<cite>Title of the work</cite>

Attributes

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This element has no attributes of its own. It supports the global attributes, such as class, id and hidden.

More examples

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A source title in a quote’s caption
HTML
<figure>
  <blockquote>
    <p>The best way to learn programming is by writing programs.</p>
  </blockquote>
  <figcaption>From the guide <cite>First Steps in CodeWorlds</cite></figcaption>
</figure>
Preview

Default CSS

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Most browsers display this element with these default styles:

CSS
cite {
  font-style: italic;
}

Browser support

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Widely available

Works in all modern browsers, phones included. You can use it without worry.

  • Chrome
  • Edge
  • Firefox
  • Safari

Good practices

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  • Mark only the title of the work with the element, not the person.
  • Put the quote itself in <blockquote> or <q>, and the source title in a nearby <cite>.
  • If italics don’t fit your design, change them in CSS. The element’s meaning stays the same.

Related entries

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