(EDIT: Note that the definition of both elements, blockquote
and cite
, changed in HTML 5.1 recently; this answer reflects the current HTML5 state, not the changed HTML 5.1 one.)
The cite
element must not be part of the blockquote
(unless you quote a quote+attribution). blockquote
must only contain quoted content, not the quotation author/source.
HTML5 spec for blockquote
:
Attribution for the quotation, if any, must be placed outside the blockquote element.
So it should be:
<blockquote>…</blockquote>
<cite>…</cite>
Note that in HTML5, the cite
element may be used only for the "title of a work"; so it’s likely that you want to use a div
, possibly containing cite
:
<blockquote>…</blockquote>
<div class="quote-attribution">Walter White, <cite>Breaking Bad</cite></div>