Saving a web page is especially useful if you intend to access a web page without having to be connected to the internet, or if you want to get content from a web page without having to worry about the content being changed or removed at a later date. All web search engines can do this, and you can even use certain programs to download every page of a website at the same time.
Step
Method 1 of 4: Search Engine on Computer
Step 1. Open the web page you want to save
Any web search engine can quickly save the web pages you visit. After this, you can easily open this web page at any time, even when you are not connected to the internet. If you want to save a website complete with its pages, click here.
Step 2. Open the "Save page as" window in your search engine
All web search engines are capable of storing a web page with all forms of media in it. You can quickly open this window by pressing Ctrl/⌘ Cmd+S, or do the following:
- Chrome – Click the Chrome Menu button (☰) and select "Save page as".
- Internet Explorer – Click the gear button, select "File", then "Save as". If you don't see the gear button, press alt=""Image" to open the menu bar, click "File" then select "Save as".</li" />
- Firefox – Click the Firefox Menu button (☰) and select "Save Page".
- Safari - Click the "File" menu and select "Save As".
Step 3. Give the saved page a name
The file will be named after the name of the web page automatically.
Step 4. Choose a location to save the web page
Once this webpage is saved, you'll find an HTML file as well as a directory containing all the media content of that page on your computer, if you choose to save the entire page.
Step 5. Decide whether you want the entire page or just the HTML file
In the "Save as type" menu, you can choose "Webpage, Complete" or "Webpage, HTML Only". If you save the entire page, any media on that page will be downloaded into a separate directory on your computer. This allows you to still be able to view the images contained in the pages that you save even in conditions without access to the internet.
Internet Explorer users can select "Web Archive, single file (*.mht)". This is a Microsoft-specific format that saves all the data from a web page into a single archive file. Files in.mht format can only be opened easily through Internet Explorer, but still make archiving web pages much simpler
Step 6. Open the saved page
You will find an HTML file in the detailed location. Double-clicking it will open the page in your web search engine, even if you are offline.
- Make sure to always save a directory containing the media type that the page is linked to with its HTML file, or the page will not display any images when opened.
- If you are offline and there is a streaming video on the page you saved, it will not run until you are connected to the internet again.
Method 2 of 4: iOS
Step 1. For iOS users, open the website you want to save via Safari
You can save any website for offline reading. This can be very useful if you are or will be traveling without an internet connection.
Doing this requires iOS 7 or later
Step 2. Tap the Share button
You can find this button at the bottom of your screen (for iPhone and iPod users), or at the top (for iPad users). This button is shaped like a box with an arrow sticking out of the top.
Step 3. Tap the "Add to Reading List" button in the Share menu
This button is shaped like glasses, and is next to the "Add Bookmark" button.
Keep tabs open for a while after adding your chosen site to your Reading List. Larger pages may take longer to fully save. When the site you selected is finished loading, you can close the tab
Step 4. Find the page you have saved in your Reading List
You can still access it without having to be connected to the internet. Tap the Bookmarks button in Safari and then the Eyeglasses tab to see all the web pages on your Reading List.
You can find the Bookmarks button next to the address bar. The shape of this button is like an open book
Step 5. Tap a page to open it
If you are not connected to the internet, you may notice that the page you are viewing does not look like the original page. This happens because when saved, unimportant data from the page is removed, such as the background color of your web page.
Step 6. Scroll down to move to the next item
When you get to the bottom of the page, keep scrolling to move on to the next item on your Reading List.
Step 7. Switch from the items you have read and haven't read
Tap the "Show All" or "Show Unread" button at the bottom of the Reading List to switch between all the pages in the list and the pages you haven't read.
Step 8. Swipe an entry in the Reading List to the left to delete it
Once you've finished reading an item, you can remove it from your list by swiping left and tapping "Delete".
Step 9. Update your device if your Reading List is not working properly
Some users have reported issues with the iOS 8 update preventing webpages in the Reading List from loading offline. Updating iOS to version 8.0.1 or changing the operating system might solve this problem.
- Open the Settings app and select "General".
- Tap the "Software Update" option and then select "Install Update" after checking the device for available updates.
Method 3 of 4: Android
Step 1. For Android users, open the website which you want to save in Chrome
You can't bookmark pages for offline reading like in Safari, but you can save them as PDF files that you can open at any time and which also provide links to follow.
Other Android search engines may provide offline viewing options. Open the search engine menu by tapping the (⋮) button and select "Save for offline viewing". Unfortunately, not all of them have this option
Step 2. Tap the Chrome Menu button (⋮) and select "Print"
With this option, you will be able to "print" the web page you want into PDF format.
Step 3. Tap the drop-down menu at the top of the screen and select "Save as PDF"
This option will preserve the integrity of the web pages you save and the links in them into a PDF file stored on your device.
Step 4. Tap the "Save" button
This button will open the Downloads menu. Select the "Downloads" option on the left.
Step 5. Give the saved web page a name
The file will be saved according to the page name automatically. You can change it by tapping the file in its name field and entering a new name.
Step 6. Tap on the “Save” button
The page will be automatically saved as a PDF to your device.
Step 7. Open the Downloads app on your device
This application will display a list of files that you have downloaded.
Step 8. Tap on your newly saved PDF file
You may be asked to choose what application to use to open the file.
Step 9. Read the entire webpage you saved
You can tap a link in your PDF file to open it in a search engine, but you'll need an internet connection to do this.
Method 4 of 4: Archiving A Website
Step 1. Download and install HTTrack
HTTrack is a free, open source website copy tool that allows you to save every existing page and media form of a website and at the same time maintain the links in it and build a directory for the content of the pages. Opening the page offline will make it easier for you to follow all the links on the site you choose, as long as you're still redirected to the content referred to by the link on the same server.
You can download HTTrack for free via httrack.com. This software is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux
Step 2. Open HTTrack and create a new project
HTTrack stores every website you archive into a "project". This makes it easier for you to choose which sites you have archived to update.
Step 3. Provide a name and location for the project
HTTrack recommends that you create an initial directory for each site you have saved and name the sites. A discrete directory will be built for each project that has been saved in the initial directory.
Step 4. Select "Download web site(s)" then enter the web address
If you want to archive a single website, make sure you start by entering the address of the main page of the selected site.
Step 5. Click the "Finish" or "Start" button to start the site copying process
You'll see bars showing how far the copying process is going when HTTrack starts downloading all the content on the site. This process takes a lot of time, especially for larger sites and slow connections.
HTTrack will follow each link on the selected website and download the content it finds automatically, but the downloaded content will only stay on the site you saved. This prevents HTTrack from downloading all content from the internet onto your computer
Step 6. View your archived site
Once the archiving process is complete, you can open the directory you created for your project and load the HTML file from the site you archived. You can still switch from one page to another on the site even when you are offline.
If the site you choose has streaming videos on it, you still can't view these videos unless you have an internet connection
Tips
- Save the web page in case you plan to travel or when you can't access Wi-Fi or get an internet connection for a long period of time. Web pages can be accessed offline and viewed at any time without an internet connection.
- Save web pages if they contain important information that you will need to access, reference, or use at a later date. When you save a page on a website, the information in it will be stored forever, even if the owner deletes and changes some of the information on that page.
