The first thing that we must be clear about is that we are only going to download the text and images, the videos will not be downloaded unless they are hosted on the same server, since most websites avoid it and use links to YouTube to do so. reduce both server storage space and speed up loading times and get penalized by Google and excluded from search results.
Methods to download web pages
When it comes to downloading web pages to view them without an internet connection, we have a large number of options available, options that we show you below:
Using the browser
The first option, and which in most cases gives very good results, is to use any web browser, whether it is Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, Vivaldi or any other. To download a web page from the browser, we must use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + s. Next, we enter the name that we want the web to have and click on Save. This process can take from several seconds to even several minutes, since all the content of the web page in question will be downloaded along with the images. All the additional content will be stored in a directory with the same name as the web, a directory that we cannot delete if we do not want to delete the content that we have downloaded. If we delete the directory that contains the images, the .html file that references it will automatically be deleted as well.
In pdf format
Another option that we have at our disposal to save complete web pages with all their images and without the need for an internet connection to access their content is to use the PDF format. However, it is not always a good option, since certain web pages include a format that is not very friendly to this type of format and leave blank pages, do not correctly preserve the structure and size of the file, it can become too high compared to what they really occupy if we download the web using the previous method. To save a web page in PDF format, it is not necessary to install any application since Windows natively includes the printer Microsoft Print to PDFprinter that we must select when we click on the Print option found in the options menu of all browsers
using extensions
The extensions, once again, are there to offer solutions to the problems of the day including the ability to download web pages.
GoFullPage for Chrome and Edge
We also have the possibility of downloading a web page as an image, that is, as if we were taking a screenshot of the entire web and later joining them to create a single file. The fastest and easiest solution is to use the GoFullPage extension. The GoFullPage extension will automatically take a screenshot of the entire web page and put it together in a single file in PNG format. But, in addition, it also allows us to save the result in PDF format, so it really is a 2-in-1 extension, since it offers us the option to print the web in Windows PDF format and the possibility of saving the content in a single image . However, the PDF is not editable, but includes the image that has been created, so we will not be able to do text searches if we previously did not use an OCR application to recognize the text and we create a new PDF.
This extension is not available for Firefox.
Full Screenshot, for Chrome, Edge and Firefox
Another of the extensions available for free for both Chrome and Edge, Opera and Vivaldi is Full Screenshot, an extension that is responsible for making capture of an entire web to later join them in a single file in .PNG format. The operation of the application is very simple, we just have to click on the extension icon so that an image of the complete web is automatically created and downloaded to our computer. Although it does not allow us to download the image in PDF format, this extension allows us to carry out the process much faster than with GoFullPage
The equivalent of Full Screenshot for Firefox can be found in the Screenshot Full page extension, an extension that we can download through the following link.
Full Page Capture – FireShot
The most complete extension, by number of options, that we have at our disposal to download web pages in image or PDF format is FireShot. This extension allows us to take screenshots of the web pages that we have open in Chrome, Edge, Vivaldi and Opera (based on Chromium). In addition, once we have made the captures, we can edit them before save them in .PDF, .JPEG, .GIF format. PNG and .BMP. It also allows us to share the content created directly, copy it to the clipboard or print it. Although it has a paid version, the free version is more than enough and covers the basic needs of anyone who wants to download all the information from a web page.
Programs to download web pages
If the solutions that we have shown you above to download web pages do not satisfy all our needs, we can use one of the programs that we show you below.
WebCopy
WebCopy is a free application for download locally any web page and access it without the need for an internet connection, since it will modify all the links so that they are accessible locally. It also only allows us to download only the images, videos or other resources excluding the text.
This application does not download the source code of the website, so we cannot use it to copy the structure to create a similar website, it only allows us to download the content that the server returns to us at any request. WebCopy is available for download from its website, which we can click on here. The application requires Microsoft .Net Framework 4.6 (if it is not installed it will be automatically downloaded from Microsoft servers). It is compatible from Windows Vista SP2 onwards, including Windows 11.
HTTrack, from Windows and Linux
HTTrack allows us to download complete web pages, including all the content stored in them and perfectly structured, including the internal links, so we will be able to browse all its content without the need for an internet connection. The operation of the application is very simple, since we only have to enter the website that we want to download and the application will take care of doing the rest. Depending on the web page we want to download, it is likely that the download time will last a few hours, which is not a problem for HTTrack since it allows us to resume downloads whenever we want.
Within the configuration options, exclude files with certain extensions, download a specific address from a website and not all of it, eliminate the links included to other web pages, among many other configuration options. In addition, the application is translated into Spanish, so there is no problem configuring all the options we want when downloading complete or partial web pages.
HTTrack is available for free through the following link, where we find the WinHTTrack application corresponding to windows and with WebHTTrack, version compatible with linux. The version for Windows is compatible from Windows 2000 and works without problems in Windows 11, this being one of the best options available to download complete web pages.
Web2Disk
Web2Disk is a fantastic application to download web pages without complications, with no configuration options, we just have to enter the URL of the web we want to download and that’s it. The app automatically takes care of modifying internal links so that they are accessible offline.
Unlike other applications, Web2Disk not a free app since it has a price of 39.95 euros. This application is compatible from Windows XP SP2 onwards, it is available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions and requires 1 GB of RAM. Version 5 is currently available and we can try it for free for 30 days before buying it from its website.
