Most of us are not acquainted with the term “scraping”
Many people are speaking about web scraping as well as how companies use it in different situations. This might be a new term for you, but believe it or not, you have probably used it without even noticing it. Unfortunately, most of us are not familiar with all these kinds of terms especially when it comes to IT terms. However, we would like to explain how web scraping works and surely you’ll realize that you have used it at some point in your life.
There are many reasons for scraping information on the web
We all have filled out an Excel listing manually just by copying and pasting all the information. When we use Excel and just copy/paste, it becomes a tedious and boring activity and it also takes a lot of time to complete the task. We are talking about this because web scraping works similarly. It is a technique that automatically extracts data from a website that is later stored somewhere else. Of course, it is not about extracting information and pasting it into Excel. When it comes to escaping, this information is extracted (copied) and stored (pasted) in a server. The tools which are designed to automatically extract all kinds of information are known as scrapers. These tools are useful for any person or company who wants to collect data from a specific web page. There are several ways to use web scraping and the most common are the following:
- Extract data, contacts, and emails
- Extract titles and contents from a blog
- Create a channel on a website
- Follow and compare prices of different products as well as learning about new trends
Easy to use scraping tools
The tools used for web scraping are easy to use and do not require great knowledge which is the main reason why anyone can do it at any time. This is one of the best techniques to save time regarding data collection. Just as it happens with any other tool, scrapers also have pros and cons. Unfortunately when you are requesting data that is too complex, the scraper can fail and you will not be able to get what you are looking for. To avoid this, you can use the following tools which are considered the most recognized web scraping ones. These were specially designed for people who do not have much knowledge about programming.
- import.io: This is one of the best web scraping tools because it is easy to set up and to use. It allows you to create your datasets to import URLs and you can also extract content from blogs as well as product description including prices.
- Mozenda: This is known as one of the fastest and most complete tools. It is a tool that all the companies need to retrieve data from charts and store it in their servers.
- Dexi.io: This is probably one of the favorite tools used nowadays. With Dexi.io you won´t have limits to extract any type of information from the website. Something that makes this tool special is that you can use it with others such as spiders and bots.
- Salestools.io: This was specially designed for marketing and sales. It can extract all kinds of personal information such as email, phone number, and social network accounts. It is a useful and easy to use tool that integrates with any type of system.
- Hunter.io: It is the perfect tool to scrape emails. This is an email finder that provides a list of company contacts.
- Parsehub.com: This is an excellent tool, not only to extract page data from any website but also to gather more complex information. It is easy to use and you don’t need to program anything. Just with a simple click, Parsehub.com will start extracting information and classifying it. You only need to download the application and install it on your computer. The good news is that it has a free trial which you can later use in monthly payments.
As you can see several web scraping tools are easy to use and can be installed in a matter of minutes. However, if you are looking for professionals who can guide through web-scraping, you can contact zenscrape. We are a professional team that provides unique tools and services to make your web scraping experience easier and more effective. Do not hesitate, contact us today and rest assured that you will be in professional hands.