Use Case

Web Archiving

General-purpose web page archiving for research, reference, and historical preservation. Capture and preserve any webpage with API-driven automation.

Overview

The web is ephemeral. Pages change, sites go down, and content disappears. Researchers, librarians, and archivists need programmatic tools to preserve web content for future reference and historical study.

Screenshotly provides a web archive API for capturing any webpage on demand or schedule. Full-page captures with high resolution preserve every detail. Timestamps and metadata document exactly when the capture occurred. Unlike the Wayback Machine, you control when and what gets archived, and the captures are yours to keep.

Use it to build reference collections, document research sources, preserve project snapshots, or create your own historical archive. Schedule recurring captures or trigger on-demand via API—ideal for website archiving automation at any scale.

Key Benefits

Preserve web pages for research and reference

Schedule recurring captures on any cadence

Full-page capture with pixel-perfect fidelity

Build searchable historical archives

Results You Can Expect

100%

content fidelity

Timestamped

every capture dated

Any cadence

hourly to monthly schedules

How It Works

Identify URLs you want to preserve (research sources, project pages, reference material)

Configure capture settings: full page, high quality, AI removal disabled

Store captures with complete metadata (URL, timestamp, hash)

Organize into collections using tags, folders, or a database index

Schedule recurring captures to track how pages change over time

Code Example

// Archive webpage
const response = await fetch('https://api.screenshotly.app/screenshot', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    url: 'https://news-site.com/article',
    device: 'desktop',
    format: 'png',
    fullPage: true,
    delay: 3000,
  }),
});

Frequently Asked Questions

How long are web archive screenshots legally valid?

Legal validity depends on jurisdiction, but timestamped screenshots with metadata (URL, date, HTTP headers) are widely accepted as evidence. Pair captures with hash checksums and store in tamper-proof storage for maximum legal weight.

Can I archive dynamic or JavaScript-heavy pages?

Yes. Screenshotly uses a real Chromium browser engine that fully renders JavaScript, AJAX content, and dynamic elements before capturing. Use the delay or waitForNetworkIdle option to ensure all content is loaded.

How do I schedule recurring web archive captures?

Use a cron job, GitHub Actions schedule, or workflow tools like Zapier and n8n to trigger daily or weekly API calls. Store each capture with its timestamp and URL for a complete historical record.

What format is best for archival screenshots?

PNG provides lossless quality and is the safest choice for archival. For large-scale archiving where storage costs matter, WebP offers 30-50% smaller files with near-lossless quality. PDF is best when you need selectable text.

Want a step-by-step walkthrough?

Read: Website Archival & Compliance Guide →

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