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Free guides · 37 articles

The Web Scraping Playbook: Guides and Series

Free guides on scraping basics, anti-bot defenses, proxies, and the beginner series, plus benchmarks and field notes from production scraping.

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r/WebScrapingInsiderAMAs and industry insights from scraping teamsJoinWeb Scraping DiscordAsk questions and chat with other scrapersJoin
Web scraping for beginners series

From Your First Scraper to Production in 6 Parts

Each part covers Python Requests & BS4, Selenium, Node.js Cheerio, Puppeteer, and Playwright.

Start Part 1 →
  1. 1Part 1How To Build Your First ScraperBuild a scraper using Python Requests & BS4, Selenium, Node.js Cheerio, Puppeteer, and Playwright.
  2. 2Part 2Cleaning Dirty Data & Dealing With Edge CasesMake your scraper more robust and reliable.
  3. 3Part 3Storing Data in AWS S3, MySQL & Postgres DBsDifferent ways to store the data, their pros and cons, and when to use them.
  4. 4Part 4Managing Retries & ConcurrencyHandle failed requests and use concurrency to scale.
  5. 5Part 5Faking User-Agents & Browser HeadersMake your scrapers look more like real users.
  6. 6Part 6Using Proxies To Avoid Getting BlockedBypass anti-bot systems by hiding your real IP address and location.
More playbooks

Playbooks for Your Language and Framework

In-depth guides for the tools you already scrape with.

ScrapeOps Playbook
Python Web Scraping
Requests, BeautifulSoup, concurrency and getting past blocks in Python.Open playbook →
ScrapeOps Playbook
Node.js Web Scraping
Axios, Cheerio and headless browsers for scraping in JavaScript.Open playbook →
ScrapeOps Playbook
Scrapy Web Scraping
Spiders, middlewares, pipelines and deploying Scrapy at scale.Open playbook →
ScrapeOps Playbook
Selenium Web Scraping
Driving real browsers with Selenium for JavaScript-heavy sites.Open playbook →
ScrapeOps Playbook
Puppeteer Web Scraping
Headless Chrome scraping, waits, interactions and stealth with Puppeteer.Open playbook →
ScrapeOps Playbook
Playwright Web Scraping
Cross-browser scraping, selectors and network control with Playwright.Open playbook →
Guides by topic

Browse the Playbook

01

Web Scraping Benchmarks

Head-to-head tests of proxy APIs and stealth browsers.

Proxy API Browser Fingerprinting BenchmarkFrom Bright Data to Zenrows, we tested the browser fingerprinting skills all the best Proxy APIs to find out who really has optimized their browser fingerprints for stealthy scraping.→
02

Web Scraping Insights & Trends

Trends, market data and the economics shaping web scraping.

Scraping Shock: Why Web Data Is Getting Too Expensive to ScrapeScraping Shock is reshaping web scraping economics. As proxies get cheaper, successful scraping gets more expensive.→The Proxy Paradox: Why Cheaper Proxies Are Making Web Scraping More ExpensiveHow web scraping got harder, even as proxies got cheaper? The Proxy Paradox is reshaping the economics of web scraping.→The State of Web Scraping 2025What are the biggest trends and developments in web scraping? What does 2025 likely have in store for web scraping?→Web Scraping Market Report 2025This report dives into the numbers, trends, and challenges shaping the web scraping market in 2025, offering insights for businesses, developers, and investors navigating this high-growth sector.→Why Y Combinator's Investments Reveal the Future of Web Scraping & AIHow YC's recent backing of web data startups suggests a shift toward mainstream data extraction, why AI is fueling it, and what the next decade of web scraping might look like.→The State of Web Scraping 2022What are the biggest trends and developments in web scraping? What does 2022 likely have in store for web scraping?→
03

The Scraper’s Journal

Experiments we ran ourselves, with the raw results.

We Tested 1,200 Free Proxies - Only ~2% Actually Worked (Here's the Data)If you’re considering using free proxies for any serious project—scraping, data collection, or anonymity then read on for our findings.→We Use 5 Different Methods to Scrape 82 Different Sites -- Here's Who Blocked Us (and Who Didn't)Web scraping anti-bot defenses - What actually works? We tested 5 request methods across 82 websites, measuring block rates, CAPTCHAs, and JS challenges.→
04

Web Scraping Basics

What web scraping is and how it differs from crawling.

What Is Web Scraping? A Beginner's Guide On How To Get StartedWeb scraping is a polarising topic, so in this guide we discuss everything you need to know about web scraping.→The Differences of Web Scraping Vs Web Crawling ExplainedLearn the differences between web scraping and web crawling, and how to combine them both.→
05

Residential & Mobile Proxies

Where residential and mobile IPs come from and what they cost.

Residential Proxies Explained: How You Can Scrape Without Getting BlockedResidential proxies are proxies that use residential networks to scrape data, and have exploded in popularity over the last few years.→Where Do Residential & Mobile Proxies Come From?Learn about the 5 main ways proxy providers get their residential & mobile proxies: Free VPNs, Proxy SDKs In Apps & Chrome Extensions, Paid Bandwidth Products, Device Proxy Farms, and Proxy Reselling.→The Crazy Economics of Residential & Mobile ProxiesBuilding your own residential or mobile proxy network can be very profitable, but using Embedded App & Chrome Extension SDKs can take your profitability to insane levels.→
06

Bans, Anti-Bots & CAPTCHAs

Avoid CAPTCHAs, bans and blocks with better requests.

Web Scraping Without Getting BlockedLearn how to scrape websites without getting blocked by CAPTCHAs, Bans, and other anti-bot protections.→Web Scraping Guide: Headers & User-Agents Optimization ChecklistLearn how to optimize your headers and user-agents to scrape websites without getting blocked.→
07

Anti-Bot Bypasses

Getting past Cloudflare, PerimeterX, DataDome and more.

How To Bypass Cloudflare When Web Scraping (2026)Compare 8 bypass methods with benchmark results — smart proxies, TLS impersonation, FlareSolverr, and fortified browsers.→7 Best AI Web Scraping Tools (2026)Hands-on comparison of Firecrawl, Crawl4AI, ScrapeGraphAI, and other AI scrapers for developers and no-code teams.→How To Bypass PerimeterX in 2026Learn how to bypass PerimeterX's anti-bot protection so you can reliably scrape PerimeterX protected websites.→How To Bypass DataDome in 2026Learn how to bypass DataDome's anti-bot protection so you can reliably scrape DataDome protected websites.→
08

Cloudflare

Fixing the Cloudflare errors scrapers hit most often.

How To Bypass Cloudflare When Web Scraping (2026)Compare 8 bypass methods with benchmark results — smart proxies, TLS impersonation, FlareSolverr, and fortified browsers.→Cloudflare Error 1015: How To Bypass Rate LimitingIn this guide, we'll cover the essential steps to resolve Cloudflare Error 1015 using Puppeteer.→Cloudflare Error 1020: How To Bypass Denied AccessIn this guide, you'll learn how to solve the Cloudflare error 1020, both for normal users and web scrapers.→
09

Web Scraping DevOps

Logging, alerting and scheduling scrapers in production.

Mastering Web Scraper Logging and Alerts with ELK StackLearn how to use the ELK stack to monitor your web scrapers and get alerts when they fail.→Web Scraping With Celery & RabbitMQ - How to Run Thousands of Scrapers Without Losing Your MindLearn how to set up a robust task queue that can handle hundreds or even thousands of scraping jobs, without forcing you to burn the midnight oil.→
10

Web Scraping Resources & Communities

Books, subreddits, Discords and communities worth joining.

The 5 Best Web Scraping Books 2023Here are the 5 best web scraping books for 2023 that you can use to learn web scraping or take your skills to the next level.→The Best Web Scraping Communities Every Web Scraper Should Know AboutGet your questions answered and stay up to date with the latest web scraping trends with these web scraping communities.→The 7 Best Web Scraping SubRedditsCheck out one of the best web scraping subreddits to stay up to date on everything web scraping and get your questions answered.→The Best Web Scraping Discord ServersJoin one of the best web scraping discord server to stay up to date on everything web scraping and get your questions answered.→
11

Web Scraping Legality & Ethics

The case for and against web scraping, and how to do it ethically.

The Ethics of Web ScrapingIs web scraping unethical? The case for web scraping and the case against, and how to be an ethical web scraper.→
12

Common Web Scraping Issues

Debugging the errors that stop scrapers working.

How To Solve 403 Forbidden Errors When Web ScrapingIn this guide, we walk through how to debug and solve 403 Forbidden errors when web scraping or crawling.→
How to scrape series

Website Scraping Guides

Step-by-step guides on how to scrape popular websites using Python, Selenium, Puppeteer, and more.

All website teardowns →
How to scrapeAmazon

Scrape Amazon product listings, prices, reviews, and seller information at scale.

LanguagesPythonNode.js
LibrariesBS4SeleniumPuppeteer
How to scrapeGoogle Search

Extract search results, rankings, featured snippets, and related queries from Google.

LanguagesPythonNode.js
LibrariesBS4SeleniumPuppeteer
How to scrapeWalmart

Collect Walmart product data, pricing, availability, and customer reviews.

LanguagesPython
LibrariesBS4Selenium
How to scrapeLinkedIn Jobs

Scrape job listings, company data, and employment trends from LinkedIn.

LanguagesPythonNode.js
LibrariesBS4SeleniumPuppeteer
How to scrapeLinkedIn Profiles

Extract professional profiles, skills, experience, and connections data.

LanguagesPythonNode.js
LibrariesBS4Puppeteer
How to scrapeIndeed

Gather job postings, salary data, company reviews, and hiring trends.

LanguagesPython
LibrariesBS4Selenium
How to scrapeGoogle Maps

Extract business listings, reviews, ratings, and location data from Google Maps.

LanguagesPython
LibrariesBS4Requests
How to scrapeGoogle Reviews

Collect business reviews, ratings, and customer feedback from Google.

LanguagesPython
LibrariesBS4Selenium
How to scrapeYelp

Scrape business listings, reviews, ratings, and local business intelligence.

LanguagesPythonNode.js
LibrariesSeleniumPuppeteer
How to scrapeZillow

Extract real estate listings, property values, and housing market data.

LanguagesPython
LibrariesBS4Selenium
How to scrapeRedfin

Collect property listings, home values, and real estate market insights.

LanguagesPython
LibrariesBS4Selenium
How to scrapeAirbnb

Scrape rental listings, pricing, availability, and host information.

LanguagesPython
LibrariesBS4Selenium
How to scrapeTikTok

Extract video data, user profiles, trending content, and engagement metrics.

LanguagesPython
LibrariesBS4Selenium
How to scrapeReddit

Collect posts, comments, user data, and subreddit trends.

LanguagesPythonNode.js
LibrariesBS4SeleniumPuppeteer
How to scrapePinterest

Scrape pins, boards, user profiles, and visual content metadata.

LanguagesPythonNode.js
LibrariesBS4SeleniumPuppeteer
How to scrapeTrustpilot

Extract business reviews, ratings, and customer sentiment analysis data.

LanguagesPythonNode.js
LibrariesBS4SeleniumPuppeteer
How to scrapeG2

Collect software reviews, ratings, comparisons, and market intelligence.

LanguagesPythonNode.js
LibrariesBS4SeleniumPuppeteer
How to scrapeCapterra

Scrape software reviews, comparisons, and business software market data.

LanguagesPython
LibrariesBS4Requests
How to scrapeeBay

Extract auction listings, product data, pricing trends, and seller info.

LanguagesPython
LibrariesBS4Selenium
How to scrapeEtsy

Collect handmade product listings, shop data, and marketplace trends.

LanguagesPython
LibrariesBS4Selenium
How to scrapeTarget

Scrape product listings, pricing, inventory, and promotional data.

LanguagesPython
LibrariesBS4Requests
How to scrapeBest Buy

Extract electronics listings, prices, reviews, and product specifications.

LanguagesPython
LibrariesBS4Requests
How to scrapeNordstrom

Collect fashion product data, pricing, and inventory information.

LanguagesPython
LibrariesBS4Requests
How to scrapeGoogle Play

Scrape app listings, reviews, ratings, and developer information.

LanguagesPython
LibrariesBS4Selenium
How to scrapeQuora

Extract Q&A content, user expertise, and topic trends.

LanguagesPython
LibrariesBS4Selenium
How to scrapeBing

Collect search results, rankings, and SERP data from Bing.

LanguagesPython
LibrariesBS4Requests
How to scrapeSimilarWeb

Scrape website traffic data, rankings, and competitive intelligence.

LanguagesPython
LibrariesBS4Selenium
How to scrapeLeboncoin

Extract French marketplace listings, prices, and seller information.

LanguagesPython
LibrariesBS4Selenium
How to scrapeImmobilienscout24

Collect German real estate listings, property data, and market trends.

LanguagesPython
LibrariesBS4Selenium

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