Frequently Asked Questions About Website Scraping

Website scraping, being a relatively new technological trend that is driving the big data revolution in the business space, still remains a mystery to many.

While many people are unsure about the ethical and legal implications of using scraping, some are unfamiliar with its intricacies and rely on unreliable tools to get the job done.

As a fully managed website scraping service provider, we are familiar with the burning questions in the field of web scraping, especially among beginners. We decided to gather and answer some of the common scraping questions we hear from our clients.

1. Is Scraping Legal?

Scraping is as legal as viewing a web page with a browser, and is no different from browsing the target site. Most websites on the surface web (the part of the internet accessible to search engines) allow scraping, meaning you can extract data from them using an automated crawler. The only thing to ensure is that the site allows bots through directives in the robots.txt file.

2. Can You Use Scraping for Lead Generation?

Using scrapers for lead generation is a legitimate activity. Email address lists that you can collect by browsing sites are likely to be real. They will be contacts of a specific site, which is usually the contact of the legal entity that owns the site.

3. Can You Scrape VK or OD?

VK and OD are two very popular social networks, and many people are interested in obtaining data from them. Despite numerous blocks and anti-scraping protections, in some cases it is a viable tool, but remember that collecting personal data in Russia without consent is prohibited.

4. Can You Extract Data from the Entire Internet?

There is no company or software that can accomplish this feat. Even Yandex, the most popular search engine in Russia, can only crawl a significantly smaller portion of the internet, known as the surface web. If you're interested in obtaining data through scraping, it's best to first identify a set of relevant source websites.

5. Which Tool Is Best for Scraping?

Most DIY tools for data scraping are built for small-scale data extraction cases. Given the non-standard nature of the internet, it's impossible to create a one-size-fits-all tool for scraping specific data, such as prices. Most "do-it-yourself" tools will fail when it comes to dynamic websites using complex coding techniques.

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6. Can You Scrape Instagram?

Instagram has its own API through which it provides tweet data to users. It is possible to access this data programmatically and automate its extraction. Data from Instagram can be used for many purposes, such as sentiment analysis, brand monitoring, and predictive analytics.

7. Can You Extract Data from Multilingual Websites?

Scraping and extracting data from a non-Russian website works exactly the same as from any other site, except that it will be difficult for you to understand the data fields that need to be extracted if you do not know the relevant language. At ESK Solutions, we have already scraped websites in Chinese, German, Japanese, French, Korean, and Finnish.

8. Which Programming Language Is Best for Website Scraping?

The best programming language is the one you are already familiar with, since you can create a scraper using most programming languages. You may also be able to find ready-made frameworks written in the language you prefer. If you are new to programming, Python is an excellent candidate and particularly convenient for scraping.

9. Can You Republish Content Extracted via Scraping?

Republishing content that belongs to others must be done with the consent of the content owner. Although you can view and extract text content from sites that allow bot usage, you must use this data in a way that does not infringe on the publisher's copyright.

10. Can You Scrape Data Behind a Login Page?

You can scrape data behind a login page if you have a functional account on the respective site. After logging in, scraping works exactly the same as without authentication. However, data available exclusively to site users may have additional terms of use, and you are obligated to follow them.

Still Have Questions About Scraping?

We hope we have answered some of the most popular questions related to scraping and its use. If you have a question that still remains unanswered, please send it to us, and we will do our best to clarify it for you.