Who said you need technical skills to extract data from a website? You can do it in just a few clicks with Instant Data Scraper.
But how is this possible, and how does it work exactly? In this article, we invite you to discover together How does Instant Data Scraper work?.
How does the Instant Data Scraper engine work?
Instant Data Scraper is a web scraping extension integrated into Chrome. It allows you to’extract structured data (tables, lists, directories) on a web page without coding.
👉 It is a simple scraping tool which works directly from Google Chrome. All scraping operations (locating, extracting, light processing) are performed locally in the browser.
Here's how it works:
🧩 Analysis of the site's DOM structure
Instant Data Scraper analyzes the site structure (DOM Tree) to identify repeated data on the page.
When you open the extension, it «reads» the web page to understand how the data is organized.
Instant Data Scraper notices elements that are repeated (e.g., rows in a table, product listings on an e-commerce site). It then deduces the best way to retrieve this data automatically.
🔍 The principle of «Guessing»
Instant Data Scraper also relies on an intelligent system of automatic detection (nicknamed «Guessing ").
This system allows it to intelligently detect relevant data. Next, the extension analyze the page and attempts to automatically guess the most interesting data to extract.
No need to configure anything: Instant Data Scraper directly generates a data table based on the elements it finds!
And if the result isn't what you're looking for, no problem! Just click on the button. «Try another table» to test another automatic detection.
To learn more, check out our article How to use Instant Data Scraper?
Instant Data Scraper: a tool designed for what needs?
Instant Data Scraper is the ideal solution for small scraping projects.
Here are some perfect use cases for this web scraping extension :
- 💰 Simple price search: extract prices or products from an e-commerce site.
- 📞 Contact extraction: names, emails, directory links, company lists, etc.
- 📊 Analysis of public data: lists published online (institutions, open databases, rankings, etc.).
⚠️ Instant Data Scraper can only collect visible and structured data.
You will therefore not be able to use it to recover:
- ❌ Information requiring a login (protected by username),
- ❌ Data dynamically generated by complex scripts,
- ❌ Data distributed across highly complex site trees (beyond simple pagination).
What are the advanced features of Instant Data Scraper?
Instant Data Scraper offers several advanced features that facilitate the process of web scraping.
Smart pagination
On many websites, data is spread across several pages (e.g., 50 products displayed on 5 pages).
Thanks to the «Locate next button» feature», Instant Data Scraper allows you to automatically navigate through these pages and collect data effortlessly!
👉 Here's how it works:
- You click on «Locate next button».
- Select the «next» on the page.
- Instant Data Scraper will save this button.
The extension will then automatically go to the following pages to retrieve all the data.
Export and light customization
Once the data has been extracted, Instant Data Scraper allows you to:
- ✅ Export them to CSV or Excel (XLSX)
- ✅ Delete or rename columns before exporting them
- ✅ Copy/paste data directly into a spreadsheet
You'll be able to do a little sorting before working with the data!
In conclusion, Instant Data Scraper is a truly simple and practical to quickly retrieve data from web pages. You can even’install on your browser in just a few clicks!
Have you ever tried Instant Data Scraper? If so, what type of website did you find it most effective on? Share your experiences in the comments!
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