The Myth of Effortless Web Scraping: Why Web Scraping Chrome Extensions Aren't the Ultimate Solution

Contents

Introduction
Limitations of extensions
FAQ
Conclusions

Introduction:

Everybody wants data and everybody wants to find an easy and affordable way to scrape.

Any exceptions? None.

No wonder then why web scraping Chrome extensions have become so popular. They are an easy and free solution for scraping data from websites.

Do they solve the problem of getting data from all kinds of websites? Do they give you clean and actionable data?

If you wonder about these questions and more, you are not alone. Many have such concerns and queries.

So we have put together this short but insightful blog that answers all your questions about web scraping Chrome extensions.

This blog tells you about what these extensions can do for you and also throws light on their limitations. We will also tell you about the challenges that you may face if you decide to use it.

Be prepared to have a new perspective on web scraping Chrome extensions. It will enable you to make the right decisions about web scraping needs you have.

Let’s get started!

Unlocking the Limitations:

Technical Knowledge and Support:

Yes, Chrome extensions are DIY. Or at least, they are marketed so. But the fact is that setting it up requires a degree of technical knowledge. Yes, there are instructional videos. But the data does not lie-70% of extension users face difficulty in this regard when they try to set it up. You need to be prepared to do the troubleshooting on your own.
Ideal for One-time Scraping:

Do they work for long-term or ongoing projects? Nope. They are best suited for small-scale and one-time data extraction projects. If you need data to be scraped on a regular basis, it is not going to help beyond a point. For every task, you need to open the browser manually, use the extension, and start the data extraction process in this way. So it does not work on its own. This is a limitation if you have ongoing data extraction requirements.

Target Audience:

Yes, they work best for a particular kind of users- developers. Developers can use it for small-scale projects. It works for them because extensions are easy-to-use and let you learn the basics of web scraping. If you are a lay person, it is not for you. If you have complex requirements or need large quantities of data to be scrapped, you need to think of alternative solutions.

Browser Performance and Data Loss:

When you run a Chrome extension for a longer period of time for web scraping, the browser performance and functionality may be adversely affected. The browser may hang sometimes leading to data loss. You have to constantly watch it so that if there is any issue, you can address it. But the browser acting up or losing data is a real possibility.

Ideal for Small-Scale and Educational Purposes:

Yes, if you have a tiny little web scraping task like extracting a small chunk of data one time from some website, it may work. Or let’s say, you just want to explore and learn how web scraping works, you can use it for educational purposes. It is a good way to get exposure to web scraping this way. But for more serious efforts at data extraction and tackling more complex websites, you need more professional and systematic web scraping solutions.

Extension Developers and Commercial Interests:

You may think it’s free. But nothing is free on the web. Once you use it, these extensions will redirect you to the website of the company. They will try to convert you to paid plans for their cloud-based services. Nothing wrong with it but you should know that these services are way too expensive. They may not even provide the same kind of professional service or customer support like a proper web scraping service.

Learning Curve for Developers:

Don’t think for a moment that developers will have an easy time with these extensions. Tackling these extensions can be tricky and demanding at times. Developers may also need to be on their toes to adapt and learn. It will take its own time to understand how these extensions work.

Limited Website Compatibility:

Extensions can let you scrape a little bit of data here and there. Trying to scrape large quantities can get you blocked because around 90% of websites use anti-scraping mechanisms. It means you can scrape only a small number of pages. If you try to act smart, you can get blocked.

Page Scraping Time and Success Rate:

When you use a web scraping extension, it will take 10 seconds to 1 minute to scrape a single page. It is not necessary that you will succeed each time. Success rate is roughly 60 to 90%. So you may end up extracting around 6000 to 9000 pages out of 10000 that you need, depending on the complexity of the website.

Dependency on Website Structure:

If there are changes in the HTML structure or CSS classes, the extension may suffer in terms of its functionality. Expect 10-30 % pages of big websites to undergo changes in HTML structure on a regular basis. In effect, the extension will struggle to cope with the data extraction because of these regular changes in these big websites.
Data Cleaning and Manipulation:

While extensions may succeed to some extent in data extraction, they are not able to do the subsequent tasks required in the web scraping process such as data cleaning and manipulation. At times, the data you scrape is not ready-to-use in its current form. It requires additional cleaning and transformation so that it becomes accurate and usable. Extensions do not have functionalities for these aspects. So you have to find out other tools and use them to carry out these tasks and hope that these tools work. Alternatively, you will need programming knowledge to carry out these steps to clean the data. But not all users have programming knowledge. In any case, be prepared to carry out data cleaning on your own if you are planning to use a web scraping extension.

Dependency on Browser and Extension Updates:

Browsers themselves keep changing in terms of versions. So you are dependent on these browsers and changes that they undergo. Updates to Chrome extensions can also cause compatibility problems. As a result, you have to make adjustments or changes in your scraping process too. This adds an element of uncertainty and causes anxiety to you as a user.

Commonly asked questions about web scraping Chrome extensions

You may not need in-depth technical knowledge but you need to have a degree of technical skills to navigate a Chrome extension. You need to have an understanding of HTML and CSS, XPATH or CSS selectors, basic programming knowledge, troubleshooting skills and browser developer tools.

They are not ideal for you if you have large scale web scraping requirements. It is ideal for developers and those individuals looking for small-scale web scraping to be done. At best, it is a good way to learn and explore web scraping. For more extensive data extraction needs, you need to explore alternative web scraping solutions.

Chrome extensions are elementary tools designed for simple and straightforward web scraping tasks. For one time, you can afford to spare the time and energy to set up the scraper and run the scraper. For ongoing web scraping work, you can’t open the browser every time, run the scraper and monitor it. So it works for one-time web scraping requirement. For ongoing data extraction requirements, you need to look for a robust, automated alternative solution.

Chrome extensions can only extract data from simple web pages. But web scraping is not only about data extraction. You need to carry out cleaning and manipulation of data after extracting it. However, Chrome extensions do not offer any functionality for data cleaning and manipulation. So you need to rely on other tools and manage it on your own.

Conclusion

Web scraping Chrome extensions are elementary tools for extracting data from simple web pages. They can be used for one-time or small-scale web scraping tasks. You can use it to explore and learn the basics of web scraping. But these extensions have their limitations as well. It is important to understand the limitations and challenges which might arise before you get started.

Hope this blog helped clarify the pros and cons of web scraping Chrome extensions so that you can make informed decisions.

If you have complex web scraping requirements, it would be better to rely on comprehensive web scraping solutions which work best as alternatives to web scraping Chrome extensions.