How to take a screenshot of a whole web page: The 3 most effective techniques

Do you need to photograph an entire web page? In this article I show you 3 simple and effective ways to take screenshots of a web page from start to finish, just like an online visitor sees it.

Taking a screenshot is the best solution to save on your PC what is visible on the monitor. But are you need to take pictures of an entire web page? In this article I show you 3 simple and effective ways to make a screenshot of a web page from start to finish, exactly as you see it online.

The technique is important: Screenshot vs Print

You just have to visit the web page that interests you and select File > Print, and choose “Microsoft Print to PDF” (if it is present) or “Microsoft XPS Document Writer” (if the choice is not available before).

In MacOS, click the “PDF” button in the Print window. Windows 10, MacOS, and many browsers allow you to “print” any page in a PDF file. Older versions of Windows allowed to “print” any type of XPS file, a sort of alternative to PDF.

That said, why take a screenshot of an entire web page? Would not it be easy enough to press Ctrl + P, click on “Edit”, then “Save as PDF” and convert a web page to a PDF or XPS file?

Screenshot of an entire web page: What are the advantages?

If the PDF format is a good solution for documents, it has an inherent flaw when it comes to saving a web page on the PC. Regardless of the program you use to create a document, the above technique (Ctrl + P) will work like a virtual printer.

So the defects present during the conversion to PDF will also appear in the document created by the virtual printer (an incorrect alignment, ads superimposed on the text, etc.).

Also, if the site in question has a specific “printable version” to reduce the problems mentioned above, it means that you are not saving the web page as it appears, but only the formatted version for printing. When you use a program to make the screenshot of the screen, you’re photographing, pixel by pixel, exactly what you see on the monitor.

Not only can it be useful as a document filing system, as you will get a 1:1 scale representation of the web page, but you will also be able to show other people how the page you are interested in is presented in reality.

Now let’s take a look at 3 techniques that you can use to take a screenshot of an entire web page in a single screen: a full screen photo program, a browser plugin, and a very simple web service that almost always works and everywhere.

1) Take a screenshot of an entire web page with a third-party program

Almost all operating systems have an “official” tool to take a picture of the screen, but it is normally very basic and far too minimal. It’s more than enough to take screenshots of some portions of the screen, but it does not have the advanced options needed to save an entire web page.

Fortunately there are many third-party tools that, by scrolling the web page, capture the various screens to merge them into a continuous image.

The tool I’ve been using for years, FastStone Capture (For Windows, costs $20), has this feature. Simply click on the toolbar button or press Ctrl + Alt + PrtScn.

Note: you can still download the free version of FastStone Capture from The Portable Collection freeware (although this version does not have the latest features, it allows you to take a picture of the scrolling web page).

Screenpresso (For Windows, free) is another small software that features this feature, as well as the most popular SnagIt program (Windows / Mac, price $50). A trial version is also available.

2)  Take a screenshot of an entire web page with a browser plugin

Programs to make a screenshot of the screen are great if you use them regularly, but if you only need to save web pages from time to time, it makes more sense to use an integrated tool in the browser: a plugin.

Actually there are many extensions, and personally I really enjoyed Nimbus Review. It’s free, it’s available for Google Chrome and Firefox, and has a nice clean and streamlined interface. Among other things, it is very easy to use. With a click you can decide whether to acquire only a portion of the monitor or the whole page. You can also decide to register your activity on the desktop. In addition, you can easily save the image on your PC when you’re done or upload it to a Cloud service.

3)  Take a screenshot of an entire web page with a web service

Do you need to do a screen only once? For example for your boss? In this case it is not necessary to install any software on the PC or browser plugins.

As long as the web page in question is accessible to the public, you can use an online service such as CtrlQ.org (free) or a similar tool, Web-Capture .net. Both work well enough, but Web-Capture has a double advantage to keep in mind.

First of all it allows you to specify the format of the image, also supports acquisition through bookmarklet (so you can insert a link in the toolbar of the browser to access the screenshot service).

How to reset the printer?

In case of problems follow these steps recommended by the official Microsoft forum:

1) Connect the printer to the PC and turn it on

2) Run the diagnostic tool

If the problem persists, the problem is probably the drivers.

• From the Control Panel select Devices and Printers.
• Select your printer and then click Remove device
• Repeat also for the scanner
• If Windows does not find and install the drivers automatically, you must visit the manufacturer’s website and check the availability of updated drivers compatible with Windows 10.

To set the printer as default on Edge, you need …

• Open Edge and go to the desired page
• Click on More Actions
• Select Print
• Under the printer item, make sure that the desired printer has been selected
• Click on Save