How to archive a website: Wayback Machine and your own copy
October 31, 2026 · 3 min read
To archive a website, combine a public copy with your own. Submit important pages to the Wayback Machine’s Save Page Now so anyone can find them later. To keep a whole site offline, download it with a site copier such as HTTrack. For pages you may need as proof, such as terms, prices or a receipt, also save your own dated PDF or image of each page.
How to archive a website: three ways
| Method | What it saves | Who holds the copy |
|---|---|---|
| Wayback Machine, Save Page Now | One page at a time, publicly viewable | Internet Archive |
| HTTrack site copy | The whole site’s files, browsable offline | You |
| Full-page PDF or image | Each page exactly as it looked | You |
Save pages to the Wayback Machine
The Internet Archive’s help page describes Save Page Now: put the page’s URL into the form at archive.org/web, press the button, and the page is saved. Keep its limits in mind:
- It saves “a single page, not the whole site”, and it doesn’t save the pages it links to.
- Some sites prohibit crawling, and some security settings make capturing fail.
- Submissions are anonymous; the Archive says it doesn’t keep your IP address.
Repeat it for each page you want preserved, for example the home page, pricing and terms.
Download a whole website with HTTrack
HTTrack is free software (GPL) that downloads a site to a local folder, keeping its links so you can browse it offline. It can also update an existing copy and resume interrupted downloads. WinHTTrack runs on Windows; WebHTTrack is the version for macOS and Linux.
Only copy sites you have the right to copy, and keep the crawl small: downloading a large site can put load on someone else’s server.
Keep your own dated copies
A public archive can be missing the page you need, or show a version from a different day. For anything you might need to prove, keep your own copy at the moment you see it. Save it as PDF or as a full-page image and include the date in the file name. For other formats, see how to save a web page.
In Chrome, Full page screenshot captures a whole page as PDF, PNG or JPG. Before saving, you can give the file a name, for example with the date, and every capture stays in History. It saves what you see in your browser, so it works for pages you’re logged into, which public archives can’t reach.
If you only need a printable document, saving a whole webpage as a PDF in Chrome also works.
Questions people ask
Is the Wayback Machine free?
Yes. Save Page Now is a free form at archive.org/web, and the Archive says submissions are anonymous.
Can I archive a whole website with the Wayback Machine?
Not with Save Page Now: it saves one page and none of its links. For a whole site, use a site copier such as HTTrack.
How do I archive a page that needs a login?
Public archives can’t see pages behind a login. Save your own PDF or full-page screenshot while you’re logged in.