Updated on Aug 11, 2024
A scrolling screenshot captures an entire webpage and offers several advantages over fixed-size screenshots. This guide discusses how to take a scrolling screenshot in Chrome using Page Speed Plus without having to install a Chrome extension.
A simple screenshot will give you an image of the visible area on your screen. This fails to capture the area below the fold so only a small percentage of the content is included.
Scrolling screenshots go further to solve this problem and capture the entire page instead of just the viewport by performing the necessary scrolling actions all the way to the end of the page as a real user would.
This is much better than a traditional screenshot function where you’d have to take a series of screenshots and then stitch these back together in another tool. Using PageSpeed Plus, you can take a screenshot of all the content in a single click and receive a PNG file download.
Page Speed Plus currently captures screenshots for public web pages only. Support for private documents such as pages behind login, email exchanges, messages and documents is coming soon.
Taking a scrolling screenshot in Chrome is easy with our free tool by following these steps:
The standard version of PageSpeed Plus offers the option to capture screenshots from multiple locations, including Dublin, London, Frankfurt, Montreal, Sydney, Tokyo, São Paulo, Virginia, Ohio, California and Oregon. The premium tool covers additional locations and shows your capture history so screenshots can be accessed at a later date.
PageSpeed Plus has servers equipped with Puppeteer which is a headless web browser, We use that to visit the specified URL, take a screenshot of the whole page and then store this on AWS S3.
Once your screenshot has been captured, you’ll have access to the URL to see the image.
The main benefits of using scrolling screenshots include:
Capture the full picture
The most significant benefit of a scrolling screenshot is the opportunity to capture the entire page. This is advantageous for web developers and designers, marketers and sales teams who want to take screenshots of multiple images, step-by-step instructions, reviews or data sets.
Another key benefit of taking the full picture rather than several standard screenshots is ensuring you save the full page. If you take lots of individual screenshots, there’s always a risk of missing some of the content.
Verify website content
The content of a web page often needs to change depending on location. A scrolling screenshot allows users to see all content on a page to check if the correct information is showing to the correct users.
Technical debugging
Seeing the full content of a page is useful for developers when optimising for fast loading times. It’s good practice to only load assets that are visible in the viewport and load the rest as users scroll.
Testing this is possible with a full page screenshot. This technique is called lazy loading and is discussed in our post on how to Reduce The Impact of Third Party Code.
Make analyzing and reading content simple
If you’ve ever tried to sew multiple screenshots together mentally, you’re probably aware that it can be difficult to analyze and read fragmented content. Scrolling screenshots make it simple and stress-free to read web pages, which in turn makes it easier to evaluate data, follow instructions or read large chunks of text. With PageSpeed Plus, there’s no need to waste time putting the pieces of the jigsaw together.
Superior design
For web designers and developers, it’s hugely beneficial to see the full layout of a page when working on new themes and styles. With a scrolling screenshot, it’s easy to see which elements work, maintain consistency and make improvements. You can also review designs effectively and test different ideas before the site goes live.
Competitor research
If you are a business owner, marketer, web designer or developer, it’s crucial to be aware of your competitors and keep up to speed with what they’re doing to attract customers. Using scrolling screenshots is an excellent way to analyze competitor websites and access valuable information. You can use competitor research to help you make decisions about your website design and modernize your marketing strategy.
Efficient research
If you’re studying, your job involves research, or you’re compiling reports, it’s much easier to read documents using full-page screenshots. You can archive websites, magazines or journals to help you find specific pages or data sources at a later date and you have easy access to references to support statements and ensure source integrity. Often, research involves reading and sifting through documents and assignments with tens or even hundreds of pages. A single screenshot is so much easier to read, digest and analyze than hundreds of different screenshots.
Make content easier to access for web users
Scrolling screenshots are brilliant for tutorials, how-to guides and recipes. If you produce this kind of content, full-page screenshots are more accessible to prospective customers and subscribers.
Scrolling screenshots capture an entire web page offering an efficient, easy-to-use alternative to multiple screenshots that only take the content visible on your screen. PageSpeed Plus offers an innovative tool that provides access to full-page shots in seconds. This unlocks several including enhanced web development and design, more efficient research, providing easy access to web content and making competitor analysis and research a breeze.
If you want to take a scrolling screenshot in Chrome, visit Full Page Screenshot tool now and bookmark it for future use.