3 Answers To The 3 Greatest Misconceptions About Web Scraping

It is normal to have misconceptions. You know, once upon a time, you used to believe there is a scary devil behind the door when it is dark. What’s not normal is when you don’t seek answers to your misconceptions? 

Web scraping is one of those topics that people get wrong. When they start discussing it, especially if the person is a non-programmer, they speak outside the fence. 

Do you also believe you need to know about programming before you can scrape? Or do you think the data will be well structured after scraping without the help of a provider like Zenscrape? 

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You Think It Is Illegal 

Well, what is the definition again? Web scraping means you are extracting data from a website. It is very legal.

Of course, but there are situations where you might cross the line, perhaps unknowingly. It is legal if you use the data for good and the legality becomes doubtful when you put the data to use for bad causes. The process is not illegal but the use can be illegal. For instance, once you have access to the data from a website using Zenscrape, what you do with the data will answer the question of is it legal or illegal.

Think About What Google Or Bing Does With Web Scraping

You must have heard that Google indexes website based on certain criteria. This is like getting data from a website using Zenscrape. After the search engine’s web scrawler go over a site, it uses the data to rank the website. Google uses the same process but what it does with the data is well appreciated. Many people have been playing to certain rules to get favorable results from their crawler. 

Talking about illegality, getting the data can also be illegal if you scrape private data. An example of private data is data you can only access with signing up, data protected by a password or a warning is placed on it. Although, you might be accused in this case, getting the data is unethical.

You Must Be Good At Coding

Although been a badass programmer can be a good thing, you don’t need to be one before you start scraping. People who tell you this thing isn’t familiar with the world of web scraping. They haven’t heard about great web scraping tools like Zenscrape. 

You can scrape without having to learn code but it is in your best interest if you do. The process of web scraping is a difficult, dynamic and ever-changing one. The data you will get at times might jumbled, un-sorted, and with the help of coding could you improve on them to make good use of them. Coding helps you manage the labor-intensive process of scraping data, to manage the accuracy in results you will get and generally give a better choice when finding useful data. 

You will get data with the help of tools. like Zenscrape, but you will make excellent use of the data with coding skills.

Web Scraping Should Be Cheap 

Everyone is doing it — from big dogs to small businesses. In this age and time, the need for data is extremely high, accurate and specific data being the necessity for scalability and business success. Therefore, since everyone is doing web scraping, the process should be cheap. No, you are wrong. 

If you have been on the working desk doing web scraping, you will know it is not an easy and sweet process. Many companies have come to terms with this reality and have sought to hire providers who could help. Now, do a quick search on Google right now. Type ‘the cost of web scraping services ‘ and see what comes up. The prices will vary with providers, and great service will cost more. It won’t be cheap.

Before you ask a vendor about the price of your project, try to understand accurately the complexity of it. Some might capitalize on your lack of knowledge to reap you off. Also, you should prefer trusted vendors which other users have had a good experience with just like many have good experience with Zenscrape. This will ensure you get viable data every time and you can get other services like processing the scrape data to meet your system’s requirements. 

But you don’t have to worry about the cost. It is like putting a huge amount of money in the bank. It is safe to invest in web scraping. The reward is always greater than the input.

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