The demand for web scraping is increasing more over the years. Web scraping is all about collecting data from different websites to understand competitor strategies, gain insights into customer needs, and generate more leads. It provides businesses with helpful data for better decision-making. That is why companies rely on expert web scraping services to meet all their data needs. If you are looking for genuine and comprehensive web scraping solutions, companies like Scrape Yogi can help.
However, web scraping is often viewed as a malicious practice. Such misconception limits businesses from availing of data scraping services. To avoid such misconceptions, here are some of the common myths relating to web scraping that you must know about. Let’s dive in!
- Web Scraping is Illegal
This is one of the biggest myths that you must have come across. A majority of people have the perception that web scraping isn’t legal. However, it isn’t true! The truth is that collecting data through scrapping is absolutely legal as long as personally identifiable data or password-protected data are not collected. Web scraping follows the information collecting rules and regulations of the different websites. As long as the scrapers adhere to the Terms of Service of the websites, scraping is not illegal. Moreover, there is no law that limits individuals from performing web scraping.
- Scraping is the same as hacking
Another popular misconception among people is that web scraping is equivalent to hacking. However, it is completely not true. Hacking involves performing illegal activities for personal gain. Hackers exploit computer systems and private networks to steal sensitive information from individuals and manipulate data. That is completely different from what a website scraper does. Web scrapers work in an ethical manner and access data that are publicly available on websites. The core aim of scrapping is to provide relevant data to businesses relating to their market and consumer trend.
- It is possible to scrape any website
Most people believe that they can scrape any website they want. However, it doesn’t work that way. There are certain ethics and legalities of web scraping. Moreover, the anti-scraping mechanisms can make the collection of data more relevant for you. That is why it is good to hire a professional data scraper for your scraping needs. The experts of Scrape Yogi can help you gain access to huge volumes of useful data in a hassle-free manner.
- Crawling and scraping are the same
Do you have the perception that web scraping and crawling are the same? If yes, you need to know that it is a myth. The truth is that web crawling is an important part of scraping. However, both are different from each other. Web scraping refers to the process of extracting data from various websites and presenting the information in a systematic and understandable manner. On the other hand, web crawling involves indexing content available on the internet as per the relevancy of information they offer to the users.
- Scraping requires coding knowledge
Another common myth is that scraping can only be performed by people who have proper coding knowledge. However, it is not actually true. Even if you do not have any coding skills, you can leverage web scraping tools and gather the required data for your business. An alternative option is to rely on the web scraping service providers like Scrape Yogi. Professional scrapers have knowledge and experience in collecting data in the best possible way. With the best data scraping strategies, they can provide you with access to high-quality data for better productivity of your business.
- Scraping is completely automated
As scrape bots are used in web scraping, people believe that it is completely automatic. However, it is again a myth. No doubt, the initial setup and a majority of processes in web scraping are done automatically. But human intervention is also essential for completing the data scraping process.
Conclusion
These are some of the common myths relating to web scraping. Scraping has become the need of the hour for businesses to stay updated about the latest trends in the industry. Now that you know the truth of web scraping, it is time to opt for professional web scraping services. If you are in search of an affordable web scraping service provider, Scrape Yogi is an ideal option for you.
