Learning About a Site Before You Scrape
You can learn a lot about a website before sending even one automated request — and doing so is a mark of a responsible scraper.
This kind of passive investigation is often called site reconnaissance, but that sounds a bit aggressive for what we’re doing here. It’s really just about reading the room.
Here’s what I check before scraping any site — using StorePhotos.ca as an example.
Step 1: Look for a Terms of Use Page
This one’s easy: if a site has terms, read them. Even if you’re not a lawyer, you can usually spot whether scraping is explicitly prohibited, conditionally allowed, or not mentioned at all.
StorePhotos.ca doesn’t currently have a terms page (I should probably fix that), so we move on to the next signal.
Step 2: Check robots.txt
Most websites expose a simple file at /robots.txt. This file tells search engines and bots what they’re allowed to access.
Here’s mine:
User-agent: \*
Disallow:
Sitemap: https://storephotos.ca/sitemap.xml
This is an open invitation — it says nothing is disallowed, and it includes a sitemap. That’s a green light.
🛈 Tip: Respect robots.txt, even if it’s not legally binding where you live. It’s a basic sign of courtesy.
Step 3: Check the Sitemap
If a site lists a sitemap in robots.txt (or at /sitemap.xml), you’ve struck gold.
Check out storephotos.ca's sitemap.
And when you open it, you get a structured list of nearly every page — including dates, categories, and resource hierarchies. This makes scraping easier and less brittle.
Step 4: Explore the URL Structure
A thoughtful URL structure makes scraping less error-prone and easier to plan. StorePhotos.ca uses clean, predictable paths like:
- `/resources/compression/webp/`
- `/resources/resolution/what-is-dpi/`
- `/resources/gear/dslr/`
This kind of consistency helps you build loops and filters into your scraper — or decide whether scraping is worth the effort at all.
Step 5: Read the Signals
Some sites scream “please don’t scrape me” by using:
- JavaScript rendering (no content in page source)
- Randomized URLs or anti-bot challenges
- Missing or contradictory metadata
StorePhotos.ca doesn’t do any of that. The markup is semantic, the content is cleanly structured, and everything works without JavaScript. That’s intentional — and it makes scraping easier for people who are learning.
Final Thoughts
Reconnaissance is about understanding, not intrusion.
Whether you're scraping for fun, for learning, or for building something useful, start by asking: what does the site tell me — implicitly or explicitly — about scraping?
In my case, the answer is simple: go for it. Just be respectful.