Answer
Jan 09, 2019 - 11:36 AM
In the internet archives scene, Wayback Machine is the undisputed king owing to its early rise and huge backing from its founders. Since its inception, Wayback Machine has archived billions of snapshots of internet web pages.
Since you already mentioned that you have a working knowledge of Wayback Machine, I will dive straight to its alternatives. One thing to keep in mind as you seek alternatives for Wayback Machine is that there are sites that do not allow for web crawling and as such, you may already know that Wayback Machine records “no crawl” in its archives instead of the usual webpage snapshots.
The Alternatives
Wayback Machine alternatives come in two types: one allows you to access web pages from the past, just like how Wayback does. Some tools that work this way include; archive.is, and screenshot.com. The other type allows one to create their own private “Wayback Machine” to use for specific purposes.
ScreenShots
ScreenShots works, just as its name suggests, by taking snapshots of websites and saving them to their database. A snapshot records all the details that you may be looking for on a particular domain. SnapShots has an intuitive interface, allowing you to zoom and focus on the details properly.
For the more advanced user, one downside of this tool is that the code and destination links, among other things are inaccessible.
Pros
Uses DomainTools API
Links the thumbnails’ links to Whois Lookup
Gives detailed results
Archive.is
Arguably the best Wayback Machine alternative, archive.is is set apart by the fact that one can access both the screenshots and the content of any webpage.
Archive.is has a user-friendly navigation as well as the option to share the screenshots with other people. Besides that, one can also download the information for future reference in the form of a report.
Its key advantages include:
An option to download original HTML pages
Ability to download both screenshots and webpage content
Good for crawling images off a domain
Competitor Screenshots
This tools works slightly different from the rest. It requires that you sign up for their services beforehand. I like this alternative because one can use it to build a marketing campaign. A free sign up can suffice to compare email campaigns, social media activity, and screenshots.
The downside to this tool is that you can only view data for the past sixty days with a free package but an upgrade is available starting at $120.
Pros
Free sign up for basic data access
Compares and Tracks competition
One can view detailed information
Webcite Archive
With WebCite Archive, one can archive a live URL instantly. This tool allows you to archive stable versions of the webpage including Wiki, Blogs, PDF, and other documents.
Unlike other tools, this site archives all data on the webpage including any images/media files. If the website you are trying to archive is already saved in the database, then a link to the already archived page is created.
The service sends you an email with the link to the archive hence you can share it with other people.
iTools
iTools is another tool that can be used to archive webpages. One thing that makes it different form the other tools is that you cannot access the archives from its homepage.
The tool uses the Alexa database, just like the Wayback Machine. It also has the ability to help you learn about your competition, as it has data on domain traffic and popularity.
Pros
Ability to track domain popularity and traffic
Uses Alexa database
Shows all relevant information on the domain
Other Tools
Some other tools that you may find useful although they do not rank high enough to qualify as Wayback alternatives include:
PageFreezer
Stillio
RessurectPages
Actiance
The reason I don’t consider these archiving tools as strong alternatives to Wayback Machine is because they only let you look into the past after configuring it to start tracking your website.
For specific users, this could of course be a better alternative to the Wayback Machine as it lets you have complete control over what you wish to track and trace.
A downside is that these are paid services, albeit with low prices.
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