An easy-to-follow guide so you can use the Wayback Machine to view an older version of a website
What did your Facebook page look like in 2009? Fortunately, you can use the Wayback Machine, as well as a few options, to view an older version of a web page. This wikiHow teaches you how to use the Internet Archive’s “Wayback Machine” tool to view archived snapshots of web pages.
[Edit]things you should know
- Try using the Wayback Machine to view the old web page.
- Use URLs or keywords to find or browse pages.
- For the totally out-of-date experience, use “OldWeb.today” instead.
[Edit]step
[Edit]using the wayback machine
- Go to https://web.archive.org in a web browser. You can use the Wayback Machine in any web browser to view older versions of websites.
- Although not all websites are archived by the Wayback Machine, it is the most reliable way to view old versions of websites dating back to 1996!
- Enter the URL of the web page you want to browse. You can also enter keywords to search a page.
- Select a year in the timeline. If an archived snapshot is available, a vertical black bar will appear in the timeline each time a snapshot of the page is archived.
- Scroll down and click on the date highlighted with a blue or green circle. This will either take you directly to the old version of the website or open a pop-out menu with a list of times.
- The blue and green circles represent the dates the snapshots were archived by the Internet Archive’s web crawlers.
- Click on a timeline in the pop-out menu. If a pop-out menu appears, it will list the number of days the website was archived. Choose a time to see what websites are up to during that time on the date you specify.
[Edit]use alternate equipment
- Try https://archive.today. At the top of the page is a search bar that you can use to search for a specific website or enter keywords. Once you find the old version of the website, you can download the page as a zip file so you can share it!
- Archive.today also has a Chrome extension that you can try.
- Use https://OldWeb.today to browse old websites with a vintage flair. This website not only gives you archived websites, but it also displays them in an old browser, giving you the immersion of web browsing in the early days of the internet. Use browser themes such as Navigator, Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Mosaic.
- Websites load slowly to meet the browsing experience of the olden days. Using OldWeb.today would be a great way to show young children how others experienced the Internet.
- Browse the Library of Congress Web Archive at https://www.loc.gov/web-archives. It is an official archive that maintains a comprehensive record of books, newspapers, images, web pages, etc. Such a source would be best used by researchers or scholars.
- View cached pages on Google. Your search engine probably includes previous versions of websites. Simply search Google for the URL you want to view, click toolchoose anytimethen choose a custom range, You can input a specific time to search for older versions of that website.
- Use the Web Cache Viewer Chrome extension. Get this Chrome extension from the Google Web Store. Simply go to the website you want to view an older version of, right-click on the page and select web cache viewer,
- This is an extension and not a real service. Web Cache Viewer gets information and screenshots from the Wayback Machine and Google.
- Try the UK Web Archive at https://www.webarchive.org.uk/ukwa. This tool is particularly handy if you’re looking for an older UK site. UKWA allows you to search by keyword, phrase or URL.
- Browse Memento Time Travel at https://timetravel.mementoweb.org. This is yet another holistic search tool that uses all of the same services as the Wayback Machine and Google to find what you’re looking for.
[Edit]Advice
- Images and Flash content may not be stored, but all text should still be visible.
- There’s a lot more to the Internet Archive than just websites. You can also watch nearly one million digitized movies and listen to live music concerts, sounds, spoken word recordings. You can also look through old books and magazines, and read everything from the history of the Arpanet and articles about ants to science fiction, federal court documents, and microfilm records.
[Edit]Warning
- Some sites may be password protected or blocked with a robots.txt file, so the Wayback Machine is unable to access them. If you encounter this, chances are you’re out of luck.
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