How to Scrape Data from a Website to Excel? [4 Easy Ways]

Web scraping is the automated process of extracting data from web pages. One of the challenges when scraping is handling massive amounts of data as it takes time—especially with over 1.145 trillion MB of new data on the web daily.

When dealing with huge volumes of data, Excel becomes crucial. The spreadsheet app is an excellent data analysis tool with valuable functions and features that help in wrangling extracted data.

In this article, you will learn how to scrape data from websites to Excel. Keep reading!

4 Web Scraping Methods to Extract Data to Excel

Web scraping is a helpful tool for business and research. People scrape websites for several reasons, including:

• Collecting content
• Checking prices
• Marketing 
• Studying data

There are four standard methods to extract data into Excel. Each of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages. These methods are:

Continue reading to know how each method works. 

1. Manual Scraping From Websites to Excel 

You can scrape websites to Excel by manually copying and pasting the data. This method is simple, but it can be slow when handling large amounts of data.

Here’s an easy guide on how to scrape sites to Excel manually:

Step 1: Open the website you want in your browser.

Step 2: Go to the information you want to extract.

Step 3: Highlight the data with your mouse. Right-click and select “Copy” or use “Ctrl + C” on your keyboard.

Step 4: Open Excel. 

Step 5: Paste the information you copied.

Step 6: Fix the formatting based on your preference.

2. Automated Scraping to Excel with Scraper Tools

Automated data extraction to Excel involves using web scrapers. You can add scrapers to your browsers or use them as separate programs. 

These tools collect the data for you and put it into an Excel file. They make the process quicker, and they are better at handling larger amounts of data.

Here’s a simple guide on automatically extracting web data to Excel with scraper tools: 

Step 1: Choose and install a web scraping tool. Some of the best tools you can use are:

• Octoparse
• Apify
• Bright Data
• Scrapy
• NimbleWay

Step 2: Open the tool and start a new project.

Step 3: Go to the website you want to scrape.

Step 4: Choose what you want to scrape, like product prices, reviews, or details.

Step 5: Run the tool to extract and save the data in an Excel file.

3. Scraping Data to Excel using Excel VBA

Excel Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is another method to consider when scraping sites to Excel. It involves writing codes that automate the web scraping process. Programmers often use this method to customize scraping and improve data management.

Using VBA for web scraping is more complex, but it offers better customizability. This method is also more suited for scraping large amounts of data.

Here’s a simple step-by-step guide for scraping data to Excel using Excel VBA:

Step 1: Go to the website you want to scrape. Copy its  URL. Take note of what you want to scrape.

Step 2: Open the Visual Basic Editor in Excel. Press Alt + F1, and right-click on the project explorer.

Step 3: Select Insert, then Module. This window is where you will write and use your VBA codes.

Step 4: Declare the variables that you need (e.g., website URL) and the element of what you want to scrape.

Step 5: Use VBA code to send HTTP requests to the website and get the page's HTML source code.

Step 6: Extract the data from the website.

Step 7: To see the scraped data, check the Immediate Window. 

4. Pulling Data to Excel Using Web Queries

Web queries are a robust tool in Excel that helps you extract data from the web and put it into your spreadsheet. Using a web query allows you to collect and update data automatically.

Below are the steps to pull data from websites to Excel using web queries:

Step 1: Open Microsoft Excel. Click on the Data tab at the top of the screen.

Step 2: Choose the From web option in the Get & transform data section.

Step 3: Paste the URL of the website that you want to scrape and click Go.

Step 4: Excel will open the webpage and show you a preview of the data you can scrape. Use your mouse to select the data you want to bring to Excel.

Step 5: Click load to put the data into Excel. If you want to edit the data's appearance, click Edit to make changes. 

Step 6: Give the data a name. If needed, select Properties to choose when to get new data and other parameters.

You can set up a web query to get new data automatically on a set interval, like daily or weekly. This lets you save time compared to setting a query up manually every time.

Benefits of Scraping Web Data to Excel

Web scraping has been a handy process since 1989, and it became more efficient with Excel. Listed below are some of the benefits of scraping web data to Excel.

Convenient Automation

Depending on the setup, web scraping can make data collection automatic. With Excel, repetitive tasks like copying and pasting are also automated, saving you more time to do other essential tasks.

Better Data Arrangement

With Excel, you can make your data look simple and easy to understand. You can also change how the data looks, making it fit your needs perfectly.

Neater Data Organization

Excel helps you organize your data neatly in workbooks or sheets. You can also use Excel’s built-in tools to sort and find any piece of information quickly.

Easy to Share and Collaborate

Around 750 million people use Excel, so data sharing in the platform is convenient. Users can access the data or work together to study, edit, or fix the data.

Affordable Option

Using Excel to scrape data on the Internet saves money since you won’t have to purchase specialized software. 

Conclusion

There are different ways to extract data from the Internet and integrate it into Excel. Whether it is via manual copying, efficient scraper tools, Excel VBA, or web queries, Excel proves to be a flexible ally in data extraction.

Scraping sites to Excel comes with a lot of benefits. It is cost-effective, simplifies data formatting, supports organization, and facilitates collaboration. 

However, it is crucial to always adhere to ethical scraping practices and respect website rules to avoid legal repercussions and site disruptions.