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Use Apify’s Website Content Crawler Actor, set its crawler type to playwright:firefox, and turn on saveScreenshots. The Actor saves an image for each crawled article page in its default key-value store and adds its link to the dataset as screenshotUrl. Keep the crawl narrowly scoped: screenshot capture can reduce performance and increase storage costs.
Configure the Apify crawler for screenshots
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In Apify Console, open the Website Content Crawler Actor and enter the official site URL, or a specific section URL, as a Start URL. For a review of selected pages, use several deliberate Start URLs rather than relying on broad discovery.
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Set the crawler type to
playwright:firefox. The Actor documents screenshot capture as available only with this crawler type. See the Actor input documentation.Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy. -
Enable
saveScreenshots. It is off by default. The Actor stores captured images in its default key-value store and includes the corresponding image link in the output dataset’sscreenshotUrlfield. -
Set boundaries before starting. Use URL include or exclude patterns,
maxCrawlDepth, andmaxCrawlPagesto keep the run limited to the pages you need. Sitemap discovery is another option when you want the Actor to find pages beyond those linked from your Start URLs; the Actor notes that sitemap discovery can take longer. Its input documentation describes these controls as safeguards against unintended large crawls. -
Start the Actor and wait for the run to finish. In Console, use the run’s Output tab to inspect or export results. For repeatable workflows, Apify also documents launching an Actor with an API POST request or a JavaScript or Python client library. See running Actors.
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Open the dataset and follow each item’s
screenshotUrlto view its image. Keep the page URL or another page identifier alongside the image in review notes, so it is clear which page the capture represents. Apify datasets can be retrieved through the dataset API and returned in supported output formats; see dataset storage and retrieval.Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.
Choose a crawl scope that fits the review
| Approach | Use it when | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Explicit Start URLs | You have a known list of pages or want a small, tightly controlled review. | Only the selected seeds and pages found within your configured crawl scope are considered. |
| Sitemap discovery | You want the crawler to discover pages listed in a sitemap, including pages not readily reached from the seed pages. | It can take longer. Keep page and depth limits in place. |
For a one-off capture, Console is a straightforward way to configure and inspect a run. For scheduled or integrated review work, use the documented API or client-library approach and retrieve the resulting dataset programmatically. Either way, use the same deliberate URL and page limits so recurring runs do not unexpectedly expand.
What a screenshot can show in a GIGW-informed review
The current Indian government guidance is Guidelines for Indian Government Websites and Apps (GIGW) 3.0. Its scope includes government websites and applications at central, state, district, and local levels, with goals including usability, user-centricity, universal accessibility, and security.
A screenshot can serve as supporting evidence for visible checks, such as whether government identity and ownership information appears on important pages, whether a visible update or review date is shown, and whether page content is laid out as expected. GIGW identifies ownership information and dates as checkpoints and notes manual evaluator review for some checks. Record the URL and capture date with each image; a capture documents only the rendered state at that time.
Checks that need more than an image
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Page titles and language attributes require checking browser information or page markup, not just looking at the screenshot.
Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy. -
Accessible table markup requires inspection of the underlying markup and, where appropriate, accessibility evaluation.
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Print behavior should be evaluated by printing or using a print preview, rather than inferred from the screen image.
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Security, backend behavior, and the full accessibility status of a site are not established by a screenshot.
GIGW 3.0 supports STQC Certified Quality Website certification. Departments may self-assess against its compliance matrix or submit a website to STQC. An Apify screenshot run does not award certification or establish complete GIGW conformity. The official guidance also says cybersecurity guidance changes and that assessments should account for updated CERT-In guidance.
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Before running a crawler against a particular government site, check its published access conditions and verify that a small, bounded run behaves as expected. The Actor’s respectRobotsTxtFile option says the crawler consults robots.txt when enabled, but it does not use a specific user-agent identifier and does not support the crawl-delay directive. Do not treat that option as full robots-policy or rate-limit compliance. The Actor’s crawl controls are documented in its input reference.
Troubleshoot missing or unusable screenshots
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No
screenshotUrlin the dataset: Confirm thatsaveScreenshotswas enabled and the crawler type was set toplaywright:firefox. The screenshot option is off by default and documented for that type only. -
The run takes longer or uses more storage than expected: Screenshot saving adds work and stored files. Reduce Start URLs, apply include or exclude patterns, and lower
maxCrawlPagesormaxCrawlDepth. -
A page did not render or capture successfully: The Actor documentation does not guarantee that every site will render successfully, and site access conditions vary. Check the run output, confirm the target URL is reachable, then try a small run with that URL alone before widening the scope.
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The image is not the page you intended to review: Compare the dataset item’s page identifier and
screenshotUrl; retain the target URL with the image in your review records. -
You expected a screenshot to establish compliance: Use it only for visible evidence. Perform separate markup, accessibility, print, and security checks where the applicable GIGW checkpoint requires them.
Or skip the browser setup
If you need a direct screenshot request instead of configuring a crawler, ScreenshotNeo is a website screenshot API and MCP server. Its API accepts a URL in one GET request and returns an image or PDF. For a PNG capture of an official page, replace the example URL with the page you want:
ScreenshotNeo API documentation
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://www.india.gov.in -o shot.pngScreenshotNeo accepts cookie and consent banners like a visitor and removes more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before capture; each of these steps can be turned off. Bot checks and CAPTCHAs, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits are not billed, and the response identifies the page verdict and billing status in headers. Its MCP server offers take_screenshot, get_page_info, and capture_pdf for Claude, Cursor, and other MCP clients.
Recommended Free Tools
The free plan includes 1,000 screenshots per month with no card required; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 screenshots. Those are ScreenshotNeo plan allowances and prices, not Apify pricing. ScreenshotNeo captures a requested URL rather than discovering and crawling a site, so use Apify’s crawler when URL discovery and dataset output are part of the task. Sign up for ScreenshotNeo’s free plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Apify save screenshots as individual image files or only dataset records?
The image is stored in the Actor’s default key-value store; the dataset item contains its link in `screenshotUrl`.
Can I use these screenshots as proof of GIGW certification?
No. They can support selected visible checks but do not confer certification or establish full compliance.
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