Have you ever wondered how a particular web page used to look years ago, or have you ever wanted to view a no longer available website? Well, you can do so by viewing page caches and archives. Several websites like Wayback Machine and Archive.is a cache search engine, and search engines like Google, Bing, and Yandex allow you to view page caches and archives.
What Is Page Cache And Archive? What is it used for?
A Page cache is a copy of a web page stored by a search engine or web browser in a search engine cache. A page archive is a collection of web pages preserved over time by an archiving service. Page Caches and Archives are used for different purposes, such as:
- Viewing a webpage that is no longer available: If the owner deletes a website or has been down for a considerable amount of time, you can view the older version of the website to extract information and use it to an extent.
- Citing a webpage as a source: Websites and articles keep getting updated, and if some source that you have cited has been updated or changed, it won’t be valid anymore. In such a case, you can cite an archived link to the webpage to ensure your citation stays valid forever.
- Comparing different versions of a webpage: Viewing the archived snapshots of a webpage over the years can provide details of its evolution, forming the basis for research and analysis for SEO and competitor analysis.
Read: How to Use or Enable Chrome Extension in Incognito Mode
How to View Page Cache and Archive in Multiple Search Engines In Chrome or Edge?
Going to a website cache archive or a search engine archive (search engines with cached pages) and manually searching and viewing the cached or archived page is too much work. But a simple browser extension can automate all of that for you.
Web Archives Browser Extension
Web archives is a popular web browser extension that allows you to open a web page’s archived or cached version directly from your browser tab or your preferred URL. It saves you the hassle of manually going to each archive website and search engine and entering the URL for the archived version.
The extension supports eight popular search engines and archives, including Google, Bing, Yahoo, Yandex, and Internet Archive.is, Megalodon and Perma.cc.
Features:
- Support For Popular search engines and archives.
- 8+ search engine and archive options
- Open cached and archived webpages directly from your browser tab or URL
- Fast opening of archived links
Pros:
- Support for 8+ popular search engines and archives
- Open archives from tabs or URLs
Cons:
- Occasional issues with opening search engine caches
Read: How to Zoom Facebook Photos to View Full Image
Conclusion:
This article taught us how to view page cache and archive in multiple search engines. You can do more if you view page archives than just peaking a website’s past. From research to citation, page archives are useful for various purposes. We hope you found the article to be helpful.
How do I use Google Cache Search?
To use Google Cache Search, open your web browser and enter the respective webpage link in the following format: cache:https://example.com/your/page.html .
Alternatively, you can search for the desired webpage on Google, click the triple dot menu next to the result, scroll down, and click Cached.
Is It Possible to View Archive and Page Cache for Websites That Are Not Live Anymore?
Yes, it is possible to view archived versions of websites that are not live anymore. For this, head over to Web.archive.org. In the search box, enter the URL or the website’s name. Now, from the results on the next page, open the correct link and view the archived versions of the respective webpage.
