WebShotsPro.com Frequently Asked Questions

How does the screenshot process work?

First a url is submitted to the database via the form on our main website, through an image tag from another webpage, or through a bookmarklet.

Next, a cluster of screenshot generation servers running a configuration of apache/mysql/php and other custom software sits and waits for new jobs to appear in the database. Once it gets a job, it uses a Internet Explorer to connect to the website, wait for the site to load then take a screenshot and save the image. While on the site, it also grabs useful information about the page such as its title and meta tags.

Lots of error checking is done in case the site does not respond. If there is an error, detailed error analysis logs get put into the database so we can investigate the problem later.

Because of the distributed nature of the screenshot generation process, the website can scale to take 10 shots or 10,000 shots by adding more generation machines. The generation machines can also be run in a virtual machine process so they can be cloned and deployed quickly, and it also provides an easy way to recover in case a malicious script sneaks it's way into a machine. We have done a lot of work to prevent the execution of harmful scripts on our generation machines.

As screenshots are being generated our website uses AJAX to keep visitors and administrators updated about the progress. Administrators have a comprehensive stats interface that not only shows all current and past jobs and their status, but also gives valuable information such as error percentage, average number of screenshots being generated per minute, and the time elapsed to take each screenshot. While visitors are waiting for their screenshot to be generated they get to watch a scaled down version of the admin section similar to digg spy which constantly scrolls the latest screenshots. This spy interface also pulls relevant information obtained from the site such as it's title tag, meta tags, and keywords.

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When was WebShotsPro.com started and why?

Operating for 3 years, since August 11th 2006 and processed 4,247,652 screenshots.

Being web developers for 8+ years, there was a lack of visual representation on most of our links pages. Our mission was to display thumbnails of websites on links pages of other websites. We searched and searched and found that there was no easy way to implement website screenshots. At that point (and with the help of a few other developers) we decided to build a service that we could use on our own websites as well as share with other webmasters and developers to integrate website screenshot technology seamlessly into their website to visually enhance the look and appeal of their pages.

2008: We are amazed at the response we have received from our visitors. Thanks to everyone, we have made our system faster, more secure, reliable, and user-friendly. With everyone's help we are able to make website screenshot delivery...better. As we continue to strive to offer the best website screenshots service available, we look forward to your feedback on how we can enhance our service.

Who deserves credit for helping with this site?

	We need to thank Nathan Moinvaziri for the screenshot program this site uses. We will continue to work with Nathan to help him improve his software which in turn improves this website.
	We also send thanks to Dyske at dyskedesign.com for inspiration on our logo.
	Digg.com is an unbelievable source of traffic, and a great way to test a new idea. The horrific comments left by some diggers inspired us to keep improving the features of this site to make it better and more usable for the general public.
	Thanks to Chuck from WebmediaDesign for helping us provide DiggThumbs to the digg community, please visit his motorcycle forum: http://www.cruizerforum.com
	Alex makes a great program called xStarter which we run to do automate some backend and administrative tasks for this site. If you need a good xp automation software definitely check out xStarter
	Carlo Zottmann is the author of BetterSearch, a Firefox plugin which adds website screenshots to search engines and other websites. His code was used as inspiration for the DigThumbs plugin provided on this site. BetterSearch now uses our screenshot generation service to display thumbnails. Huge thanks goes out to Carlo for providing code demonstrating how to make a firefox extension interact with specific websites, DiggThumbs would not be possible without his hard work.

It has taken 2 webmasters many long nights coding to bring you what we have here today. We hope you find this service useful and tell your friends.

How much is it?

We have different accounts to cover your simple to advanced website. For details on our service offerings please take a look at our membership options.
What browser are you using to take the screenshots?

The screenshot generators capture the screenshots using Microsoft Internet Explorer and capture at browser size 1024x768px and resized to 640x480px.
How come the screenshot of my website is not accurate?
1. Check to make sure the website loads properly in internet explorer.
2. Ensure the website can be accessed by the public.
3. See if the webpage is displaying a 404 error page.
4. If the page has a forwarder our screenshot system may not detect this and take a website screenshot of an empty page.
Although we strive to be perfect, there are a few security measures we have to take. We have disabled Active-x and JavaScript for taking screenshots to avoid receiving malicious software that could damage the machine, if your website relies on these components than we cannot promise an accurate website screenshot.
Do you exclude any URL's / websites?

The system will try and connect to any URL it is given. If there is a connection problem, and our system cannot load a specific URL, it will try 5 more times to connect over a period of time. After 5 times, a report is generated for our web team to investigate the problem. We ask that each webmaster of our service monitor the URL's that they are sending us so that way they get the quickest results on website screenshots and not to burden the system by trying to connect to a site that is current down or doesn't exist.

Due to the content and malicious code on certain websites, we do ban IP addresses from our system to keep our service running smoothly. If you think your website was banned by mistake, please contact us.
Do you allow ADULT content?

No. We have been requested by our sponsors to avoid all adult content. Our generators are running a service and will block any 'unwanted' websites.
Can you take screenshots of PDF?

No. We do not support PDF at this time.
I have had your service for a while now and why has it suddenly stopped working?

This usually means that your hosting provider has changed the IP address on the website. Please update/add the IP address in the members area. Once you have logged into the members area go to 'Edit Profile' and you will see an IP Access table.
You used to offer free website screenshot captures, what happened?

Yes, it is unfortunate that we had to stop service of free website screenshots. If you have done your research you may have found a few free website screenshot services that have been appearing throughout the web. Although we have discontinued our free service (for now) we have greatly enhanced the performance and response time of our paid service. Instead of focusing on maintaining both paid and free memberships, we are able to focus directly on paid memberships to entertain their requests and resolve any issues they may have. What you may find from the free services is slow response time, lack of support, and over-all insufficient features.

We have created a $5.00 Simple Plan that is a small fee for advanced screenshot service. Make the right choice first, WebShotsPro website screenshot thumbnail service.
My website wasn't captured properly, how do we fix this?

We do everything we can to prevent this, but on a rare occasions, screenshots will not capture properly. We recommend you submit the URL with the problem through our homepage and it will bring you to the info page when complete. At the bottom of the info page you should see a button: (Click on it). This will bring you through the whole process again and the screenshot will be re-captured. If you are still having trouble, please contact us immediately so we can investigate.
How can I contact you?

The best way to communicate is our contact form, we usually respond within 24-48 hours. You can also call our answering service: 646-736-2411.