All methods have various advantages and disadvantages. Using the Save As function in web browsers is probably the fastest way to download a page to the computer. The structure makes it on the other hand uncomfortable to work with on larger projects. Website downloaders on the other hand deal perfectly with large websites, they do require some knowledge and configuration though before they even start to download the first byte.

The online service Backupurl offers another way to create a cached copy of a website. The user enters the url of a page that he wants to preserve in the form on the website. The service will then cache that url for the user and provide two addresses to cached versions of the page. The main advantage of the service is that the cached pages are not stored locally. This might be favorable in environments with strict data storage policies. The disadvantage is obvious as well. Only one page can be cached per run which means it becomes as impracticable and uncomfortable as using Save As if multiple pages need to be cached. There is also no guarantee that the service will be there when the information need to be retrieved.

It would also be an interesting option to retrieve all pages that have been cached at once. The only way to keep track of all cached pages is to copy and paste all created urls into another document. Backup URL can be an interesting option under certain circumstance. Advanced users are better off with applications like HTTrack or similar applications.

WinHTTrack arranges the original site’s relative link-structure. Simply open a page of the ‘mirrored’ website in your browser, and you can browse the site from link to link, as if you were viewing it online. WinHTTrack can also update an existing mirrored site, and resume interrupted downloads. WinHTTrack is fully configurable, and has an integrated help system. NOTES: WinHTTrack is the Windows release of HTTrack.

HTTrack 3.44-1 Offline Browser Utility

HTTrack is a free offline browser utility that allows you to download www. Sites directly from the internet and arrange them in a local directory. This recursively builds all directories, HTML, images, and various other files from the server to your computer. HTTrack works with the original site and its relative link-structure.

Offline viewing is similar to collecting a library of websites, text and images. You are able to browse these sites as if you were online when you are actually offline. If you anticipate that you will be offline for any given reason and still need to access online information, this is a great way to do it. Of course, you can only view what you download to the local directory.

The result is the ability to browse any site from any link to any other link as long as they are downloaded to the local directory. All you have to do is open the mirrored page of the website in your browser as though you were viewing online. Offline viewing can be advantageous when you have multiple sites that you need to cross-reference while offline. Now HTTrack will update existing mirrored sites and any interrupted downloads will be resumed. It can be fully configured to needed specifications and includes an integrated help system to make it easy to use for beginners.

The Windows 200/XP/Vista/7 release of HTTrack is called WinHTTrack. The Linux/Unix/BSD release version is WebHTTrack. Most Unix versions are available, including Ubuntu, of course. This is convenient for users utilizing virtualization and running multiple operating systems. You can download as many versions of HTTrack as needed to fit VHDs or multiple boot systems. All versions are available on the download page, including versions for both 32-bit and 64-bit systems. Download from the following link:

http://www.httrack.com/page/2/

You will immediately notice that a version is available for virtually any operating system. Be sure to choose the right one or it simply will not work. This is only mentioned for those running more than one operating system on a single computer as mentioned above. It is an easy mistake to make; installing the wrong download to the wrong operating system.

Another link includes all Documentation for HTTrack. Anything that you need to know about the latest version of HTTrack is here. Simply click on the desired header for specifics. The information is too extensive to detail here, but you can find all of the specifics here:
http://www.httrack.com/html/index.html

For the truly technical users out there, you can get all of the specifics regarding the release changes from a link on the same page links above. For your convenience, the link to the release changes in the current edition is included here: http://www.httrack.com/history.txt

The utility is pretty much the same as before, with many minor changes that create improvements that may be significant to some and unapparent to other users. Regardless, this is a useful utility which any user can utilize as an offline browsing utility.