The internet today is overloaded with information. You don’t always have the time to absorb all the information that you find in an article but there are various services that will let you save this bundle of information for later, even if you are without an internet connection.
You might be in an underground subway without network connectivity, or caught in a dead zone, or your internet could simply have finished for the day. So, you should make sure that whatever you are reading is downloaded to your device and is accessible offline.
There are different apps and browsers that allow you to read online, here’s how you can download it.
Download A File
The simplest way to save a web page is to download it to your computer. All you have to do is, open the three-dot menu and select More Tools, and then Save page as. If you are using Firefox, you just have to go to the hamburger menu and choose Save Page As. On Safari, go to File, then Save as or File, and then Export as PDF, and in Microsoft Edge, just open the menu and choose More tools, and then Save page as.
Also, you can right-click on the page and select “Save as” with any web browser or use the Ctrl + S shortcut for the keyboard, Command + S in macOS.
Chrome saves the full web page, including the text and media. Edge does the same, but it will also allow you to download multiple files, all in one. Firefox will make you choose between the complete package, an HTML file, and a simple text file.
On Safari you can choose between Web Archive or the Page Source.
Then you can download the file that you want to on your device and read it any time. The file will be saved as a local file on your device and you can read it even without any internet connection.
Download A Website in Chrome (Android)
As you are using Chrome on an Android device, you can save the webpage that you want to read offline by opening the three-dot menu icon and tapping the download icon up top. This will download a version of the page where you can read them offline. Then you can read the webpage by tapping on the menu and then going to Downloads.
Add to Safari Reading List
If you are surfing the internet on Safari, you can save the web pages to your Reading List. The Reading List would not make the saved items available online by default. But, you can change that by selecting Safari, then Preferences, and then Advanced, then check the box next to “Save articles for offline reading automatically.”
On iOS, you can just go to Settings, then Safari, and then Automatically Save Offline, and then toggle it to on.
Now, check out the articles you have saved just by tapping on the sidebar icon on a Mac and clicking on the glasses icon.
Add to Chrome Reading List (iOS)
If you are surfing on the Chrome app for iOS, there are two ways to save an article. You can either tap on the share pane and select “Read Later” or you could open the menu option on the browser and choose “Read Later”.
Then you can open the browser’s menu and select Reading List to view the saved pages. Just long-press the saved item and tap on “View Offline Version in New Tab” from the menu. Now, you can start reading your article offline.
Add to Firefox Reading List (iOS)
If you are using Firefox on iOS, you just need to go on the menu and in the search bar select “Add to Reading List”. After the article is saved, you can tap on the hamburger menu and select Your Library, and then Reading List. Then, select the article you want to open and you can start reading it offline.
Enable Firefox Offline Mode (Desktop)
When you surf the internet, the browsing history is preserved in a cache. On Firefox you can tap into this cache and use it for offline reading. You just have to open the hamburger menu and select More, then Work Offline. This will cut off the internet connection of the browser and allow you to read the recently viewed pages.
You can just type the site you want to revisit in the search bar or navigate to the hamburger menu and select Library, and then History for getting the list of recent sites to choose from.
Save With Pocket
You can save the online articles for reading later on Pocket and sync them between all your devices. Mozilla acquired it in 2017, so it is now built into Firefox, but you can also find extensions of it on Chrome, Safari, and Edge.
Third-Party Tools
There are many other third-party apps that will help you download the required articles. These also include browser extensions, free utility software and reading apps. The Save Page extension for Firefox and Chrome will help you do this with a single click. You can adjust the settings according to the information on the page that you want to save.
If you want more high-powered solutions, you can check out the utility software HTTrack or SiteSucker. These download the entire website directories from the URL and let you navigate the entire site while you are offline.
