B. 6: Capture Websites

Note: Capturing websites is not available for MAXQDA Base

The MAXQDA Web Collector is an add-on for the Internet browser „Google Chrome“. It allows you to save entire websites and import the files as pdf, picture, or text documents into MAXQDA. Among other things, this tool is useful to compare websites from various organizations, or to collect and edit content from websites for analysis with MAXQDA.

Install the MAXQDA Web Collector

In order to work with the MAXQDA Web Collector the installation of the Internet browser “Google Chrome” is required. As soon as “Chrome” is installed on your computer you can start the installation of the “MAXQDA Web Collector”:

  1. Open „Google Chrome“.
  2. Open the Chrome WebStore and go to the extension „Web Collector for MAXQDA
  3. Add the Web Collector to your browser by clicking „+ Add“.

After a successful installation you can see a tiny MAXQDA icon top-right in your browser window:

WebCollector saves Websites for MAXQDA

If you want to open the Web Collector just click on the MAXQDA icon:

Save web pages

If your research is based on the analysis of every visible item of the website it is recommended to safe the entire website in order to import it to your MAXQDA project as true to the original as possible. For doing that proceed as described below:

  1. Open the website you want to safe in Google Chrome.
  2. When the website is fully loaded open the Web Collector by clicking the tiny MAXQDA icon. Note: In case the pictures are not displayed after you switched to the tab “Simplified Web Page” and back, please reload the website in the browser.
  3. Assign a name to the document. This name will later be inherited into the MAXQDA project.
  4. If required, you can fill in a text in the “Document Memo” box. This text will later be connected to the imported document as a document memo.
  5. Click Collect.
Web Collector for MAXQDA - Saving webpages


The MAXQDA Web Collector informs you about the progress and saves the website in the selected download folder of your browser. By default, it is the download folder of the logged in user. The web page is saved in a format that was specially developed for a further processing in MAXQDA.

The second tab of the MAXQDA Web Collector enables you to save a simplified version of the currently visited website. This version is reduced to text and pivotal pictures, somewhat similar to the read mode of smartphones. You can save it in almost the same manner – for more details, please refer to the online manual.

Import websites into MAXQDA

After saving the websites in the Web Collector you can import them into your MAXQDA project:

  1. Open the MAXQDA project you want to import the saved websites in.
  2. Mark a document group in the “list of documents” in order to import the website in a selected document group.
  3. Select Documents > Import web pages from MAXQDA Web Collector in the main menu.
Import Websites in MAXQDA

  1. If you open the dialog for the first time the standard folder for downloads is selected and displayed in the top of the box. Every single website located in this folder will be listed in the center of the dialog. By clicking the three dots … you can choose any other folder to import saved websites from the MAXQDA Web Collector.
  2. Select every website you want to import with the mouse. It will be highlighted green. Tip: Double click a row to open the downloaded file in the Internet browser. This allows you to check single websites for their content.
  3. Two options are provided at the bottom of the dialog: first, you can select whether websites should be imported as pdf or picture documents. Second, you can select whether simplified websites or segments should be imported as pdf or text documents.

In order to start the import, click Import selected files. The time for import can vary depending on the scope and format of the selected document. A progress bar informs you about the import progress of each document.

In case you selected pdf or picture format and you want to import big files, MAXQDA asks you whether you want to import them as externally saved files or in the project (see External Files).

Note: The main layout will be adopted in the import process. Intentionally, the website’s changed print layout won’t be imported. Deviations from the website’s original layout might occur especially as far as complex websites are concerned.