Gathering valuable data from the internet doesn’t just work without web scraping. If you’ve ever tried collecting data from the internet, you probably know that the greater the amount of data you wish to scrape, the higher your chances of getting blocked.
Thankfully, there are tools to make web scraping easier, and one of them is Octoparse. This guide will show you how to set up FloppyData proxies with Octoparse to ensure a quick start and smooth data scraping.
What is Octoparse
Octoparse is a simple-to-use web scraping tool that can fully automate data extraction from any website without coding. It features an intuitive point-and-click interface and a built-in browser that helps it imitate human behaviour.
Once you input a target URL, Octoparse scans the entire page and quickly locates the data when you click it.
You can easily select the exact information you need and instruct the software to repeat the same scraping tasks on each website page. As no coding knowledge is required, Octoparse also works well for beginners.
Key Features of Octoparse:
- Easy-to-use point-and-click interface.
- Scheduled scraping and batch processing
- pre-configured scraping templates for popular sites
- Hybrid model (cloud or local storage)
- Good documentation and lots of video content for beginners
- Support for dynamically loaded content
- AI scraping assistant
Drawbacks of Octoparse:
- Limited support and features on its free plan
- It can be expensive at scale
- Limited customization options.
Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up FloppyData Proxies in Octoparse
- Head over to Octoparse and sign up for a free account on their website.
- Once inside the dashboard, you will be directed to download and install the desktop application (supports Windows and Mac OS).
- Launch the Octoparse app and create a new task. Click the “New” button in the top-left corner and choose “Custom Task”.
- For the URL Source, we’ll choose “Enter manually”. Then type the URL of the webpage you intend to scrape and click “Save”. Let’s use “floppydata.com” as an example.
- After the URL loads on the browser interface, go to “Task Settings” and select the “Anti–blocking” tab.
- Tick the box next to “Access websites via proxies” and select “Use my own proxies”. Finally, click the “Configure” button.
- Now, you need to set the rotation time and enter the proxies you want to connect through. You can get premium proxies from FloppyData.
Get Your FloppyData Proxy Details
- Go to FloppyData and log in or create a new account to access your dashboard.
- On your dashboard, click “Create proxy pool” at the top of your screen to create a new proxy pool if you don’t already have one. Choose the locations you want for the IP address.
- You will see a list of proxy configuration options such as the type of proxies and the proxy location. Specify all the necessary settings, and save by clicking “Create new proxy pool”.
- After completing that, you will see a list of unique proxies. Click the “Copy proxy list” button and return to the Octoparse desktop application.
- Paste the proxy credentials copied from the FloppyData dashboard and click “Confirm” to continue.
- Finally, click the Save button.
- Proxies are now set up and ready for use! Click the “Run” button to start the scraper. Octoparse gives you the option to run your scraping workloads locally or in the cloud.
- We’ll select and run the Standard Mode locally since it’s a fairly simple web scraping task. After a little wait, our scraping job is finished and we have successfully integrated FloppyDisk proxiess with Octoparse.
- Cheers!
Why Choose FloppyData for Octoparse Proxies
Using the right proxies can help you unlock the full potential of Octoparse and avoid scraping interruptions. While Octoparse provides built-in proxies for IP rotation, they are relatively expensive at approximately $3 per GB.
Alternatives like FloppyData offer high-quality proxies that are ideal for use with Octoparse for as low as $2.10 per GB, easily making them more cost-effective at scale.
Other advantages include improved anonymity and advanced geolocation capabilities.
Final Thoughts
Compared to Octoparse’s native proxies, FloppyData offers a faster and more cost-effective solution that reliably prevents your scrapers from being blocked. All you need to do is follow our integration guide and start scraping in minutes.
