 | This help page is a how-to guide. It explains concepts or processes used by the Wikipedia community. It is not one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, and may reflect varying levels of consensus. |
This page gives information about using WebCite, which is an on-demand web archiving service. It is located at http://www.webcitation.org. By using WebCite, Wikipedia editors can reduce link rot by preserving a copy of an online source that can be accessed if the original page is moved, changes, or disappears. Not all web pages can be archived, however.
WebCite can archive a range of content, including HTML web pages, PDF files, style sheets, JavaScript, and digital images. Another web archiving service is the Wayback Machine. The two operate differently, and certain pages can be archived by one but not the other. The Wayback Machine takes snapshots of webpages at certain times; WebCite requires someone to actively archive a link.
How to archive
At the WebCite archive form, users identify the URL they wish to archive, as well as additional source-identifying information. WebCite requires users to submit an email address that will receive a confirmation or failure email. WebCite will then send you to a page with the links to your archived webpage.
Previously archived web pages are accessible through a searchable database. Users may search by URL, date, or by "Snapshot ID".
You can archive a page simply loading a link like this in your browser:
- http://www.webcitation.org/archive?url=urltoarchive&email=yourmail
Use within Wikipedia
Links archived with WebCite may appear in two forms. The first format displays the original URL and the date of archiving within the URL itself: http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.example.com&date=2009-11-04. The second form uses a 9-digit hexadecimal "Snapshot ID," similar to URL shortening services, to provide a more convenient link: http://www.webcitation.org/XXXXXXXXX Either is appropriate for use within Wikipedia. This URL can be inserted into the archiveurl= and its supporting archivedate= parameters in any of the citation templates.
<ref>{{Cite web|last= |first= |title= |work= |publisher= |date= |url= |archiveurl= |archivedate= }}</ref>
See also
- Template:WebCite, for linking
- Template:User WebCite, userbox
- User:WebCiteBOT, automatic URL archiving bot
- Wikipedia:Link rot, how-to guide for prevention of link rot
- Wikipedia:Using the Wayback Machine, how-to guide