Save a web page offline.
You can save any web page in Chrome and open it later with no internet connection. Here are four ways to do it, what each one keeps, and which suits articles, documentation and anything you want to find again.
Guides
By Sharier, founder of DefyRot
Updated October 21, 2026
The quick answer
In Chrome on a computer, press Ctrl+S (Cmd+S on a Mac) and save the page as Webpage, Complete or Webpage, Single File. Open the saved file any time, even offline.
For articles and documentation you want to read and search later, a saving extension does it in one keypress and keeps the copy clean and readable instead of a pile of files in your Downloads folder.
1. Save As in Chrome (Ctrl+S)
- Open the page and press Ctrl+S (Cmd+S on a Mac), or open the Chrome menu and choose Cast, save, and share › Save page as.
- Pick a format. Webpage, Complete saves an HTML file plus a folder of images and scripts. Webpage, Single File saves everything into one .mhtml file. HTML only keeps the text and layout without images.
- Double-click the saved file to open it in Chrome. No connection needed.
What to know: pages built with a lot of JavaScript often save half-empty, and cookie banners, pop-ups and ads are saved along with the article. The files land in your Downloads folder with no way to search across them.
2. Save as PDF
Press Ctrl+P (Cmd+P), set Destination to Save as PDF and click Save. A PDF is easy to share, print and archive.
What to know: the page is cut into printed pages, so long code blocks and tables break across them, and whatever is on screen (a cookie bar, a sign-up box) is printed too. Copying text out of a PDF is also clumsier than from a web page.
3. On Android and iPhone
Chrome on Android: open the page, tap the menu (⋮) and tap the download arrow at the top. The page appears under Downloads in Chrome and opens offline.
Safari on iPhone and iPad: tap Share, then Add to Reading List. To keep Reading List pages offline automatically, turn on Automatically Save Offline in the Safari settings (Settings › Safari, or Settings › Apps › Safari on newer versions of iOS).
4. Save it with a Chrome extension
An extension is the quickest way when you save pages often. DefyRot saves the page you are reading with Ctrl+Shift+S: it keeps the readable part (headings, text, lists, code blocks and the first three images) as clean Markdown inside your browser, and leaves out navigation, ads and scripts.
- Every saved page opens with no internet and is searchable from one vault.
- If the original link later breaks, DefyRot opens your copy instead of the error page.
- Pages behind pop-ups or paywall overlays can be saved with Clean Capture, which leaves those layers out.
DefyRot is free for 50 pages and works in Chrome and other Chromium browsers.
Can you save an entire website to view offline?
Yes. Site downloaders such as HTTrack or wget --mirror copy every page of a site, which can mean thousands of files. Check the site's terms first, and expect pages that load content with JavaScript to come out incomplete. If what you need is the handful of pages you actually read, save those one by one instead.
Which way should you use?
| Method | What you get | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Save As (Ctrl+S) | An HTML or .mhtml file in Downloads | One page, once |
| Save as PDF | A PDF, split into printed pages | Printing or sending |
| Android download / iPhone Reading List | An offline copy on the phone | Reading on the go |
| DefyRot | A clean, searchable copy in one vault, opened for you if the link dies | Articles and docs you keep coming back to |