How to Scrape a Blog in C#

Let’s use Iron WebScraper to extract Blog content using C# or VB.NET.

This tutorial shows how a WordPress blog (or similar) may be scraped back into content using .NET

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// Define a class that extends WebScraper from IronWebScraper
public class BlogScraper : WebScraper
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Override this method to initialize your web-scraper.
    /// Set at least one start URL and configure domain or URL patterns.
    /// </summary>
    public override void Init()
    {
        // Set your license key for IronWebScraper
        License.LicenseKey = "YourLicenseKey";

        // Enable logging for all actions
        this.LoggingLevel = WebScraper.LogLevel.All;

        // Set a directory to store output and cache files
        this.WorkingDirectory = AppSetting.GetAppRoot() + @"\BlogSample\Output\";

        // Enable caching with a specific duration
        EnableWebCache(new TimeSpan(1, 30, 30));

        // Request the start URL and specify the response handler
        this.Request("http://blogSite.com/", Parse);
    }
}
// Define a class that extends WebScraper from IronWebScraper
public class BlogScraper : WebScraper
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Override this method to initialize your web-scraper.
    /// Set at least one start URL and configure domain or URL patterns.
    /// </summary>
    public override void Init()
    {
        // Set your license key for IronWebScraper
        License.LicenseKey = "YourLicenseKey";

        // Enable logging for all actions
        this.LoggingLevel = WebScraper.LogLevel.All;

        // Set a directory to store output and cache files
        this.WorkingDirectory = AppSetting.GetAppRoot() + @"\BlogSample\Output\";

        // Enable caching with a specific duration
        EnableWebCache(new TimeSpan(1, 30, 30));

        // Request the start URL and specify the response handler
        this.Request("http://blogSite.com/", Parse);
    }
}
' Define a class that extends WebScraper from IronWebScraper
Public Class BlogScraper
	Inherits WebScraper

	''' <summary>
	''' Override this method to initialize your web-scraper.
	''' Set at least one start URL and configure domain or URL patterns.
	''' </summary>
	Public Overrides Sub Init()
		' Set your license key for IronWebScraper
		License.LicenseKey = "YourLicenseKey"

		' Enable logging for all actions
		Me.LoggingLevel = WebScraper.LogLevel.All

		' Set a directory to store output and cache files
		Me.WorkingDirectory = AppSetting.GetAppRoot() & "\BlogSample\Output\"

		' Enable caching with a specific duration
		EnableWebCache(New TimeSpan(1, 30, 30))

		' Request the start URL and specify the response handler
		Me.Request("http://blogSite.com/", Parse)
	End Sub
End Class
$vbLabelText   $csharpLabel

As usual, we create a Scraper and inherit from the WebScraper class. In this case, it is "BlogScraper".

We set a working directory to “\BlogSample\Output\” where all of our output and cache files can go.

Then we enable the web cache to save requested pages inside the cache folder “WebCache.”

Now let’s write a parse function:

/// <summary>
/// Override this method to handle the Http Response for your web scraper.
/// Add additional methods if you handle multiple page types.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="response">The HTTP Response object to parse.</param>
public override void Parse(Response response)
{
    // Iterate over each link found in the section navigation
    foreach (var link in response.Css("div.section-nav > ul > li > a"))
    {
        switch(link.TextContentClean)
        {
            case "Reviews":
                {
                    // Handle reviews case
                }
                break;
            case "Science":
                {
                    // Handle science case
                }
                break;
            default:
                {
                    // Save the link title to a file
                    Scrape(new ScrapedData() { { "Title", link.TextContentClean } }, "BlogScraper.Jsonl");
                }
                break;
        }
    }
}
/// <summary>
/// Override this method to handle the Http Response for your web scraper.
/// Add additional methods if you handle multiple page types.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="response">The HTTP Response object to parse.</param>
public override void Parse(Response response)
{
    // Iterate over each link found in the section navigation
    foreach (var link in response.Css("div.section-nav > ul > li > a"))
    {
        switch(link.TextContentClean)
        {
            case "Reviews":
                {
                    // Handle reviews case
                }
                break;
            case "Science":
                {
                    // Handle science case
                }
                break;
            default:
                {
                    // Save the link title to a file
                    Scrape(new ScrapedData() { { "Title", link.TextContentClean } }, "BlogScraper.Jsonl");
                }
                break;
        }
    }
}
''' <summary>
''' Override this method to handle the Http Response for your web scraper.
''' Add additional methods if you handle multiple page types.
''' </summary>
''' <param name="response">The HTTP Response object to parse.</param>
Public Overrides Sub Parse(ByVal response As Response)
	' Iterate over each link found in the section navigation
	For Each link In response.Css("div.section-nav > ul > li > a")
		Select Case link.TextContentClean
			Case "Reviews"
					' Handle reviews case
			Case "Science"
					' Handle science case
			Case Else
					' Save the link title to a file
					Scrape(New ScrapedData() From {
						{ "Title", link.TextContentClean }
					},
					"BlogScraper.Jsonl")
		End Select
	Next link
End Sub
$vbLabelText   $csharpLabel

Inside the Parse method, we get all the links to category pages (Movies, Science, Reviews, etc.) from the top menu.

We then switch to a suitable parse method based on the link category.

Let's prepare our object model for the Science Page:

/// <summary>
/// Represents a model for Science Page
/// </summary>
public class ScienceModel
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Gets or sets the title.
    /// </summary>
    public string Title { get; set; }

    /// <summary>
    /// Gets or sets the author.
    /// </summary>
    public string Author { get; set; }

    /// <summary>
    /// Gets or sets the date.
    /// </summary>
    public string Date { get; set; }

    /// <summary>
    /// Gets or sets the image.
    /// </summary>
    public string Image { get; set; }

    /// <summary>
    /// Gets or sets the text.
    /// </summary>
    public string Text { get; set; }
}
/// <summary>
/// Represents a model for Science Page
/// </summary>
public class ScienceModel
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Gets or sets the title.
    /// </summary>
    public string Title { get; set; }

    /// <summary>
    /// Gets or sets the author.
    /// </summary>
    public string Author { get; set; }

    /// <summary>
    /// Gets or sets the date.
    /// </summary>
    public string Date { get; set; }

    /// <summary>
    /// Gets or sets the image.
    /// </summary>
    public string Image { get; set; }

    /// <summary>
    /// Gets or sets the text.
    /// </summary>
    public string Text { get; set; }
}
''' <summary>
''' Represents a model for Science Page
''' </summary>
Public Class ScienceModel
	''' <summary>
	''' Gets or sets the title.
	''' </summary>
	Public Property Title() As String

	''' <summary>
	''' Gets or sets the author.
	''' </summary>
	Public Property Author() As String

	''' <summary>
	''' Gets or sets the date.
	''' </summary>
	Public Property [Date]() As String

	''' <summary>
	''' Gets or sets the image.
	''' </summary>
	Public Property Image() As String

	''' <summary>
	''' Gets or sets the text.
	''' </summary>
	Public Property Text() As String
End Class
$vbLabelText   $csharpLabel

Now let’s implement a single page scrape:

/// <summary>
/// Parses the reviews from the response.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="response">The HTTP Response object.</param>
public void ParseReviews(Response response)
{
    // A list to hold Science models
    var scienceList = new List<ScienceModel>();

    foreach (var postBox in response.Css("section.main > div > div.post-list"))
    {
        var item = new ScienceModel
        {
            Title = postBox.Css("h1.headline > a")[0].TextContentClean,
            Author = postBox.Css("div.author > a")[0].TextContentClean,
            Date = postBox.Css("div.time > a")[0].TextContentClean,
            Image = postBox.Css("div.image-wrapper.default-state > img")[0].Attributes["src"],
            Text = postBox.Css("div.summary > p")[0].TextContentClean
        };

        scienceList.Add(item);
    }

    // Save the science list to a JSONL file
    Scrape(scienceList, "BlogScience.Jsonl");
}
/// <summary>
/// Parses the reviews from the response.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="response">The HTTP Response object.</param>
public void ParseReviews(Response response)
{
    // A list to hold Science models
    var scienceList = new List<ScienceModel>();

    foreach (var postBox in response.Css("section.main > div > div.post-list"))
    {
        var item = new ScienceModel
        {
            Title = postBox.Css("h1.headline > a")[0].TextContentClean,
            Author = postBox.Css("div.author > a")[0].TextContentClean,
            Date = postBox.Css("div.time > a")[0].TextContentClean,
            Image = postBox.Css("div.image-wrapper.default-state > img")[0].Attributes["src"],
            Text = postBox.Css("div.summary > p")[0].TextContentClean
        };

        scienceList.Add(item);
    }

    // Save the science list to a JSONL file
    Scrape(scienceList, "BlogScience.Jsonl");
}
''' <summary>
''' Parses the reviews from the response.
''' </summary>
''' <param name="response">The HTTP Response object.</param>
Public Sub ParseReviews(ByVal response As Response)
	' A list to hold Science models
	Dim scienceList = New List(Of ScienceModel)()

	For Each postBox In response.Css("section.main > div > div.post-list")
		Dim item = New ScienceModel With {
			.Title = postBox.Css("h1.headline > a")(0).TextContentClean,
			.Author = postBox.Css("div.author > a")(0).TextContentClean,
			.Date = postBox.Css("div.time > a")(0).TextContentClean,
			.Image = postBox.Css("div.image-wrapper.default-state > img")(0).Attributes("src"),
			.Text = postBox.Css("div.summary > p")(0).TextContentClean
		}

		scienceList.Add(item)
	Next postBox

	' Save the science list to a JSONL file
	Scrape(scienceList, "BlogScience.Jsonl")
End Sub
$vbLabelText   $csharpLabel

After we have created our model, we can parse the response object to drill down into its main elements (title, author, date, image, text).

Then, we save our results in a separate file using Scrape(object, fileName).

Click here for the full tutorial on the use of IronWebscraper

Get started with IronWebscraper

Webscraping has never been a simple task, with no dominant frameworks for use in C# or .NET programming environments. Iron Web Scraper was created to change this

Frequently Asked Questions

What is IronWebScraper?

IronWebScraper is a web scraping framework designed to extract and process data from web pages using C# or VB.NET.

How do I start a blog web scraper using IronWebScraper?

To start a blog web scraper using IronWebScraper, create a class that extends the WebScraper class, set your start URL, configure domain or URL patterns, and define how the HTTP responses should be parsed.

What is the purpose of setting a working directory in IronWebScraper?

Setting a working directory in IronWebScraper allows you to specify where output and cache files should be stored, facilitating organized data management.

How can I handle multiple page types in IronWebScraper?

You can handle multiple page types in IronWebScraper by overriding the Parse method to check for different link categories and switch to suitable parsing methods accordingly.

What is the use of the web cache in IronWebScraper?

The web cache in IronWebScraper is used to save requested pages, which can improve performance by reducing the need to re-fetch the same pages multiple times.

How do you save scraped data in IronWebScraper?

Scraped data in IronWebScraper can be saved by using the Scrape method, which allows you to specify the data object and the file name for saving.

What is a ScienceModel in the context of IronWebScraper?

A ScienceModel is a class that represents the data structure for a science page, including properties such as Title, Author, Date, Image, and Text.

How does IronWebScraper handle HTTP responses?

IronWebScraper handles HTTP responses by overriding the Parse method, which processes the response object to extract and save desired data.

Can I use IronWebScraper with VB.NET?

Yes, IronWebScraper can be used with both C# and VB.NET, making it versatile for developers familiar with either language.

Where can I find the full tutorial on using IronWebScraper?

The full tutorial on using IronWebScraper can be found on the IronSoftware website, under the web scraping tutorials section.

Darrius Serrant
Full Stack Software Engineer (WebOps)

Darrius Serrant holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Miami and works as a Full Stack WebOps Marketing Engineer at Iron Software. Drawn to coding from a young age, he saw computing as both mysterious and accessible, making it the perfect medium for creativity and problem-solving.

At Iron Software, Darrius enjoys creating new things and simplifying complex concepts to make them more understandable. As one of our resident developers, he has also volunteered to teach students, sharing his expertise with the next generation.

For Darrius, his work is fulfilling because it is valued and has a real impact.