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Scrape a Shopping Website in C#

Curtis Chau
Curtis Chau
Updated: July 21, 2026

Learn how to scrape product categories and items from shopping websites using C# with the WebScraper framework, extracting structured data from HTML elements into custom models. This comprehensive guide walks you through building a robust e-commerce scraper using the IronWebScraper library.

Quickstart: Scrape Shopping Website in C#

  1. 1Install IronWebScraper with NuGet Package Manager

    PM > Install-Package IronWebScraper

  2. 2Copy and run this code snippet.

    using IronWebScraper;

public class QuickShoppingScraper : WebScraper
{
    public override void Init()
    {
        // Apply your license key
        License.LicenseKey = "YOUR-LICENSE-KEY";
        
        // Set the starting URL
        this.Request("https://shopping-site.com", Parse);
    }
    
    public override void Parse(Response response)
    {
        // Extract product data
        foreach (var product in response.Css(".product-item"))
        {
            var item = new
            {
                Name = product.Css(".product-name").First().InnerText,
                Price = product.Css(".price").First().InnerText,
                Image = product.Css("img").First().Attributes["src"]
            };
            
            Scrape(item, "products.jsonl");
        }
    }
}

// Run the scraper
var scraper = new QuickShoppingScraper();
scraper.Start();
    C#

  3. 3Deploy to test on your live environment

    Start using IronWebScraper in your project today with a free trial
    arrow pointer
  1. Create a new Console App project named "ShoppingSiteSample"
  2. Add a class named "ShoppingScraper" that inherits from WebScraper
  3. Create models for Category and Product data
  4. Override Init() to set start URL and Parse() method for scraping
  5. Run the scraper to extract categories and products to JSONL files

How Do I Analyze the Shopping Site's HTML Structure?

Select a shopping site to analyze its content structure. Understanding the HTML structure is crucial for successful web scraping. Before writing any code, spend time analyzing the target website's structure using browser developer tools.

Jumia e-commerce homepage with Ramadan promotional banner and navigation menu

As shown in the image, the left sidebar contains links for the site's product categories. The first step is investigating the site's HTML and planning the scraping approach. This analysis phase is essential for building an effective scraping strategy.

E-commerce website navigation menu showing product categories, subcategories, and brand sections

Why Does Understanding the HTML Structure Matter?

The fashion site categories have subcategories (Men, Women, Kids). Understanding this hierarchical structure helps design appropriate data models and scraping logic. When working with advanced web scraping features, proper HTML analysis becomes even more critical.

<li class="menu-item" data-id="">
    <a href="https://domain.com/fashion-by-/" class="main-category">
        <i class="cat-icon osh-font-fashion"></i>
        <span class="nav-subTxt">FASHION </span>
        <i class="osh-font-light-arrow-left"></i><i class="osh-font-light-arrow-right"></i>
    </a>
    <div class="navLayerWrapper" style="width: 633px; display: none;">
        <div class="submenu">
            <div class="column">
                <div class="categories">
                    <a class="category" href="https://domain.com/fashion-by-/?sort=newest&amp;dir=desc&amp;viewType=gridView3">New Arrivals !</a>
                </div>
                <div class="categories">
                    <a class="category" href="https://domain.com/men-fashion/">Men</a>
                    <a class="subcategory" href="https://domain.com/mens-shoes/">Shoes</a>
                    <a class="subcategory" href="https://domain.com/mens-clothing/">Clothing</a>
                    <a class="subcategory" href="https://domain.com/mens-accessories/">Accessories</a>
                </div>
                <div class="categories">
                    <a class="category" href="https://domain.com/women-fashion/">Women</a>
                    <a class="subcategory" href="https://domain.com/womens-shoes/">Shoes</a>
                    <a class="subcategory" href="https://domain.com/womens-clothing/">Clothing</a>
                    <a class="subcategory" href="https://domain.com/womens-accessories/">Accessories</a>
                </div>
                <div class="categories">
                    <a class="category" href="https://domain.com/girls-boys-fashion/">Kids</a>
                    <a class="subcategory" href="https://domain.com/boys-fashion/">Boys</a>
                    <a class="subcategory" href="https://domain.com/girls/">Girls</a>
                </div>
                <div class="categories">
                    <a class="category" href="https://domain.com/maternity-clothes/">Maternity Clothes</a>
                </div>
            </div>
            <div class="column">
                <div class="categories">
                    <span class="category defaultCursor">Men Best Sellers</span>
                    <a class="subcategory" href="https://domain.com/mens-casual-shoes/">Casual Shoes</a>
                    <a class="subcategory" href="https://domain.com/mens-sneakers/">Sneakers</a>
                    <a class="subcategory" href="https://domain.com/mens-t-shirts/">T-shirts</a>
                    <a class="subcategory" href="https://domain.com/mens-polos/">Polos</a>
                </div>
                <div class="categories">
                    <span class="category defaultCursor">Women Best Sellers</span>
                    <a class="subcategory" href="https://domain.com/womens-sandals/">Sandals</a>
                    <a class="subcategory" href="https://domain.com/womens-sneakers/">Sneakers</a>
                    <a class="subcategory" href="https://domain.com/women-dresses/">Dresses</a>
                    <a class="subcategory" href="https://domain.com/women-tops/">Tops</a>
                </div>
                <div class="categories">
                    <a class="category" href="https://domain.com/womens-curvy-clothing/">Women's Curvy Clothing</a>
                </div>
                <div class="categories">
                    <a class="category" href="https://domain.com/fashion-bundles/v/">Fashion Bundles</a>
                </div>
                <div class="categories">
                    <a class="category" href="https://domain.com/hijab-fashion/">Hijab Fashion</a>
                </div>
            </div>
            <div class="column">
                <div class="categories">
                    <a class="category" href="https://domain.com/brands/fashion-by-/">SEE ALL BRANDS</a>
                    <a class="subcategory" href="https://domain.com/adidas/">Adidas</a>
                    <a class="subcategory" href="https://domain.com/converse/">Converse</a>
                    <a class="subcategory" href="https://domain.com/ravin/">Ravin</a>
                    <a class="subcategory" href="https://domain.com/dejavu/">Dejavu</a>
                    <a class="subcategory" href="https://domain.com/agu/">Agu</a>
                    <a class="subcategory" href="https://domain.com/activ/">Activ</a>
                    <a class="subcategory" href="https://domain.com/oxford--bellini--tie-house--milano/">Tie House</a>
                    <a class="subcategory" href="https://domain.com/shoe-room/">Shoe Room</a>
                    <a class="subcategory" href="https://domain.com/town-team/">Town Team</a>
                </div>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>
</li>
HTML

How Do I Set Up the Web Scraping Project?

Set up a project following best practices for C# web scraping.

  1. Create a new Console App or add a new folder for the sample named "ShoppingSiteSample"
  2. Add a new class named "ShoppingScraper"
  3. Start by scraping site categories and their subcategories
  4. Install IronWebScraper via NuGet Package Manager or Package Manager Console:

PM > Install-Package IronWebScraper

What Data Model Should I Use for Categories?

Create a Categories Model that properly represents the hierarchical structure discovered:

public class Category
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Gets or sets the name.
    /// </summary>
    /// <value>
    /// The name.
    /// </value>
    public string Name { get; set; }
    
    /// <summary>
    /// Gets or sets the URL.
    /// </summary>
    /// <value>
    /// The URL.
    /// </value>
    public string URL { get; set; }
    
    /// <summary>
    /// Gets or sets the subcategories.
    /// </summary>
    /// <value>
    /// The subcategories.
    /// </value>
    public List<Category> SubCategories { get; set; }
    
    // Additional properties for enhanced data collection
    public int ProductCount { get; set; }
    public DateTime LastScraped { get; set; }
    public string CategoryType { get; set; }
}

How Do I Build the Basic Scraper Logic?

Build the scraper logic, remembering to apply your license key before running the scraper:

public class ShoppingScraper : WebScraper
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Initialize the web scraper, setting the start URLs and allowed/banned domains or URL patterns.
    /// </summary>
    public override void Init()
    {
        // Apply your license key - get one from https://ironsoftware.com/csharp/webscraper/licensing/
        License.LicenseKey = "LicenseKey";
        this.LoggingLevel = WebScraper.LogLevel.All;
        this.WorkingDirectory = AppSetting.GetAppRoot() + @"\ShoppingSiteSample\Output\";
        
        // Configure request settings for better performance
        this.Request("www.webSite.com", Parse);
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Parses the HTML document of the response to scrap the necessary data.
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="response">The HTTP Response object to parse.</param>
    public override void Parse(Response response)
    {
        var categoryList = new List<Category>();
        
        // Iterate through each link in the menu and extract the category data.
        foreach (var Links in response.Css("#menuFixed > ul > li > a"))
        {
            var cat = new Category
            {
                URL = Links.Attributes["href"],
                Name = Links.InnerText,
                LastScraped = DateTime.Now
            };
            categoryList.Add(cat);
        }
        
        // Save the scraped data into a JSONL file.
        Scrape(categoryList, "Shopping.jsonl");
    }
}

What Elements Am I Targeting in the Menu?

Scraping links from the menu requires precise CSS selectors. The API reference provides detailed information about available selector methods:

JSON file in Notepad showing e-commerce category structure with nested subcategories and URLs

How Do I Scrape Both Main Categories and Subcategories?

Update the code to scrape main categories and all sub-links. This approach ensures complete navigation structure capture:

public override void Parse(Response response)
{
    // List of Category Links (Root)
    var categoryList = new List<Category>();

    // Traverse each 'li' under the fixed menu
    foreach (var li in response.Css("#menuFixed > ul > li"))
    {
        // List of Main Links
        foreach (var Links in li.Css("a"))
        {
            var cat = new Category
            {
                URL = Links.Attributes["href"],
                Name = Links.InnerText,
                SubCategories = new List<Category>(),
                LastScraped = DateTime.Now
            };

            // List of Subcategories Links
            foreach (var subCategory in li.Css("a[class=subcategory]"))
            {
                var subcat = new Category
                {
                    URL = subCategory.Attributes["href"],
                    Name = subCategory.InnerText,
                    CategoryType = "Subcategory"
                };

                // Check if subcategory link already exists
                if (cat.SubCategories.Find(c => c.Name == subcat.Name && c.URL == subcat.URL) == null)
                {
                    // Add sublinks
                    cat.SubCategories.Add(subcat);
                }
            }
            
            // Update product count based on subcategories
            cat.ProductCount = cat.SubCategories.Count;
            
            // Add Main Category to the list
            categoryList.Add(cat);
        }
    }

    // Save the scraped data into a JSONL file.
    Scrape(categoryList, "Shopping.jsonl");
}

How Do I Extract Product Information from Category Pages?

With links to all site categories available, start scraping products within each category. When dealing with product pages, thread safety becomes important for optimal performance. Navigate to any category and examine the content:

E-commerce product listing page showing shoes and accessories with prices, ratings, and filtering controls

What Does the Product HTML Structure Look Like?

Examine the HTML structure to understand product organization:

<section class="products">
    <div class="sku -gallery -validate-size " data-sku="AG249FA0T2PSGNAFAMZ" ft-product-sizes="41,42,43,44,45" ft-product-color="Multicolour">
        <a class="link" href="http://www.WebSite.com/agu-bundle-of-2-sneakers-black-navy-blue-653884.html">
            <div class="image-wrapper default-state">
                <img class="lazy image -loaded" alt="Bundle Of 2 Sneakers - Black & Navy Blue" data-image-vertical="1" width="210" height="262" src="https://static.WebSite.com/p/agu-6208-488356-1-catalog_grid_3.jpg" data-sku="AG249FA0T2PSGNAFAMZ" data-src="https://static.WebSite.com/p/agu-6208-488356-1-catalog_grid_3.jpg" data-placeholder="placeholder_m_1.jpg">
                <noscript><img src="https://static.WebSite.com/p/agu-6208-488356-1-catalog_grid_3.jpg" width="210" height="262" class="image" /></noscript>
            </div>
            <h2 class="title">
                <span class="brand ">Agu&nbsp;</span>
                <span class="name" dir="ltr">Bundle Of 2 Sneakers - Black & Navy Blue</span>
            </h2>
            <div class="price-container clearfix">
                <span class="price-box">
                    <span class="price">
                        <span data-currency-iso="EGP">EGP</span>
                        <span dir="ltr" data-price="299">299</span>
                    </span>
                    <span class="price -old  -no-special"></span>
                </span>
            </div>
            <div class="rating-stars">
                <div class="stars-container">
                    <div class="stars" style="width: 62%"></div>
                </div>
                <div class="total-ratings">(30)</div>
            </div>
            <span class="shop-first-logo-container">
                <img src="http://www.WebSite.com/images/local/logos/shop_first/ShoppingSite/logo_normal.png" data-src="http://www.WebSite.com/images/local/logos/shop_first/ShoppingSite/logo_normal.png" class="lazy shop-first-logo-img -mbxs -loaded">
            </span>
            <span class="osh-icon -ShoppingSite-local shop_local--logo -block -mbs -mts"></span>
            <div class="list -sizes" data-selected-sku="">
                <span class="js-link sku-size" data-href="http://www.WebSite.com/agu-bundle-of-2-sneakers-black-navy-blue-653884.html?size=41">41</span>
                <span class="js-link sku-size" data-href="http://www.WebSite.com/agu-bundle-of-2-sneakers-black-navy-blue-653884.html?size=42">42</span>
                <span class="js-link sku-size" data-href="http://www.WebSite.com/agu-bundle-of-2-sneakers-black-navy-blue-653884.html?size=43">43</span>
                <span class="js-link sku-size" data-href="http://www.WebSite.com/agu-bundle-of-2-sneakers-black-navy-blue-653884.html?size=44">44</span>
                <span class="js-link sku-size" data-href="http://www.WebSite.com/agu-bundle-of-2-sneakers-black-navy-blue-653884.html?size=45">45</span>
            </div>
        </a>
    </div>
    <div class="sku -gallery -validate-size " data-sku="LE047FA01SRK4NAFAMZ" ft-product-sizes="110,115,120,125,130,135" ft-product-color="Black">
        <a class="link" href="http://www.WebSite.com/leather-shop-genuine-leather-belt-black-712030.html">
            <div class="image-wrapper default-state">
                <img class="lazy image -loaded" alt="Genuine Leather Belt - Black" data-image-vertical="1" width="210" height="262" src="https://static.WebSite.com/p/leather-shop-1831-030217-1-catalog_grid_3.jpg" data-sku="LE047FA01SRK4NAFAMZ" data-src="https://static.WebSite.com/p/leather-shop-1831-030217-1-catalog_grid_3.jpg" data-placeholder="placeholder_m_1.jpg">
                <noscript><img src="https://static.WebSite.com/p/leather-shop-1831-030217-1-catalog_grid_3.jpg" width="210" height="262" class="image" /></noscript>
            </div>
            <h2 class="title"><span class="brand ">Leather Shop&nbsp;</span> <span class="name" dir="ltr">Genuine Leather Belt - Black</span></h2>
            <div class="price-container clearfix">
                <span class="sale-flag-percent">-29%</span>
                <span class="price-box">
                    <span class="price"><span data-currency-iso="EGP">EGP</span> <span dir="ltr" data-price="96">96</span> </span>
                    <span class="price -old"><span data-currency-iso="EGP">EGP</span> <span dir="ltr" data-price="135">135</span> </span>
                </span>
            </div>
            <div class="rating-stars">
                <div class="stars-container">
                    <div class="stars" style="width: 100%"></div>
                </div>
                <div class="total-ratings">(1)</div>
            </div>
            <span class="osh-icon -ShoppingSite-local shop_local--logo -block -mbs -mts"></span>
            <div class="list -sizes" data-selected-sku="">
                <span class="js-link sku-size" data-href="http://www.WebSite.com/leather-shop-genuine-leather-belt-black-712030.html?size=110">110</span>
                <span class="js-link sku-size"data-href="http://www.WebSite.com/leather-shop-genuine-leather-belt-black-712030.html?size=115">115</span>
                <span class="js-link sku-size"data-href="http://www.WebSite.com/leather-shop-genuine-leather-belt-black-712030.html?size=120">120</span>
                <span class="js-link sku-size"data-href="http://www.WebSite.com/leather-shop-genuine-leather-belt-black-712030.html?size=125">125</span>
                <span class="js-link sku-size"data-href="http://www.WebSite.com/leather-shop-genuine-leather-belt-black-712030.html?size=130">130</span>
                <span class="js-link sku-size"data-href="http://www.WebSite.com/leather-shop-genuine-leather-belt-black-712030.html?size=135">135</span>
            </div>
        </a>
    </div>
</section>
HTML

Which Product Model Should I Create?

Build a product model for this content. When working with shopping website scraping, capture all relevant product details:

public class Product
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Gets or sets the name.
    /// </summary>
    /// <value>
    /// The name.
    /// </value>
    public string Name { get; set; }
    
    /// <summary>
    /// Gets or sets the price.
    /// </summary>
    /// <value>
    /// The price.
    /// </value>
    public string Price { get; set; }
    
    /// <summary>
    /// Gets or sets the image.
    /// </summary>
    /// <value>
    /// The image.
    /// </value>
    public string Image { get; set; }
    
    // Additional properties for comprehensive data collection
    public string Brand { get; set; }
    public string OldPrice { get; set; }
    public string Discount { get; set; }
    public float Rating { get; set; }
    public int ReviewCount { get; set; }
    public List<string> AvailableSizes { get; set; }
    public string ProductUrl { get; set; }
    public string SKU { get; set; }
    public DateTime ScrapedDate { get; set; }
}

How Do I Add Product Scraping Functionality?

To scrape category pages, add a new scrape method with error handling and data validation:

public void ParseCategory(Response response)
{
    // List of Products
    var productList = new List<Product>();

    // Iterate through product links in the product section
    foreach (var Links in response.Css("section.products > div > a"))
    {
        try
        {
            var product = new Product
            {
                Name = Links.Css("h2.title > span.name").First().InnerText,
                Brand = Links.Css("h2.title > span.brand").FirstOrDefault()?.InnerText ?? "Unknown",
                Price = Links.Css("div.price-container > span.price-box > span.price > span[data-price]").First().InnerText,
                Image = Links.Css("div.image-wrapper.default-state > img").First().Attributes["src"],
                ProductUrl = Links.Attributes["href"],
                SKU = Links.ParentNode.Attributes["data-sku"],
                ScrapedDate = DateTime.Now
            };

            // Extract old price if available
            var oldPriceElement = Links.Css("span.price.-old > span[data-price]").FirstOrDefault();
            if (oldPriceElement != null)
            {
                product.OldPrice = oldPriceElement.InnerText;
            }

            // Extract discount percentage
            var discountElement = Links.Css("span.sale-flag-percent").FirstOrDefault();
            if (discountElement != null)
            {
                product.Discount = discountElement.InnerText;
            }

            // Extract rating information
            var ratingWidth = Links.Css("div.stars").FirstOrDefault()?.Attributes["style"];
            if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(ratingWidth))
            {
                var width = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Match(ratingWidth, @"(\d+)%").Groups[1].Value;
                if (int.TryParse(width, out int ratingPercent))
                {
                    product.Rating = ratingPercent / 20.0f; // Convert percentage to 5-star scale
                }
            }

            // Extract review count
            var reviewText = Links.Css("div.total-ratings").FirstOrDefault()?.InnerText;
            if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(reviewText))
            {
                var reviewCount = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Match(reviewText, @"\d+").Value;
                if (int.TryParse(reviewCount, out int count))
                {
                    product.ReviewCount = count;
                }
            }

            // Extract available sizes
            product.AvailableSizes = Links.Css("div.list.-sizes > span.sku-size")
                .Select(s => s.InnerText)
                .ToList();

            productList.Add(product);
        }
        catch (Exception ex)
        {
            // Log error and continue with next product
            Console.WriteLine($"Error parsing product: {ex.Message}");
        }
    }

    // Save the scraped product data into a JSONL file.
    Scrape(productList, "Products.jsonl");
    
    // Handle pagination if needed
    var nextPageLink = response.Css("a.pagination-next").FirstOrDefault();
    if (nextPageLink != null)
    {
        var nextPageUrl = nextPageLink.Attributes["href"];
        this.Request(nextPageUrl, ParseCategory);
    }
}

This comprehensive approach to scraping shopping websites ensures capture of all relevant product information while handling errors gracefully. For more advanced scenarios, explore the advanced web scraping features available in IronWebScraper.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I start web scraping on a shopping website using C#?

To start web scraping on a shopping website using C#, you need to create a new Console App project, add a class that inherits from `WebScraper`, and configure the scraper to set a start URL and parse methods using the `IronWebScraper` library.

What are the main steps to set up a C# web scraping project?

The main steps to set up a C# web scraping project include creating a Console App, installing the `IronWebScraper` via NuGet, setting up data models for categories and products, and overriding the `Init()` and `Parse()` methods within your scraper class.

Why is understanding the HTML structure important for web scraping?

Understanding the HTML structure is crucial for web scraping because it allows you to design appropriate data models and logic to effectively extract the necessary elements such as product names, prices, and images from the web pages.

How do I extract product data from a shopping site using `IronWebScraper`?

You can extract product data using `IronWebScraper` by iterating through HTML elements with CSS selectors in the `Parse()` method, organizing them into custom data models, and saving the scraped data into a JSONL file.

What data models should I use for scraping e-commerce sites?

For scraping e-commerce sites, you should use data models like `Category` and `Product` to represent hierarchical structures and individual product details, capturing fields such as name, price, URL, image, and more.

Can `IronWebScraper` handle pagination while scraping?

Yes, `IronWebScraper` can handle pagination by requesting the next page URL found in the pagination links and continuing to scrape across pages until all necessary data is collected.

How does `IronWebScraper` improve the efficiency of a web scraping project?

`IronWebScraper` enhances web scraping efficiency through features like concurrent requests, CSS selectors for targeted scraping, and harvesting data into structured formats, making the scraping process faster and more organized.

How do I ensure thread safety when scraping product pages?

To ensure thread safety when scraping product pages, you should manage concurrent requests and resource sharing carefully, using the advanced features of `IronWebScraper` designed to handle multi-threaded operations efficiently.

What are common elements targeted when scraping e-commerce categories?

Common elements targeted when scraping e-commerce categories include category names, URLs, subcategory links, and sometimes metadata like product counts or last updated timestamps.

How do I scrape subcategories along with main categories?

You can scrape subcategories along with main categories by iterating through each main category's HTML structure, identifying subcategory links, and extracting their respective names and URLs using `IronWebScraper`.

Curtis Chau
Curtis Chau
Technical Writer

Curtis Chau holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science (Carleton University) and specializes in front-end development with expertise in Node.js, TypeScript, JavaScript, and React. Passionate about crafting intuitive and aesthetically pleasing user interfaces, Curtis enjoys working with modern frameworks and creating well-structured, visually appealing manuals.

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