How to Capture Multiple Web Pages as Screenshots in Batch on Mac

You need screenshots of 50 web pages. Maybe it's a website audit, a competitive analysis, a client report, or a documentation archive. Opening each URL, taking a screenshot, saving it, and moving to the next one is mind-numbingly tedious. Even at a minute or two per page, 50 pages becomes a repetitive time sink. For QA, SEO, and agency review work, this is where the manual approach usually breaks first.

If you're searching for a way to batch capture multiple URLs on Mac, this is the workflow. Shotomatic's web crawler takes a list of URLs and captures them automatically — in parallel, with desktop, tablet, or mobile presets, using viewport or full-page screenshots. Hand it a list, click Start, and come back to a folder of results.

This guide covers how to use the website crawler for batch capture, with the core use cases that usually drive queries like batch screenshot mac, capture multiple web pages, and screenshot multiple urls. If you want the product overview first, start with website screenshot automation on Mac.

TL;DR: Paste a list of URLs into Shotomatic's website crawler, choose a device preset, and let it capture pages in parallel (up to 10 at once). This is the simplest way to handle batch website screenshots on Mac when you need to capture multiple URLs quickly and consistently.

What Is the Website Crawler?

Shotomatic's website crawler is a batch capture tool. You give it URLs, it gives you screenshots. No browser needed — Shotomatic loads each page internally and captures it. If you want the higher-level overview before the step-by-step setup, the core product page is website screenshot automation.

Key capabilities:

• Batch processing — capture dozens or hundreds of pages in one run
• Parallel capture — up to 10 pages simultaneously for faster completion
• Device presets — capture at desktop, tablet, or mobile layouts for responsive screenshots
• Viewport or full-page capture — choose whether to capture what is visible or the entire page
• No browser required — Shotomatic handles page loading internally

This is different from window capture mode, which screenshots an application window on your screen. The website crawler is purpose-built for capturing web pages by URL.

Getting Started: Your First Batch Capture

Step 1: Prepare Your URLs

Create a list of the URLs you want to capture. You can:

• Paste directly into Shotomatic's crawler interface, one URL per line

Example URL list:

https://example.com/
https://example.com/about
https://example.com/products
https://example.com/pricing
https://example.com/contact
https://example.com/blog
https://example.com/blog/first-post
https://example.com/blog/second-post

Tip: Make sure each URL is complete (including https://). Relative paths won't work — every entry needs to be a full URL.

Step 2: Configure Viewport Settings

Choose the device preset for your captures:

• Desktop (1440px) — standard desktop view, the most common choice
• Tablet (768px) — iPad-width responsive layout
• Mobile (375px) — iPhone-width responsive layout

Pick one preset per run. If you want both desktop and mobile outputs, run the same URL list twice — once with each preset.

Step 3: Start the Capture

Click Start. Shotomatic begins processing your URL list:

1. Loads the first batch of pages (up to 10 in parallel)
2. Waits for each page to fully render
3. Captures according to your selected mode
4. Moves to the next batch of URLs
5. Repeats until the list is complete

Progress indicators show which URLs are being processed, which are complete, and which (if any) failed.

Step 4: Review and Export

Once the batch completes, review the results. Each screenshot is identified by its URL or page title. Export as:

• PNG — individual image files, best for visual review and sharing
• PDF — document format, best for reports and archival

Best Use Cases for Batch Website Screenshots

The strongest use cases are the ones where the exact query and the product workflow match directly.

Website audit

1. Compile a list of every page on the site (use a sitemap or crawl tool like Screaming Frog to generate the URL list)
2. Capture at desktop viewport (1440px)
3. Review the screenshots for visual inconsistencies — broken layouts, missing images, font issues, spacing problems

This is faster than clicking through every page manually, and the screenshots serve as documentation of the site's current state.

Responsive design testing

Capture the same URL list in separate runs for different device presets:

• 1440px (desktop)
• 768px (tablet)
• 375px (mobile)

Compare the captures side by side to check responsive breakpoints, text overflow, image scaling, and navigation behavior at each preset.

Pre/post-launch comparison

Capture every page before a major update or redesign. After the update, capture again. Comparing the two sets of screenshots reveals every visual change — intentional or not.

Name your batches with dates for easy comparison:

Audit_PreLaunch_20260320/
Audit_PostLaunch_20260322/

Competitive monitoring

Track how competitors present their products, pricing, and messaging over time. That same workflow also overlaps with lightweight website monitoring, where the goal is to keep dated visual records of what changed.

Capturing Competitor Pages

1. List your competitors' key pages — homepage, pricing, features, about
2. Capture them all in one batch
3. Repeat monthly or quarterly to track changes

Building a Competitive Archive

Over time, your archive shows how competitors evolve:

Competitive/
├── CompetitorA/
│   ├── 2026-01/
│   ├── 2026-02/
│   └── 2026-03/
├── CompetitorB/
│   ├── 2026-01/
│   ├── 2026-02/
│   └── 2026-03/

When a competitor changes their pricing page, you have before-and-after screenshots. When they redesign their homepage, you can see exactly what changed.

Documentation and archival

Some teams need dated visual records of what appeared on their site at a specific point in time. That can matter for internal recordkeeping, client documentation, or preserving pages before they change.

Batch capture your own website pages that contain important content:

• Terms of service
• Privacy policy
• Pricing and fee disclosures
• Marketing claims
• Disclaimers

Export as dated PDFs: SiteArchive_20260322.pdf. These create a practical dated record of what was published at that point.

Web agencies can use batch capture for client deliverables:

1. Capture the client's current site before starting work (baseline)
2. Capture after each milestone
3. Include screenshots in progress reports

The captures document the evolution of the project and provide visual proof of work completed.

If you want a permanent record of a website's current state, batch capture is also the fastest way to archive it.

1. Generate a URL list from the site's sitemap (/sitemap.xml)
2. Capture every page at desktop width
3. Export as PDFs for long-term storage

This creates a complete visual archive of the website as it existed at that moment. Not just the homepage — every page, every product listing, every blog post.

If a website you rely on announces it's shutting down, batch capture gives you a fast way to preserve everything:

1. Extract all URLs from the sitemap
2. Run the batch capture
3. Store the results locally

The Wayback Machine might catch some of it, but a local capture set gives you your own copy of what you saved.

What to Know Before Large Batches

Performance expectations

Parallel capture reduces waiting time significantly, but exact runtime depends on page complexity, image load times, browser resources, and your internet connection. Simple text pages finish quickly; image-heavy or script-heavy pages take longer.

Handling failures

Some URLs will fail — 404 errors, timeouts, pages that require authentication. Shotomatic reports which URLs failed so you can review and retry them individually. Failed URLs don't block the rest of the batch.

Common viewport widths

Tips for Better Batch Captures

Use complete URLs. Every URL must start with https:// (or http://). Don't use relative paths or domain names without the protocol.

Start small. Test with 5-10 URLs to verify the results look right before running a batch of 500. Check that pages render correctly and the viewport width produces the layout you want.

Check for redirects. Some URLs redirect to other pages. The crawler follows redirects and captures the final destination page. If this isn't what you want, verify your URL list beforehand.

Consider authentication. The crawler loads pages without any login credentials. Pages behind authentication will show the login screen, not the content. For authenticated pages, use the standard window capture method in your browser.

Watch your bandwidth. Loading many pages in parallel uses bandwidth. On slower connections, reduce the parallel count or expect longer capture times.

Name your batches. Create a dated folder for each batch run. This makes it easy to compare captures over time:

Captures/
├── 2026-03-01/
├── 2026-03-15/
└── 2026-03-22/

Export format matters. Use PNG for individual page screenshots you need to share or compare visually. Use PDF for documentation and archival — PDFs are easier to organize and review later.

Build the URL list from the right source. Sitemaps work for full-site capture. Tools like Screaming Frog SEO Spider are useful when you want a broader crawl export. Manual curation is better when you only care about key pages.

FAQ

How many URLs can I capture in one batch?

Shotomatic processes URL lists in parallel, with up to 10 pages captured at once. The practical batch size depends on your license, page complexity, and the resources on your Mac.

Does the crawler follow links on each page?

No. The website crawler captures the specific URLs you provide — it doesn't spider through links. You control exactly which pages get captured by supplying the URL list.

Can I capture pages that require login?

The website crawler captures pages as a visitor would see them — without authentication. For pages behind login, use the standard window capture method with your browser where you're already logged in.

What responsive viewports are available?

The website crawler currently offers preset device modes: desktop, tablet, and mobile. Choose one mode for a batch run, then repeat the run with another preset if you want another view.

Can I schedule batch captures to run automatically?

Shotomatic doesn't have built-in scheduling. For recurring captures, you could use macOS Automator or a cron job to trigger Shotomatic with a URL list at set intervals, though this requires some technical setup.

When Shotomatic Is the Right Fit

Manual screenshots don't scale. Five pages, fine. Fifty pages, painful. Five hundred pages, unrealistic. The website crawler turns a repetitive manual task into a manageable automated workflow.

If your real problem is "I need screenshots of multiple URLs on Mac without clicking through each page myself," this is the product-fit section. Use the crawler when you need:

• URL-list input instead of manual browsing
• desktop, tablet, or mobile presets
• parallel capture
• visual review for audits, reports, or archives

If the page requires login, use normal window capture instead. If the target is public and URL-driven, the crawler is the right tool.

For the full workflow overview, see website screenshot automation. If you already know this is your workflow, see pricing.