The most common method for parsing HTML content in web scraping is through the use of CSS selectors, which are also the default method for locating elements in Playwright. The page.locator() method can be used to find elements using CSS selectors. For instance, this technique simplifies the selection of elements on a webpage, making your scraping process more efficient and reliable. In scenarios where you face challenges like regional restrictions or need to ensure anonymity, utilizing a web scraping API can provide a significant advantage. Such APIs are designed to circumvent common barriers, offering features like IP rotation and geo-targeting, thus enhancing your web scraping capabilities with Playwright. Whether you’re dealing with complex websites or simply need to streamline your data collection, integrating these tools can elevate your scraping projects to new levels of success.
from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright
with sync_playwright() as pw:
browser = pw.chromium.launch(headless=False)
context = browser.new_context(viewport={"width": 1920, "height": 1080})
page = context.new_page()
page.goto("https://google.com/")
h2_element = page.locator("h2.some-class")
⚠ Be aware that these commands may attempt to find elements before the page has fully loaded if it’s a dynamic javascript page. For more information, see how to wait for a page to load in Playwright.
For additional information, see: how to find elements by XPath selectors in Playwright.