If you are looking to save web pages for offline viewing, then converting them to PDFs can be a good solution. As PDFs retain the formatting and images to look exactly like the actual web page, it’s perfect for saving web pages.
Fortunately, Chrome does a great job of managing PDF files, so it also allows you to convert web pages to PDF without any extra tools. If you are ready to convert web pages to PDF using Chrome, then keep reading and I’ll show you how to do it natively and with the help of a Chrome extension.
The “Print” feature of Chrome has an option to save the page as a PDF. Not only that, but you can also do basic PDF management like changing the layout or splitting PDF pages. Here’s how to do it:
Open up the web page that you would like to save as a PDF and then go to the main menu at the top-right corner and select “Print” from it. You can also use the “Ctrl+P” keyboard shortcut to directly open the print options.
Here in the “Destination” section, select “Save as PDF”.
You can change the page layout here or go to “More settings” to access even more options to manage the PDF file.
When you are done, click on “Save” at the bottom to download the web page as a PDF file.
There are many Chrome extensions for PDFs that can help you manage PDF files in different ways. And there are a bunch of them made for saving web page content in PDF format. Compared to the native method of saving web pages as PDF in Chrome, a Chrome extension usually offers much more control over the content you would like to save.
I personally like two extensions for this purpose, Print Friendly and PDF Mage. Both make it easier to only convert the content you need nothing extra, so I’ll recommend both of these so you may find the one that works best for you.
Print Friendly is specifically made for making printing content easier by excluding all the side content and only showing main content like images, title, and content body. If you want to convert a web page to PDF with only the main content, then this Chrome extension is perfect. It also lets you change font size, delete content, and change image size before converting.
PDF Mage is a more interesting one. If you click on the extension button, it will open the web page in a new tab as a PDF that is also downloadable. However, if you right-click on the extension button and select “Save part of page as PDF”, then you’ll be able to individually select every element on the web page to create a custom PDF. The elements including icons, text, images, sidebar content, buttons, and pretty much everything on a page.
I think for most users, the native function of Chrome to save web pages as PDF should be more than enough. It lets you change the layout, exclude pages, change sheet size, and manage other basic settings. Although if you want more control over the content you want to convert to PDF, then getting a Chrome extension is a must.
