Urlbox is the website screenshot API for PHP that makes fast, accurate screenshots. Finally, a screenshot API you can depend on without writing your own microservice.
Read the full storyUsing Urlbox, we've scaled our volume to over 5 times what we were. We’re confident that Urlbox will continue to produce great results as we grow.
Read the full storyUrlbox's support of emojis was a big signal that it could replace our own service. It was a simple replacement - a real success story for us.
// run this on the command line to install the urlbox php package:
// composer require urlbox/screenshots
use Urlbox\Screenshots\Urlbox;
$urlbox = Urlbox::fromCredentials('API_KEY', 'API_SECRET');
// only required option is a url:
$options['url'] = 'example.com';
// specify any other options to augment the screenshot...
$options['width'] = 320;
// Create the Urlbox URL
$urlboxUrl = $urlbox->generateUrl($options);
// $urlboxUrl is now 'https://api.urlbox.io/v1/API_KEY/TOKEN/png?url=example.com&width=320'
// Generate a screenshot by loading the Urlbox URL in an img tag:
echo '<img src="'.$urlboxUrl.'" alt="Test screenshot generated by Urlbox">'
If you're happy maintaining more JavaScript with your PHP code, DIY screenshot APIs are easier to get started with than they used to be.
Urlbox has been through a few iterations over the years. We started off in 2012 using Node.js v0.6. Today it is still mostly written in JavaScript - and increasingly in TypeScript.
For the rendering engine, we started off using PhantomJS, then moved through various projects - webkit2png, QtWebkit and Electron - before settling down with headless Chrome/Chromium (via Puppeteer).
Urlbox's screenshots are considered the most accurate and high quality of any screenshot service.
The Urlbox team sweats the small stuff, ensuring that fonts and emojis render correctly. We cringe with you at full page website screenshots with repeating scrollbars and ugly horizontal seams. Other APIs struggle to handle newer CSS features such as Flexbox, Grid and slower loading WebGL pages.
Here are six ways that Urlbox outperforms other screen capture APIs:
Retina Images
Block Pop-ups
Click Accept
Block Ads
Bypass Captchas
Bring Your Own Proxy
Read the full storyIt would have been so cumbersome to implement a service of our own to take screenshots. Urlbox's API is so straightforward, and the live preview is cool. I can play around with the parameters and see it do what I need it to do.
You'll find Urlbox's dashboard and documentation fresh and regularly updated
With Urlbox you can preview all available API options and check API usage on our modern dashboard
With other APIs, you'll feel like you've stepped into a computer history museum
With Urlbox, you can render screenshots as PNG, JPEG, WEBP, AVIF, SVG, PDF, and even HTML
With other APIs, you can only render in one or two formats
With Urlbox, you can ensure a screenshot is only taken when a certain element is either in the DOM, or has left the DOM. Very useful if a web page has lazy loading, and you want to make sure spinners are gone before generating a screenshot
With other APIs, the burden is on the page you're screenshotting - which is often out of your control
With Urlbox, you have all the power you need to set headers, proxies and user agents. You can even fail an API request if certain elements are present (or not present) in the DOM. That means they won't count against your monthly quota!
With other APIs, you pay for just a handful of options - regardless of whether or not they actually work
Sadly, you'll hear many complaints about the level of support from other screenshot APIs - you only have to look at their Twitter feed.
Priority support really does mean priority support at Urlbox.
With Urlbox, you'll rarely have to wait for a whole business day - we'll usually get back to you within the hour!
Read the full storyIt's so evident that Urlbox really cares and pays attention. It's rare that I need customer support but, when I do, I know one of the team will get right back to me.
Read the full storyI love the support that Urlbox provides. Normally when I have a new feature request like WebP images or blocking cookie pop-ups, I email support and get a response saying it's already possible - within minutes.
Look up Urlbox's founder, Chris Roebuck, on LinkedIn.
While Urlbox is small and scrappy, you'll see he's been full-time on the business for over 5 years. Urlbox is proudly profitable, and has been for years. It's a world away from the neglected side-projects so many of our customers have previously experienced.
Chris plans to be in the screenshots business for the long term.