Save a web page as a PDF you can actually read

The browser is the converter here, and it is a good one once you know which 3 switches to set. What it cannot do is decide which pages you need, so the clean-up afterwards runs here:

How do I save a web page as a PDF?

In Chrome and Edge on Windows or a Mac:

1. Clear the page. Accept or reject the cookie banner, close the newsletter pop-up, and scroll to the bottom once so pictures that load late are there.
2. Switch to reader view if this is an article (next section).
3. Press Ctrl+P (Cmd+P on a Mac).
4. Set the destination to Save as PDF. In Edge the list is called Printer. Choose Save as PDF, not Microsoft Print to PDF: the browser’s own Save as PDF keeps links clickable, which a printer driver does not.
5. Open More settings. Switch Headers and footers off for a clean copy, on for a record. Tick Background graphics for receipts, tickets and anything with coloured boxes; leave it off for articles.
6. Check the page count in the preview, set Pages to a range if you only need part, and press Save.

In Firefox the destination is also Save to PDF, and in Safari on a Mac you choose File, Export as PDF, or print and use the PDF menu at the bottom left of the dialog.

What does a web page look like printed raw?

We printed a test article with Edge’s own print engine (Edge 155, on 11 October 2026): a magazine header, the article, a sidebar with 3 advertisements and a cookie bar pinned to the bottom of the window, as most sites have.

What we checked	Result
Pages	7
Cookie bar	printed on all 7 pages
Advertisements in the sidebar	printed, squeezing the article into a narrow column
Sticky header	printed once, on page 1
The link in the article	still clickable
Headers and footers on	the page’s address and the date on every page
Headers and footers off	no address or date anywhere in the file
File properties	the page title as the PDF’s title, and the browser with its version as the creator

The cookie bar is the surprise. A banner fixed to the window is repeated on every printed page, over the text. Dismissing it before printing takes 1 click and saves the whole file.

How do I get rid of ads and sidebars?

Reader view keeps the headline, the text and the article’s pictures, and drops everything around them. Print from reader view and the ads never get into the file.

• Edge: press F9, or select Immersive Reader in the address bar. Printing from there prints the reader layout (Microsoft’s Immersive Reader page, checked on 11 October 2026).
• Firefox: select the Reader View icon in the address bar, then print. Mozilla’s article “Print simplified, clutter-free pages in Firefox” also describes a Simplified option under Format in the print preview, which does the same without leaving the page.
• Safari on a Mac: View, Show Reader, then print.
• Chrome: its reading mode changed in April 2026 and now opens a clean full-page view (right-click, Open in reading mode), according to Chrome Story (June 2026). We could not confirm that it prints as shown; if the preview still has the ads, use Edge or Firefox for this one page.

Reader view is for articles. On a receipt, a booking confirmation or a ticket it either does nothing or drops the parts you need, so print those as they are, with Background graphics on.

When does printing a web page fail?

• Infinite feeds. A social media timeline loads more as you scroll; the print takes what is loaded and nothing more.
• Web apps. Maps, dashboards and some banking pages print only what fits the window, or a blank page, or block printing outright.
• Pages cut at the right edge. A wide table does not wrap. Set Layout to Landscape, or Scale to a lower percentage under More settings.
• Pictures missing. They load as you scroll. Scroll to the bottom once, wait, then print.

For pages that will not print, screenshots are the honest fallback: take them (on a phone, a full-page screenshot where the browser offers it), then turn them into 1 PDF with JPG to PDF. The screenshots to PDF guide has the steps, and the result is pictures: the text cannot be searched until OCR reads it.

Saving a page as evidence

If the PDF is meant to show what a page said on a day (a price, terms, a listing), keep Headers and footers on. They print the address, the date and the page title on every page, which is what a landlord, a seller or a complaints body needs. The file’s own properties also record the title and the browser that made it; anyone can see those with Inspect. A printed page is a readable copy, not forensic proof; for a serious dispute, ask the other side or a professional what they accept.

After the save

Each step runs in your browser on your device; nothing is uploaded.

1. Delete the junk pages with the tool above: type the page numbers, such as 1, 6-7, and press Delete pages. Their text and pictures leave the file, so it gets smaller too.
2. Merge several articles into 1 reading file with Merge PDF; each gets its own bookmark, and the links keep working.
3. Shrink it if it is going by mail: Compress PDF lowers the picture resolution and leaves the text sharp.
4. Drop the properties you do not want to pass on (page title, creator) with Remove metadata.

What this cannot do

getPDF has no web page to PDF tool; one is planned. Until then the browser is the converter, and a good one. It still prints what the page gives it: a site with a broken print style stays broken, and no setting removes an ad that is part of the article itself. For an email rather than a web page, see save an email as a PDF; for every other source, create a PDF.