What should I do if my Trustpilot scraper stops working?

If your Trustpilot scraper stops working, it could be due to a variety of reasons, such as changes to the Trustpilot website structure, updates to their anti-scraping measures, temporary network issues, or problems with your scraper code. Here are some steps you can take to diagnose and fix the issue:

1. Check for Trustpilot Website Changes

The most common reason scrapers stop working is because the website's HTML structure has changed. Inspect the Trustpilot website to see if there have been any changes to the elements you are targeting.

• Use your browser's developer tools (usually accessible by pressing F12) to inspect the page structure.
• Look for changes in the class names, ids, or other attributes that you might be using to identify the data to scrape.

2. Review Anti-Scraping Measures

Trustpilot may have updated its anti-scraping measures, making it harder for bots to access its data.

• Check if there are any new CAPTCHAs, JavaScript challenges, or IP bans.
• Make sure you are not making too many requests in a short period, as this could trigger their rate limiting or banning mechanisms.
• Consider using rotating proxy services to avoid IP bans.

3. Update Your Scraper Code

If you've identified changes to the Trustpilot website or its anti-scraping measures, you'll need to update your scraper code accordingly.

• Adjust your code to match the new HTML structure or to handle CAPTCHAs.
• If necessary, implement a way to manage sessions, cookies, or use headers that mimic a real browser.

4. Test Your Scraper

Once you've made changes to your scraper, test it to ensure it's working correctly.

• Run the scraper with debugging or verbose output to see where it might be failing.
• Start with a small number of pages to avoid triggering anti-scraping measures while testing.

5. Handle Network Issues

Sometimes, the problem might be temporary network issues.

• Check your internet connection.
• If you're using proxies, verify that they are working and not blacklisted by Trustpilot.

6. Examine Your Scraper's Error Handling

Good error handling can help you understand why your scraper stopped working.

• Make sure you have try-except blocks in your code to catch and log errors.
• Check the logs for any errors that might give you clues about the failure.

7. Monitor and Maintain Your Scraper

Trustpilot, like many other websites, evolves over time, so regular monitoring and maintenance of your scraper are necessary.

• Schedule regular checks to ensure your scraper is still working.
• Stay updated with any announcements from Trustpilot that could affect scraping.

Example: Updating Your Scraper (Python)

from bs4 import BeautifulSoup
import requests

# Example function to scrape Trustpilot reviews
def scrape_trustpilot_reviews(url):
    headers = {
        'User-Agent': 'Your User-Agent',
    }
    response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)

    # Check for request success
    if response.status_code == 200:
        soup = BeautifulSoup(response.content, 'html.parser')

        # Update the selectors based on the new Trustpilot structure
        reviews = soup.find_all('div', class_='new-class-name-for-reviews')

        for review in reviews:
            # Extract the desired data
            pass  # Replace with your data extraction code
    else:
        print(f"Failed to retrieve page with status code: {response.status_code}")

# Example usage
scrape_trustpilot_reviews('https://www.trustpilot.com/review/example.com')

Remember, web scraping should always be conducted in accordance with the website's terms of service and with respect for the data's intended use. Trustpilot's terms may prohibit scraping, and you should consider using their official API if available and appropriate for your use case.