Google Cached Pages

Google takes a snapshot of each page it examines and caches (stores) that version as a back-up. The cached version is what Google uses to judge if a page is a good match for your query. Practically every search result includes a Cached link. Clicking on that link takes you to the Google cached version of that web page, instead of the current version of the page. This is useful if the original page is unavailable because of:

  • Internet congestion
  • A down, overloaded, or just slow website
  • The owner’s recently removing the page from the Web

Sometimes you can access the cached version from a site that otherwise require registration or a subscription. Note: Since Google’s servers are typically faster than many web servers, you can often access a page’s cached version faster than the page itself. If Google returns a link to a page that appears to have little to do with your query, or if you can’t find the information you’re seeking on the current version of the page, take a look at the cached version. As part of efforts to provide a clean and simple redesign of the search results page, Google moved cached and similar links within the Instant Previews. Just hover over the search result, then hover over the arrows that appear to the right of the result.

Archive.org Cached View

The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web and other information on the Internet created by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit organization, based in San Francisco, California, United States. The Internet Archive launched the Wayback Machine in October 2001. It was set up by Brewster Kahle and Bruce Gilliat, and is maintained with content from Alexa Internet. The service enables users to see archived versions of web pages across time, which the archive calls a “three dimensional index”. Since 1996, the Wayback Machine has been archiving cached pages of websites onto its large cluster of Linux nodes. It revisits sites every few weeks or months and archives a new version. Sites can also be captured on the fly by visitors who enter the site’s URL into a search box. The intent is to capture and archive content that otherwise would be lost whenever a site is changed or closed down. The overall vision of the machine’s creators is to archive the entire Internet. (wikipedia)