Start collecting your own data! Learn how to use Python and Beautiful Soup to scrape the web and download data from APIs in this interactive web scraping course.
Why learn web scraping?
A data analyst or data scientist doesn’t always get data handed to them in a CSV or via an easily accessible database. Sometimes, you’ve got to go out and get the data you need.
The ability to collect unique data sets can really set you apart from the pack, and being able to access APIs and scrape the web for new data stories is the best way to get data nobody else is working with.
Start setting yourself apart from the pack by signing up for a free account and diving into our APIs and Web Scraping course right now.
What's in this APIs and web scraping course?
The course begins with several lessons about accessing and using data from APIs. Among other things, you'll learn to use Python to:
You'll apply your new API skills to a challenge by working with the reddit API to do some real-world data analysis.
From there, the course moves into web scraping using Python and Beautiful Soup and the requests library. Among other things, you'll learn how to:
While each API and each web page has its own unique quirks, by the end of this course you'll be comfortable with extracting data via APIs or via web scraping.
What do learners say about our courses?
97%
recommend Dataquest for career improvement
8 in 10
say learning with Dataquest has improved their lives
2.5M+
total lessons completed by Dataquest learners
For more on what our learners think of Dataquest, check out our student outcomes.
Lessons in this APIs and web scraping course:
Working With APIs
Learn to work with a simple API by finding the position of the International Space Station.
Intermediate APIs
Learn to work with a more complex API that involves authentication and POST requests.
Challenge: Working With The Reddit API
Practice making requests to an API that requires authentication.
Web Scraping
Learn how to extract data from Web pages.
Frequently asked questions about this web scraping course:
How long does the course take?
On Dataquest, you can learn at your own pace. There's no set course schedule you need to worry about.
Different learners work at different paces, but a typical learner might finish this course in a few weeks to a month, depending on how much time they were able to dedicate to it.
Where are the videos?
We don't teach with videos. We think the best way to learn programming is to actually write code, not watch someone else write code.
Read more about the science behind our hands-on learning approach.
Can I try it for free?
Yes, and you should! Sign up for a free account and get started right now, right in your browser!
What is this web scraping course useful for?
There's a huge amount of data out there, but most of it isn't available in easy-to-analyze CSV files.
Being able to collect your own data by scraping it from websites using BeautifulSoup or downloading it via API will open up a world of new analysis possibilities.
Most data positions will require you to be able to work with APIs and some may also require web scraping. These techniques can also be very helpful for getting a job — using web scraping to grab a unique data set to analyze can really help make a job application stand out.
