Preserve the web as a lasting record
Capture websites at points in time, preserve the record, and help people discover and revisit the material that matters to your institution.
For archives, libraries, public institutions, international organizations, and universities.
An interactive comparison of a fictional institutional website, the Public Records Office homepage at records.example.org. The archive lists three available captures, March 2023, September 2024 and June 2026, and the March 2023 capture is opened on the left, beside the live site of June 2026 on the right. Move the divider between them to see how the homepage changed, from a centred search page to a redesign with a full-width banner. Illustrative, not a product screen.
records.example.orgWeb archive
EarlierMar 2023LaterJun 2026Live
Reading room open Tuesday to Saturday
Public Records Office AboutCollectionsVisitNews
Discover the records of public life
Search catalogues, documents and photographs held by the Office.
Search the catalogue
Captured Mar 2023
Public Records Office ExploreVisitLearnAbout
Records that tell the story of public life
Documents, photographs and reports, open to everyone.
Start exploringPlan a visit
Annual report 2025
Consultation summary
Available capturesrecords.example.org
- Mar 2023Opened
- Sep 2024
- Jun 2026
Capture of Mar 2023 opened on the left
Captured versions stay within reach after the live site moves on.
Why it matters
The web changes. Your record of it shouldn't disappear.
Reports, guidance, announcements, and decisions can disappear when websites change or retire. A web archive preserves dated captures as historical material people can return to.
Preservation keeps captured versions within reach after the live site moves on.
The same website address shown twice. The live website today shows the redesigned Reports and publications page from June 2026. Beside it, the earlier archived version shows the Public information and reports page as captured in September 2024, kept on an archive path with captures from March 2023, September 2024 and June 2026.
Earlier captureSep 2024
Public Records OfficeAboutReportsContact
Public information and reports
Publications from the Office, made available to the public.
- Annual report 2023PDF
- Annual report 2022PDF
Live website todayrecords.example.org/reports
Public Records OfficeAboutReportsContact
Public information and reports
Publications from the Office, made available to the public.
- Annual report 2023PDF
- Annual report 2022PDF
Public Records OfficeAboutReportsContact
Reports and publications
Annual reports, reviews and consultation responses
Annual report 2025
Consultation summary
- Mar 2023
- Sep 2024
- Jun 2026
Who it's for
Designed for institutions that preserve the web
Website preservation serves organizations that keep the web as part of a historical or public record, and the archivists, technical reviewers, and procurement teams who evaluate how it is done.
Designed for archives and libraries, government and public institutions, international organizations, and universities and research institutions.
Archives and libraries
Websites collected as part of a wider record of society and culture
Government and public institutions
What public bodies have published online, kept as a record
International organizations
Publications and announcements from organizations that work across borders
Universities and research institutions
Web material that teaching, research and institutional history depend on
How it works
From the live web to a lasting record.
01
Capture
Capture the web material your collection needs
Your institution decides which websites and material belong in the collection.
- A collection scope agreed with your team
- Captures scheduled around how each site changes
- On-demand captures where your service includes them
Website sources: records.example.org, consultations.example.org and news.example.org are brought into a collection scope, the Public Records Office web collection, and shop.example.org stays outside it. Once the scope is agreed, the collection is captured on a schedule: scheduled captures in March 2023, September 2024 and June 2026, and one capture made on request.
Sources your institution selects
- records.example.org
- consultations.example.org
- news.example.org
- shop.example.orgOutside scope
Agreed collection scope
Public Records Office web collection
Reports, consultations and news
Then, captures on the agreed schedule
- Mar 2023Scheduled
- Sep 2024Scheduled
- On request
- Jun 2026Scheduled
02
Preservation
Keep a durable record of what was captured
WARC is a standard file format for web archives.
- Captured pages and supporting material preserved as archive records.
- Source addresses and capture dates associated with archived material.
- Records stored in WARC format.
The Public Records Office reports page captured in September 2024, with the page, its images and the linked annual report drawn out beside it. That captured material is preserved as one WARC archive record that names the source, records.example.org/reports, the capture date, September 2024, and the format, WARC.
Source
Public Records OfficeAboutReportsContact
Public information and reports
Publications from the Office, made available to the public.
- Annual report 2023PDF
- Annual report 2022PDF
Captured material
- The captured page
- Its images
- Linked annual report (PDF)
Preserved as a WARC archive record
WARC
Archive record
- Source
- records.example.org/reports
- Capture date
- Sep 2024
- Format
- WARC record
In the collectionPublic Records Office web collection
03
Preparation
Turn captured material into a usable archive
Preservation goes beyond capture: material needs to be checked and prepared for the way your institution will use it.
- Operational checks on captured material
- Preparation for publication or delivery, as your service requires
- A team that works alongside yours
Three states. Captured: the reports page record from September 2024. Reviewed, with example review points: the preservation team looks at how the page displays, whether the linked annual report opens and whether the images are in place. Prepared: the record is placed in the Public Records Office web collection, ready for the access arrangement the institution has agreed.
-
Captured
records.example.org/reportsSep 2024
-
Reviewed
Public Records OfficeAboutReportsContact
Public information and reports
Publications from the Office, made available to the public.
- Annual report 2023PDF
- Annual report 2022PDF
Example review points
- Page displays as capturedChecked
- Linked report opensChecked
- Images in placeChecked
-
Prepared
Public Records Office web collection
Mar 2023Public information
Sep 2024Public information and reports
Ready for the agreed access arrangement
04
Replay
Browse a website across time
See how a website changed over time and explore its linked pages where they were captured and are available in the archive.
- Find an archived website by its address
- Choose from its available capture dates
- Revisit the page on another capture date
A website address, records.example.org/reports, with three available capture dates: March 2023, September 2024 and June 2026. Selecting September 2024 shows the Public information and reports page as it was then. Selecting March 2023 opens the March 2023 capture of the page, its earlier version, headed Public information, with one report.
Website address
records.example.org/reports
Available captures
- Mar 2023
- Sep 2024
- Jun 2026
Opened captureSep 2024Mar 2023
Public Records OfficeAboutReportsContact
Public information and reports
Publications from the Office, made available to the public.
- Annual report 2023PDF
- Annual report 2022PDF
Public Records OfficeAboutReportsContact
Public information
Publications from the Office, made available to the public.
- Annual report 2022PDF
05
Access & Discovery
Help people use your web archive
Access can be public or kept within your institution. Search options, interfaces, and result presentation depend on your requirements and service arrangement.
- Public archive interfaces where appropriate
- Full-text search for supported archives
- Search results can connect people to a source and an available capture.
An illustrative public web archive for the Public Records Office. A visitor searches for annual report. Results show a title, the source site and the capture date: Annual report 2023 from records.example.org, captured September 2024; Annual report 2022 from records.example.org, captured March 2023; and an annual review from consultations.example.org, captured June 2026. The visitor opens the first result, and the archived page opens as it was captured in September 2024.
Public Records OfficeWeb archive
annual report
- Annual report 2023records.example.orgSep 2024Open capture
- Annual report 2022records.example.orgMar 2023
- Annual review of consultationsconsultations.example.orgJun 2026
Opened from the resultsrecords.example.org/reportsSep 2024
Public Records OfficeAboutReportsContact
Public information and reports
Publications from the Office, made available to the public.
- Annual report 2023PDF
- Annual report 2022PDF
06
Your requirements
An archive built around your responsibilities
Red Oak's preservation team will work through your institution's requirements and explain how the proposed service would address them.
A service blueprint in four stages. Collection needs: the websites the collection holds. Capture and preservation: dated archive records in WARC format. Access and delivery: a public archive or delivered copies of the records, as agreed with the institution. Ongoing service: regular review with the institution's team. Requirements that shape the service: collection scope, discovery and access, record delivery, security and data location, accessibility, and support.
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Collection needs
records.example.orgconsultations.example.orgnews.example.org -
Capture and preservation
WARCrecords.example.org/reportsSep 2024 -
Access and delivery
Public archiveWhere agreed
Copies of recordsWhere agreed
-
Ongoing service
Reviewed with your team
Shaped byCollection scopeDiscovery and accessRecord deliverySecurity and data locationAccessibilitySupport
1,550+
regulated firms use Red Oak
16 years
supporting clients
8 years
in a row on the Inc. 5000
FAQ
Questions about website preservation
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Website preservation, also called web archiving, is the practice of capturing websites at points in time and keeping those captures as archive records people can return to. Institutions use it to preserve a lasting record of selected material published online. Talk to our team about your collection.
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A backup is generally designed to restore a website or its underlying files after something goes wrong. A web archive keeps dated captures of what a website showed, so people can discover them and browse captured versions by address and capture date long after the live site has changed. Talk to our team about what your archive needs to hold.
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Public websites of many kinds can be captured, including their pages, images, and linked documents. How fully a site is captured and replayed depends on how it is built: content that loads only after interaction, streamed media, and pages behind a login can be harder to preserve. The team reviews your sites and explains what to expect. Talk to our team about your websites.
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Yes, where the service is set up for it. Some institutions publish a public archive with search, while others keep access within the institution. The access arrangement, interface, and search options are agreed as part of the service. Talk to our team about how people will use your archive.
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Captured web material is stored in WARC, a standard format for web archives. WARC records can include the captured content and details such as its source address and capture date. Where the service includes it, copies of archive records can be delivered to your institution. Talk to our team about record delivery.
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Red Oak supports social media preservation for certain institutional archives. Available sources, capture methods, and access arrangements depend on the platform and your institution's requirements. Talk to our team about the material you need to preserve.
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They are reviewed as part of designing your service. The preservation team can work through your security, accessibility, and data-location requirements, along with procurement or tender questions, and explain how a proposed service would address them. Talk to our team about your requirements.
Let's discuss what your institution needs to preserve
Tell us about your collection, access requirements, and the websites you need to preserve. We'll walk through an approach with you.