# Monitor websites for visual changes

**Use case:** 

Watch a list of pages and get told when they change visually. The first run saves a screenshot of each page as a baseline; every later run compares against it and reports changed true or false, the percent of pixels that changed and a diff image. Schedule the task daily or hourly to track competitor pages, pricing, landing pages or your own site after deploys. From $1 per 1,000 screenshots.

## Input

```json
{
  "urls": [
    "https://www.wikipedia.org",
    "https://news.ycombinator.com"
  ],
  "devices": [
    "desktop"
  ],
  "fullPage": false,
  "format": "png",
  "detectChanges": true,
  "monitorName": "my-sites",
  "minChangePercent": 0.5,
  "baselineMode": "previous",
  "hideCookieBanners": true,
  "clickAcceptCookies": true,
  "waitUntil": "load",
  "delayMs": 0,
  "scrollToBottom": true,
  "maxHeightPx": 16000,
  "colorScheme": "light",
  "quality": 80,
  "pdfFormat": "A4",
  "concurrency": 2,
  "timeoutSecs": 45,
  "maxRetries": 1,
  "debug": false
}
```

## Output

```json
{
  "imageUrl": {
    "label": "Screenshot",
    "format": "image"
  },
  "url": {
    "label": "URL",
    "format": "link"
  },
  "device": {
    "label": "Device"
  },
  "statusCode": {
    "label": "Status"
  },
  "changed": {
    "label": "Changed",
    "format": "boolean"
  },
  "diffPercent": {
    "label": "Changed %",
    "format": "number"
  },
  "diffImageUrl": {
    "label": "Changes",
    "format": "image"
  },
  "width": {
    "label": "Width"
  },
  "height": {
    "label": "Height"
  },
  "truncated": {
    "label": "Cut",
    "format": "boolean"
  },
  "tookMs": {
    "label": "ms"
  },
  "error": {
    "label": "Error"
  }
}
```

## How it works

### 1. Sign up on Apify or log in

The Website Screenshot + Change Detection — Full Page, Mobile, PDF Actor is ready to run with the inputs already set for "Monitor websites for visual changes". [Sign up or log in](https://console.apify.com/create-task-from-example/beaN9ruqxHcPVbVeK) and you'll land in Apify Console with a copy of this exact task.

### 2. Start the "Monitor websites for visual changes" task

The Website Screenshot + Change Detection — Full Page, Mobile, PDF Actor will start running based on the input automatically. You can also change all the input fields, like URLs, devices, and more, to match your specific use case.

### 3. Receive the "Monitor websites for visual changes" output

Monitor the progress in real time. You will be notified as soon as your dataset is complete and ready for review. Each result includes data such as screenshot, URL, device, and more.

### 4. Integrate into your workflow

The final output is delivered in JSON, CSV, or Excel format, ready to be plugged into your workflow. You can also [run the "Monitor websites for visual changes" task via API](https://apify.com/saliga/website-screenshot-change-detection.md).

## About this Actor

This example demonstrates how to use [Website Screenshot + Change Detection — Full Page, Mobile, PDF](https://apify.com/saliga/website-screenshot-change-detection.md) with a specific input configuration. Visit the [Actor detail page](https://apify.com/saliga/website-screenshot-change-detection.md) to learn more, explore other use cases, and run it yourself.


## How to integrate an Actor?

This Task's input is already configured above. Use it as-is rather than inventing a new one.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For full API examples (JavaScript, Python, CLI, MCP, OpenAPI), see this Task's Actor page: https://apify.com/saliga/website-screenshot-change-detection.md

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).