Excel Get Data from Web: what it does well and where it fails

By the ScrapeSheet team · Published October 20, 2026 · Updated October 20, 2026 · 6 min read

Excel already has a web scraper built in. It sits on the Data tab as From Web, and it runs on Power Query, the same engine that cleans and combines data elsewhere in Excel. For many jobs it is all you need. For others it returns an empty Navigator, a half-loaded table, or only the first page of results. This guide shows how to use it, where it shines, where it breaks, and when a browser extension is the better fit.

How do you use Get Data from Web in Excel?

Microsoft's support article says the Web connector in Excel is available as part of an Office 365 (now Microsoft 365) subscription, and you need an internet connection. Microsoft's own example uses a Wikipedia list of U.S. states, so a public Wikipedia table is a good first test.

1. On the Data tab, select From Web (or Get Data > From Other Sources > From Web).
2. Paste the page URL into the box and select OK.
3. The first time you connect to a site, choose Anonymous for a public page and select Connect.
4. In the Navigator, click each suggested table to preview it. If you are unsure which one holds your data, open the Web View tab, which highlights the tables it detected.
5. If no table fits, select Add table using examples and type a few sample values for each column. Power Query extracts the data that matches the pattern.
6. Select Load to send the table to the grid, or Transform Data to fix headers and data types in the Power Query Editor first.

For a side-by-side test on one page, see our guide to moving a Wikipedia table to Excel.

What does From Web do well?

Static HTML tables

If the table is part of the page's HTML when it arrives, From Web reads its structure directly. Columns line up, and you avoid the shifted cells that copy and paste can produce. Microsoft's test for this is simple: open the page in a browser and watch it load. If the content shows up right away, it is a regular HTML page.

Files published at a URL

The Web connector also imports files that live on the web, including CSV, JSON, XML, Excel, and PDF. That suits open data portals such as data.gov, the U.S. government's open data site, where agencies publish datasets you can link to directly. When a site offers a file download, use it: it is cleaner than reading the page.

Refresh on a schedule

This is the real strength. Once the query exists, Excel can fetch the latest version for you:

1. Open Data > Queries & Connections.
2. Right-click the query and select Properties.
3. On the Usage tab, check Refresh every and enter the number of minutes, or check Refresh data when opening the file.
4. Select OK. You can still refresh by hand with Data > Refresh All.

Excel may block external connections at first. If it does, enable them from the security bar or save the workbook in a trusted location.

Where does Excel's From Web fall short?

Pages that load their data with JavaScript

Many modern pages arrive almost empty and fill in their tables with scripts. Microsoft's troubleshooting guide warns that these dynamic pages can cause sporadic errors: sometimes the connector downloads the HTML before the content has finished loading. You may see a column missing on one refresh and back on the next, or a Navigator with no tables at all. Microsoft's remedy is a WaitFor option on the Web.BrowserContents function, which means editing M code by hand in the Advanced Editor. Microsoft's own comparison table also lists Power BI Desktop, not Excel, as the app that generates that function, so it is not a one-click fix.

Pagination and "Load more" buttons

Each From Web query starts from a single URL. To cover page 1 to page 20, you have to build the list of URLs yourself, typically with a parameter and a custom function in the Power Query Editor. Infinite scroll and "Load more" buttons are harder still: the connector has no documented option to click or scroll. Our guide to scraping multiple pages covers both patterns.

Sites with their own sign-in page

The credential types Microsoft documents for the Web connector are Anonymous, Windows, Basic, Web API, and Organizational account. Many websites use their own sign-in form instead, which is not one of those options. If a page requires an account, look for an official export or API from that site, and check its terms. Do not try to work around the sign-in.

From Web or a browser extension: which fits?

Use the built-in tool when it works. It costs nothing extra and keeps the data live. Switch when the page or the job is outside its comfort zone:

How to do it with ScrapeSheet

ScrapeSheet runs in your browser, on the page you already see, so it works with the content as it appears on your screen. The full walkthrough is on our web scraper to Excel page.

1. Install ScrapeSheet from the Chrome Web Store and pin it.
2. Open the page you want and wait for the table or list to appear.
3. Click the ScrapeSheet icon to open the panel, then click Extract. It detects the tables and lists on the page on its own.
4. Pick the data and export it as an Excel .xlsx file, as a CSV file, or to the clipboard.
5. For results spread across pages, ScrapeSheet Pro follows pagination and loads infinite-scroll lists to collect every result.

Know the trade-offs. The free plan allows up to 20 rows per export and one page per run. ScrapeSheet Pro (€12.99 per month) removes the row limit, covers all pages, and adds AI extraction with your own Claude or OpenAI key. Each export is a snapshot of the page at that moment, so if you need a sheet that updates itself on a timer from a static page, Excel's From Web is the better tool. For a broader comparison of methods, read how to scrape a website to Excel, or browse all guides on the ScrapeSheet blog.

FAQ

How do I import data from a website into Excel?
On the Data tab, select From Web, paste the page URL, and select OK. In the Navigator, pick a suggested table and select Load, or Transform Data to clean it first.

Why does Excel From Web show no tables?
The page may build its data with JavaScript after it loads, or the data may not be in an HTML table. Try Add table using examples in the Navigator. If that fails too, a browser extension that reads the loaded page is usually easier.

Can Excel refresh web data automatically?
Yes. Open Data > Queries & Connections, right-click the query, select Properties, and on the Usage tab, check Refresh every and enter a number of minutes, or check Refresh data when opening the file.

Can Excel Get Data from Web handle multiple pages?
Each From Web query starts from a single URL. To cover numbered pages, you build the URL list yourself with a parameter and a custom function in Power Query. The connector has no documented option to click "Load more" buttons or scroll.

Is Power Query From Web a web scraper?
In practice, yes: it reads a web page and turns its tables into Excel data. It works best on static HTML and files published at a URL, and it should only be used on pages you are allowed to access.

Sources

• Data.gov, the U.S. government's open data site (GSA)

General information, not legal advice. Always check the website's terms and the data-protection rules that apply to you.

Web Scraper is a trademark of its owner; ScrapeSheet is not affiliated with it. Comparisons are based on publicly documented features as of October 2026 and may change.

Keep reading

• Wikipedia table to Excel: 4 ways, and which keeps columns clean
• How to scrape multiple pages (pagination and infinite scroll)
• How to scrape a website to Excel

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