If you’ve ever done web scraping, you know the biggest buzzkill is hitting a wall—IP bans, CAPTCHAs, or being blocked mid-task. It’s frustrating, especially when all you’re trying to do is gather publicly available data.
That’s where proxies come in. They’re essential for scraping at scale, helping you look like a regular user rather than an aggressive bot. But just using proxies isn’t enough. If you don’t use them correctly, you’ll still run into issues. The good news? A few smart practices can go a long way in keeping your scrapers running smoothly.
Why Sites Block Scrapers in the First Place
Most websites don’t like automated tools accessing their data. Scrapers can strain servers, steal pricing or content, or be used for unfair advantage. That’s why platforms—especially in e-commerce, travel, and social media—put up defenses like rate limiting, JavaScript obfuscation, honeypots, and bot detection tools.
If your scraper doesn’t act like a real human browsing the site, it’s going to get flagged. Fast.
Proxies Are Your First Line of Defense
Proxies mask your real IP address. Instead of hundreds of requests coming from a single IP, they’re spread out across multiple addresses—ideally residential ones that belong to real internet users.
This is why residential proxies are preferred for web scraping. They make you look like a normal visitor, not a script.
Best Practices to Stay Undetected While Scraping
Let’s break down the techniques smart scrapers use every day to avoid getting blocked:
1. Go Residential, Not Datacenter
Datacenter proxies are cheap and fast—but they’re also easy to detect. Sites have blacklists for these kinds of IPs, and they’ll block them in seconds.
Residential proxies, on the other hand, use real IPs from ISPs, making them much harder to flag. If you’re serious about scraping, this is a must.
2. Rotate IPs, Don’t Reuse Them
This one’s simple: Don’t keep hammering a site with the same IP. Rotate your IPs with every request or every few requests. The more you vary your traffic, the more natural it looks.
If your proxy provider supports sticky sessions, use them only when you need a consistent identity—like staying logged in to an account.
3. Slow Down and Space Out Requests
You might be able to send 100 requests a second—but that doesn’t mean you should. Most websites will see that and panic.
Use delays between requests. Better yet, randomize them. For example, wait 1–3 seconds between actions. It mimics human behavior and helps avoid suspicion.
4. Customize Headers & User Agents
If you’re sending requests with the default Python requests header, you’re asking to be blocked.
Use realistic browser headers—like Chrome or Firefox. Rotate your User-Agent strings, set appropriate Accept, Referer, and even fake cookies if needed. Make it look like a normal web session.
5. Be Smart With JavaScript-heavy Pages
Many websites today are built with JavaScript frameworks. The content might not even load unless the scripts run.
If you’re dealing with sites like this, use tools like Puppeteer, Playwright, or Selenium. These can interact with the page like a real browser. If the site has APIs underneath, hit those directly—it’s faster and cleaner.
6. Watch Out for Honeypots
Some sites sneak in invisible links or buttons designed to trap bots. If your scraper clicks or scrapes these, it’s a red flag.
Always sanitize the elements you interact with. Avoid anything that doesn’t look like a real link, and be careful with IDs or classes that sound suspicious.
7. Monitor Error Codes and Behavior
A spike in 403 (Forbidden) or 429 (Too Many Requests) responses means something’s off. Either your IPs are flagged, or you’re going too fast.
When this happens, back off. Switch IPs, slow your scraper down, and re-evaluate how “human” your bot appears.
What a Solid Scraping Setup Looks Like
Here’s what a basic but reliable setup might include:
- Residential rotating proxies (like Dynaprox)
- 2–5 concurrent threads per domain
- 1.5 to 3 second delays between requests
- Randomized user agents
- Request timeouts of 10–15 seconds
- Session control when needed (for login-based scraping)
It doesn’t need to be fancy—just thoughtful and consistent.
Why Dynaprox is a Smart Choice for Scraping
If you’re looking for proxies built specifically for use cases like scraping, Dynaprox checks all the right boxes:
- Real residential IPs across US
- Fast IP rotation with sticky session support
- Unlimited bandwidth for large-scale scraping
- Low latency for faster response times
- Easy dashboard and integration with scrapers and bots
You get the flexibility and reliability needed to scrape anything from price data to reviews, flight listings, and more—without hitting walls.
Explore Dynaprox Residential Proxies
Final Thoughts
Scraping is a powerful tool—but only if it’s done right. With the right proxy setup and a few best practices in place, you can gather the data you need without constant interruptions, bans, or headaches.
Always remember: the best scraping setup is the one that doesn’t look like one. Be stealthy, be respectful, and your scraper will go far.