A cached page is basically a snapshot or an earlier version of a web page. It can be quite useful especially if the live or actual version of the page that you are trying to view has been removed or updated by its owner. Speaking of which, there’s a simple web tool that you can use to view or access these cached posts or pages. This free online tool is called Cached Pages.

What is it and what does it do

Main Functionality

So what is Cached Pages? Well, it is basically a free online tool or web app that is specifically designed to access the cached version of any web page. So all you need to do is to copy and paste the URL of the page that you are trying to view and then the said tool will immediately show you the cached version of that page and you can even choose as to whether you want to open the cached version that was saved by Coral, Google or Archive.org. You can even open the page’s live version. This can come in handy especially if you want to compare the live and the cached version.

Pros

• Easy to use
• Simple UI, fast, responsive and stable
• No download or additional software installation required
• No user log-in or registration required
• There’s no limit to the number of cached pages that you can view
• Offers three options for viewing the cached version of a page or post – therefore, you can view the most recent copy that was saved by Coral, Google or Archive.org
• Also allows you to view the live or actual version of a page or post

Cons

• You cannot view or load multiple pages at once
• Does not offer options for saving the cached page as screenshot, txt or PDF

Discussion

A cached version of a page or post can come in handy at times wherein the actual or live version of the page is no longer accessible. Like, for example, when you’re trying to view a blog or forum post. These types of posts may be frequently updated and so, there’s no guarantee that the post that you’re currently seeing will still be available in the next few days or so. It’s just that if you only rely on your bookmarks, then the page that you’re trying to view will be eventually refreshed or reloaded to its latest version. So if you want to access the previous version of that page, you’ll need to use a tool like Cached Pages.

Speaking of which, the way Cached Pages works is quite simple. Just go to the web app’s homepage (see link below) and then paste the URL of the page that you are trying to view. After which, choose from the given list of options. So basically, you have the option to view the cached version of the page that was saved by Coral, Google or Archive.org. Do keep in mind that this online tool only serves as a gateway for you to be able to access the cached version of the pages from the above mentioned services. If you wish to access several cached copies or versions of a particular page, you better choose the option to view the page via Archive.org.

Anyways, I tried using this tool to view a copy of a deleted forum post and it worked fine. It does what it’s supposed to do and it managed to access the cached forum post in just a matter of seconds. It’s also very stable and responsive plus it’s user interface is very straightforward. In other words, what you see is what you get. It just doesn’t go beyond that.

To sum it up, I can say that Cached Pages is a pretty decent tool that you can use whenever you need to access the cached version of a certain post or page. It’s just that with this tool, you can only view one page at a time. Furthermore, it lacks the option that will allow you to download the said cached page as a screenshot, PDF or .txt file.

Conclusion and download link

I find Cached Pages very useful especially when it comes to viewing specific posts or pages that are no longer available on their respective websites. It’s also very simple to use so you won’t have a difficult time using it even if you’re not really that well-versed with computers. So if ever you’re in need of such a tool, go ahead and feel free to check it out.

Price: Free

Version reviewed: N/A

Requires: Works on any browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera, etc.) on any modern desktop operating system (Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, Mac OS X, Linux, etc.)

Cached Pages homepage