---
id: KB-SC-011
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/smartcheck/certifying-what-a-web-page-said
idioma: en
categoria: smartcheck
subcategoria: certificar
audiencia: usuario
nivel: intermedio
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-SC-009, KB-SC-006, KB-SC-014, KB-SC-017]
citadoPor: [KB-LE-012]
---

# Certifying what a web page said

_A price, a condition or a post that may be gone tomorrow._

**Responde a:** certify the contents of a web page · prove what a website said on a date · screenshot with evidential value · capture a post before it is deleted

What is published online changes without warning. A price, terms of service, a product sheet, a social post: the screenshot you took proves little on its own, because anyone can fabricate one.

## What turns a screenshot into evidence

| Element | Why it matters |
| --- | --- |
| A provable date | Without it there is just an image with no moment |
| That it cannot be altered afterwards | It is what removes the suspicion of retouching |
| The exact address | "It was on their site" points at nothing |
| Who captured it | Evidence without an author weighs half |

> [!IMPORTANT]
> The first is what actually settles the dispute. The argument is never whether the page says that today: it is whether it said it on the day you decided something based on it.

## When it is worth doing

**En corto**

- Before buying on published terms.
- When a competitor publishes something that affects you.
- If you are going to claim over an offer that later changed.
- And for any post that could vanish within hours.

## How to do it

1. **Capture the full page, not a crop** — A crop leaves out context and that is the first thing disputed.
2. **Note the exact address and time** — The full address, not the site's homepage.
3. **Certify the file on upload** — That fixes that it existed at that moment and has not changed since.
4. **And keep it in the matter's file** — Loose evidence nobody can find two years later is worth nothing.

> [!WARNING]
> Certifying a capture proves that file existed on that date and has not changed. It does not prove the page was genuine or unmanipulated at capture time: for that, when a lot is at stake, the notarial route exists and remains the most solid.

## The same applies to other ephemeral things

A message that can be deleted, an advert that is pulled, a document posted temporarily: the mechanics are identical and so is the value. What matters is doing it when you see it, not when the dispute starts — by then it has usually gone.

> [!NOTE]
> Certifying is an action and consumes like any other. Even so, it is infinitely cheaper than reconstructing something that no longer exists.

**Does it stand up in court?**

It provides date and non-alteration, which is a lot. Final weight is for the court to decide.

**What if the site requires a login?**

You can still capture it; it helps to show you were legitimately inside.

**Do I need to certify daily?**

No: only when the content matters for a decision or a claim.

## Ejemplos

**A company buys on published terms that later change.**

- Had certified the page on the day of the order
- Produces the dated file when claiming

→ The claim is settled on what the site said that day, not on what it says now.

**A condition on a website changes and can no longer be proved.**

- Seals the capture the day it is consulted

→ What it said becomes provable.

**A screenshot is kept with no provable date.**

- Seals the capture as well as keeping it

→ The date does not depend on the computer.

**Only part of the page is captured.**

- Captures the whole page with its address

→ Context accompanies the proof.

**It is sealed months after being seen.**

- Seals at the moment of consultation

→ The seal proves when it was seen.

**A price published on a date must be proved.**

- Seals the consultation that day

→ That day's price is on record.