Getting Started with Proxies

What a proxy actually does

A proxy sits between your scraper and the target site. It changes the IP address seen by the target, helps distribute traffic, and reduces blocks.

When you need a proxy

• You make repeated requests to the same site
• You need to access geo-restricted content
• You collect data at scale

Quick setup checklist

1. Pick a proxy type (residential for reliability, datacenter for speed)
2. Decide rotation strategy (per request vs sticky sessions)
3. Set a conservative request rate
4. Track success rate and block rate

Common beginner mistakes

• Using one IP for everything
• Ignoring robots.txt and site terms
• Sending bursts of traffic without throttling

Next steps

• Explore Residential vs Datacenter
• Read Web Scraping Best Practices
• Compare providers on the Providers page