Email a Web Page in Safari Instead of Sending a Link

Save the recipient a step

How do I send a web page by email? The usual way to share a website with someone else is to send them the URL, but Safari has a better way: emailing the whole page.

The screenshots here were taken in Safari 13.

Send a Whole Web Page in an Email

You can send a page along with a note to any recipient.

  1. Select File > Share > Email This Page, or press Command + I.

    A screenshot of Safari with the Email Link to This Page option highlighted
  2. Alternatively, select Share in the Safari toolbar. It looks like a page with an arrow pointing up.

    A screenshot of Safari with the Share menu highlighted
  3. Select Email This Page from the popup menu. 

    A screenshot of Safari's Share menu with the "Email This Page" command highlighted
  4. Safari will send the page to Mail, which will open a new message that contains the web page. Add a note if you like by clicking inside the top of the message.

  5. Enter the email address of the recipient and select Send.

Send a Reader, Web Page, PDF, or Link Instead

Sometimes, sending a web page in Mail with all of the associated HTML code can be problematic for the receiver. They might have their email client set not to show HTML messages because these are common indicators of spam or phishing, or a method of distributing malware. Or they simply just don't want HTML messages.

If your recipients fall into the above category, send a link instead of the whole web page. When the Mail app opens a new message, look for the popup menu on the right-hand side of the message header with Send Web Content As. You can select from:

  • Reader - this will send the web page while stripping out most ad content. The email message will also have the web page URL included. 
  • Web Page - This is the default setting; it will send the web page as \presented in the Safari web browser. You may notice it is not an exact match. While Safari and Mail use the same rendering engine, the mail app may not display the same because the Mail window is a different size. Itwillalsoincludethe web page URL within the message.
  • PDF - Mail will save the web page as a PDF that is attached to the email message. It will also include a link to the web page.
  • Link Only - The message body will only include a link to the web page.

Not every version of the Mail app will have the above options available. If the version of Mail you are using lacks the Send Web Content As menu, you can use the following options to send only a link:

Send Just a Link Instead

Depending on your version of Safari, select File > Mail Link to This Page, or press Command + Shift + i. Add a note to your message, enter the email address of the recipient, and select Send.

If you're using OS X Lion or later, the File menu might lack the Mail Link to This Page item. Although Safari still has this capability, it's just not on the list anymore. So, no matter which version of Safari you're using, you can send a link to the Mail application by using the keyboard shortcut Command + Shift + I.

Mail Message Subject

When Mail opens a new message using Safari's Email a Web Page option, it prefills the subject line with the web page's title. You can edit the subject line to create something a bit more meaningful. In many cases, just going with the original web page title may look a bit spammy and cause the recipient's mail system to flag the message.

For the same reason, try not to use a subject such as "Look what I found" or "Came across this." Those are likely to be red flags to spam-detection systems.

Printing a Web Page

Another option for sharing a web page is to print the page and share it the old-fashioned way: by handing the page out. This might be a better choice for sharing in a business meeting.

 

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