IMPORTHTML for web tables in Google Sheets - Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction

IMPORTHTML lets you bring tables or lists from a webpage directly into your Google Sheets. This helps you avoid copying and pasting data manually and keeps your sheet updated with the latest web info.

When you want to track live sports scores from a website table in your sheet

When you need to import a price list from an online store's table for comparison

When you want to pull a list of upcoming events from a webpage into your calendar sheet

When you want to monitor stock prices shown in a web table without manual updates

When you want to grab a list of countries or data from a Wikipedia table automatically

Steps

Step 1: Open

- Google Sheets document

You see a blank or existing spreadsheet ready for data input

Step 2: Select

- a cell where you want the web table to appear

The cell is active and ready for formula input

Step 3: Type

- the formula bar

Formula is entered but not yet executed

💡 Start typing =IMPORTHTML(

Step 4: Enter

- formula bar

Formula is complete and runs, pulling data from the web

💡 Use this format: =IMPORTHTML("URL", "query", index) where URL is the webpage address in quotes, query is either "table" or "list", and index is the number of the table or list on the page

Step 5: Press

- Enter key

The selected cell and following cells fill with the imported table data from the webpage

Before vs After

Before

Cell A1 is empty with no data

After

Cell A1 and cells below fill with the first table data from the specified webpage

Settings Reference

URL

📍 First argument in IMPORTHTML formula

Specifies the webpage to import data from

Default: None

query

📍 Second argument in IMPORTHTML formula

Defines whether to import a table or a list from the webpage

Default: None

index

📍 Third argument in IMPORTHTML formula

Selects which table or list on the page to import if there are multiple

Default: 1

Common Mistakes

Using a URL without quotes in the formula

Google Sheets requires the URL to be a text string inside quotes

Always put the URL inside double quotes, like "https://example.com"

Using the wrong query word like "tables" instead of "table"

The formula only accepts exactly "table" or "list" as the query

Use "table" to import tables or "list" to import lists exactly spelled

Choosing an index number that is higher than the number of tables/lists on the page

The formula returns an error if the index does not exist on the webpage

Check the webpage and use the correct index number starting from 1

Summary

IMPORTHTML imports tables or lists from a webpage into Google Sheets automatically.

You must provide the webpage URL, specify "table" or "list", and choose which one by index.

Remember to put the URL in quotes and use the correct query and index to avoid errors.