How to Inspect Element on iPhone [4 Quick Methods]

Element inspection is necessary, but you need to ensure that you understand how to do it. The reason is that when you are on a webpage with a lot of code, element inspection can help you locate specific elements.

If you have ever clicked Inspect Element on your computer before and scrolled through a long list of elements, then used your arrow keys to click on one in particular, there is no easy way to search through pages upon pages of HTML tags like that on your smartphone, so if you need to figure out something specific within a website, element inspection will be your best friend.

You can learn about any element on your iPhone by using the Inspect Element feature in Safari, which allows you to preview any element on your screen without leaving your browser window.

Inspecting elements on your iPhone will help you learn what code is behind the website you’re visiting and how it works, but if you need to report an error to the website owner, you should use the Error Console in your browser (Chrome/Safari) instead. Here’s how to inspect elements on an iPhone so you can learn more about all of the elements that make up your screen!

4 Best Ways to Inspect Elements on iPhone Devices

Inspecting an element is essential for web developers and other professionals in a similar line of work. There are many ways to inspect elements on your iPhone devices. Here, we will discuss four popular methods for inspecting elements on iPhones.

1. How to Inspect Element on iPhone Using TestGrid

TestGrid helps you inspect elements on different mobile devices. Testing out website designs and functionality can be a pain if your tester doesn’t have access to all of your target devices. But TestGrid gives you more control, no matter where you are! Here’s how to use it to look at all elements within your site. If there’s something you can tap or swipe on your device, TestGrid will help you discover what it does.

TestGrid platform is a valuable tool for cross-browser testing; although it could quickly set the stage for the task of inspecting elements, developers may need some time to check for responsiveness as well as other mobile-specific issues. The steps below will instruct you on how to check components using the iPhone and iPad with the help of TestGrid.

1. First, open TestGrid in your browser, as TestGrid is a cloud-based testing tool.
2. Start the browser, select the iPhone viewport on the left side of the device panel, and type in the URL you wish to view.
3. Click the debugger button to launch the web inspector. You can then begin checking elements on either the iPhone or iPad.

It is also possible to right-click anywhere on the screen and choose “Inspect the element” to access the toolkit for developers.

2. How to Use Safari Developer Tools to Inspect Elements on iPhone

If you’re having trouble with a website and want to figure out why, knowing how to use your browser’s developer tools can help. One of these is Safari Developer Tools on iOS, which is excellent for looking at elements on a page. The process isn’t complicated once you know how to use it.

The easiest method to inspect elements on iOS devices is to use the inspect element feature on the iPhone Safari browser for desktops. You may have guessed that Apple developed this method, as Apple created it specifically to work with their browser; however, they don’t offer alternatives for Android or other operating systems.

To inspect elements with Safari Developer Tools, you need three things: an iPhone or iPad, a Mac, and a USB cable.

Here is a quick summary of the steps:

• Connect your iPhone to your Mac via USB.
• Open Safari on your Mac, go to Preferences > Advanced, and check “Show Develop menu in menu bar.”
• On your iPhone, go to Settings > Safari > Advanced and turn on Web Inspector.
• Your iPhone will now appear inside the Develop menu in Safari on your Mac. Click on it to launch the Web Inspector for your device.

For the complete step-by-step walkthrough with screenshots, visit our detailed guide: How to Inspect Element on Mac.

If you do not have a Mac, consider using TestGrid, which lets you inspect elements on real iPhone and iPad devices directly from your browser without needing any Apple hardware.

3. How to Debug Websites with Web Inspector on iPhone

Debugging issues on mobile web pages can be a challenge at times. But, beginning with iOS 6, Apple offers a Web Inspector that makes troubleshooting web pages much easier for iPhones or iPads. Follow these steps to make use of it:

• Make sure to connect the iOS phone to your machine.
• Enable the Web-Inspector function. To do this, go into settings and then Safari, then scroll to the bottom, then open the Advanced Menu >
• Switch on the Web Inspector
• Navigate to the website you want to preview or debug on your smartphone’s Safari browser. After that, enable the Develop option on your Mac device.

To activate the Develop menu, follow these steps:

1. Launch the Safari browser
2. Click Safari on the top, then open Preferences, then Advanced.
3. Make sure to check the box that says “Show Develop menu in menu bar” in the Menu Bar to allow it.
4. After clicking on the URL, a new inspector window will pop up, letting the developer inspect, view or debug the page on an iPhone device using their Mac. Simply click on the Resources tab, and all interactions with web-based elements will be highlighted in real-time on the iPhone.  

4. How to Inspect Element on iPhone with Adobe Edge Inspect

Adobe Shadow is a tool created by Adobe in 2011 and later changed to Adobe Edge Inspect. Adobe Edge Inspect was a component of the Adobe Edge suite with the capability of inspecting components on several devices. Adobe Edge Inspect overcomes the difficulties of previous solutions since it doesn’t require a macOS operating system. Additionally, it’s available on all versions of Windows and macOS.

Adobe Edge Inspect also supports synced browsing. The website is opened on one device and synced across all associated devices, i.e., it’ll be open across all devices. Connectivity between all devices using Wi-Fi.

Here are some methods for examining components on an iPhone using Adobe Edge Inspect.

1. To use Adobe Edge Inspect and inspect elements on iPad/iPhone, download the software and ensure all the devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi connection.
2. When you open a website, a dialogue box will appear on all devices. All devices will show the debugger sign in front of them.
3. Put the debugger in front of the element that you want to inspect.

This will launch the developer tools, allowing you to inspect the elements of your iOS device as you would a website on a PC. It is a simple, quick, and effective solution.

There were some inconsistencies and drawbacks to this method, but these issues have been fixed by Adobe now. However, its executable files are accessible from the internet for all operating systems.

The app also lacks a critical component of web app development: the ability to perform local web testing. Web developers waste hours inspecting elements on various devices because they do not want their issues to become the customers’ problems. If you release a new feature on an already published website, it’s a different story. But if you’re developing the website for the first time, you may not have a URL to open it on the Adobe Edge Inspect for inspection on an iPhone.

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How to Inspect an Element on iPhone Without a Computer?

If you don’t have a Mac or you want to sneak into a site directly via your iPhone, you’ll be happy to know there’s the iOS Shortcuts application that can do this. The Shortcuts app on iOS provides a variety of pre-made options that let you look at the page’s source code, edit a webpage, download images from websites, and search for older versions of websites through the Safari application. 

Unfortunately, there isn’t one shortcut that can provide full-fledged Web debugging capabilities on iOS, which is why you’ll require the shortcuts for each of these reasons.

• Depending on how you want to inspect web pages on iOS, you can add any shortcuts to your iPhone by searching for them inside Shortcuts > Gallery.

• In your search results, you will find the shortcut you wish to add to your iPhone.

• When you see a preview window open, click on the ‘Add Widget’ option at the lower right.

• The shortcuts are visible in the My Shortcuts > All Shortcuts screen and will be accessible from the Safari Share Sheet.0

• To view a page, open it on Safari and click the share button on the right.

• In the share sheet, scroll down to locate the shortcuts you created for your iPhone.

• Selecting Edit Web Page will allow you to modify parts of the website directly. If you choose one of the three other choices, you’ll be asked to select whether you’d like the shortcut to access the page. Click on “Allow Once’.

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How to Inspect Element Chrome Mobile (Google Chrome on iPhone)

Inspecting website elements in Chrome mobile on your iPhone is simple. Just launch the Chrome browser on your iPhone and visit a website. To inspect the element on Chrome mobile, type view-source: before the HTTP or HTTPS in the address bar. Then reload the page to view the full HTML source code of the site.

Wrapping Up!

Inspecting and evaluating elements on a page is an essential part of web development and design. However, it can be tricky to locate them, especially if you’re working with an app that doesn’t include developer tools or if you’re using a browser other than Chrome. 

The inspect element tool is a web development feature that is available on most desktop browsers, including Chrome and Firefox. When you inspect an element, you can see all of its attributes and styling in an organized way. Inspecting an element can also be an excellent way to find out which CSS code was used to create a particular element on your site so that you can easily replicate it or edit it later. 

TestGrid is an excellent tool for all users of the iPhone, which is built on modern technologies. Here you can test applications on mobile, test, and Web platforms. You don’t need any plug-ins to run tests. So, you will see how to inspect on the iPhone Safari browser. 

TestGrid can help you test your website on all major devices and browsers, including smartphones. You can quickly inspect elements and get a pixel-perfect design with the pixel ruler included in TestGrid. 

Frequently Asked Questions