The standard method we use to look at the HTML codes, CSS codes, and structure of a web page is a View Page Source feature. But page source is not a full-fledged way to get detailed information of a page or site.

Inspecting elements is an advanced and modern way to accomplish this task, even in much better ways. If you are not familiar with the inspect element feature, then read this article thoroughly, where I will discuss how to inspect element on Mac easily.

What Does “Inspect Element” Means?

If you are friendly with source code to view detailed codes inherent in web pages, then you might go easier with inspecting elements. Source codes are helpful to find page IDs and post IDs as well as to find the theme of a website.

On the other side, when you inspect element on Mac (or on other devices), you get a greater level of visualization of that web page or website. By accessing the inspect elements feature, you can view HTML, CSS, codes of a site and edit and modify them easily on your own server by copying and pasting them.

how to inspect element on Mac

It lets you remold and view the preview of how a website actually looks after modifications. Even this attribute is not restricted to your website only but allows you to edit any website’s code and see a live preview.

So if you are building a new site or wishing to copy the design of a website, you can utilize this feature to view different sites’ codes. Without much discussion, let’s move to our main question of how to inspect element on Mac?

How to inspect element on Mac?

I hope, till now, you understand what is the inspect element and why it is helpful for a website owner and a web developer. Whether you are using Safari, Chrome, or Firefox browser, you can easily inspect elements on Mac. Let’s explore all the browsers one by one.

How to inspect elements on Mac in Safari?

Although Safari is the most popular web browser on Mac yet, it doesn’t offer any straightforward method to inspect element. You first need to enable the Safari developer tool as described below:

  • Click on the Safari Or in Apple icon on the top of the window.
  • Select the preferences/System preferences option from the menu bar.

How to inspect element on Mac on Safari

  • Under preferences, look for the advanced section.
  • Click on the check box Show Develop menu in the menu bar.

inspect element on Mac in Safari

  • Now develop button appears on the menu bar.
  • Open any web page where you want to utilize inspect tool.
  • Perform right-click and look for inspect element.

How to inspect element on Mac in Safari

  • It will open a new source code page comprising two columns; HTML and CSS.

develop and inspect page element

  • You can easily view and edit any code lines by clicking over them. The preview will be displayed on the respective page also.
  • If you have little code knowledge, then you can analyze the working of that particular site or page with the help of a preview.

How to inspect elements on Mac in Chrome?

Inspecting elements on Chrome is relatively more straightforward as it doesn’t require launching develop tab like in Safari.

  • Open Chrome browser and the destination page on Mac.
  • Perform right-click anywhere on the page.

How to inspect elements on Mac in Chrome

  • Click on the inspect option.
  • On the right side, you can see HTML, source codes, CSS, console, networks, etc. On the left side, the original page is displayed.

How to inspect elements on Mac in Chrome

  • When you click any code on the left side, you can see a reflection on the right side which helps you to determine which code is used for what purpose, and this works.
  • Modify or make any changes you want and enjoy the live preview on any website using chrome browser on Mac.

How to inspect element on Mac in Firefox?

Firefox also offers a straightforward way to inspect element on Mac, as does Chrome.

  • Launch Firefox browser and open the desired webpage or website.
  • Perform right-click action using the mouse and choose to inspect element option.

inspect elements on Mac in Firefox

  • Inspect view will open on your Mac screen.
  • If HTML and other codes do not appear inside inspector view, perform the Command+Option+C shortcut key.

How to inspect element on Mac in Firefox

  • Further proceedings are the same as you performed on Safari and Chrome.
  • View, edit, modify and analyze live preview of any page or the whole site.

Why inspect element tool not available on Mac?

Inspecting element is an excellent tool for Mac and other devices. But I found that many users struggle to inspect elements on Mac which is a root problem and emerge due to erroneous setting. This issue only arises on Safari browsers as other browser offers an elementary solution.

In Safari, you can only inspect an element when you enable the develop menu on the top of your Mac screen. I have already discussed how to enable develop tab on your Mac in the above section of how to inspect elements on Mac in Safari. For your convenience, follow the below rapid steps:

  • Click on the Safari icon.
  • Look for the Preference option and click on it.
  • You will find an Advance section there.
  • A checkbox is located at the bottom of the page named Show Develop Menu In Menu Bar; click on it and activate the develop menu.
  • Now you can see develop button appear on the top of the screen.

Final Thoughts

Inspecting an element meant something like an invasion of one’s website’s secret code which is used to build a website. You can view, edit, or modify any website’s pages like the front page, media, etc., without accessing the site credentials.

However, it doesn’t mean that you can alter the designs of any website even it is not recommended to copy and use the codes as it comes under copyright infringement. This tool is just to understand how does a website works and how all the codes are located in a structured manner.

It is all about how to inspect element on Mac in Safari, Chrome, and Firefox browsers. More usually, we restrict our guide to these three topmost browsers of Mac but if you work on the unlisted browsers, then feel free to let me know through comments.

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