ISO 28500:2017规定了WARC文件格式: -存储来自主流互联网应用层协议（如HTTP、DNS和FTP）的有效载荷内容和控制信息； -存储与其他存储数据链接的任意元数据（例如主题分类器、发现的语言、编码）； -支持数据压缩，维护数据记录完整性； -存储来自采集协议的所有控制信息（例如请求头），而不仅仅是响应信息； -存储与其他存储数据链接的数据转换结果； -存储与其他存储数据链接的重复检测事件（在存在相同或基本相似资源的情况下减少存储）； -在不中断现有功能的情况下进行扩展； -支持在需要时通过截断或分段来处理过长的记录。

ISO 28500:2017 specifies the WARC file format: - to store both the payload content and control information from mainstream Internet application layer protocols, such as the HTTP, DNS, and FTP; - to store arbitrary metadata linked to other stored data (e.g. subject classifier, discovered language, encoding); - to support data compression and maintain data record integrity; - to store all control information from the harvesting protocol (e.g. request headers), not just response information; - to store the results of data transformations linked to other stored data; - to store a duplicate detection event linked to other stored data (to reduce storage in the presence of identical or substantially similar resources); - to be extended without disruption to existing functionality; - to support handling of overly long records by truncation or segmentation, where desired.