Because of my career, I am on the internet a lot – whether I like it or not. My favorite browser is Chrome. It’s very simple and easy for me to inspect code when I need to, but another cool thing about Chrome is the extensions they have. Here are my top 10 Chrome extensions that I recommend to all of you!
If you’re not quite sure what I mean by Chrome Extension, here is a little definition I found via Google. ‘Extensions are small software programs that can modify and enhance the functionality of the Chrome browser…‘ You download them by the click of a button and their little icon shows up at the top right of your browser next to where you put your URL. You can click here to browse Chrome’s web extension store (but they’re all free !). Click on the titles below to get a direct link to download my favorite Chrome extensions.
Note*: I do not receive anything for telling you to download these extensions. I am just a friend giving another friend some friendly advice. 🙂
First off, if you don’t have Chrome, you need to go and download it right now. Sure, Apple makes great computers and products, but Google rules the internet so might as well use their browser.
Momentum Chrome Extension
One of the first Chrome extensions I added myself was Momentum (image above!). One person in the office added it, and then everyone slowly started adding it just because of how cool it looks. When you add a new tab, usually it’s blank white or maybe has something on it (I don’t even remember now!) but with Momentum, that space now gives a beautiful landscape photo, with the time, your name, a quote, and a bunch of other things. There’s a place you can create a quick to do list, access to quick links, the weather, anything you little heart could dream of. I keep mine simple and turn off most of it but I do enjoy the beautiful photo and the little inspiring quote at the bottom. Each day they change and who doesn’t love looking at beautiful photography of this beautiful world we live in!
AdBlock Plus
AdBlock Plus is by far my favorite and the most necessary I think. Not only does it take away those annoying blinking ads on websites, it will skip commercials when you are streaming videos, on Youtube or abc.com! We get to watch The Bachelor commercial free baby! 😉 I’ve used plain ‘AdBlock’ and this one I think is a little better. Plus it has a stat on how many ads it blocks for you total. If you want to see the ads on the site you can easily disable it for certain websites as well. Definitely add this one to your Chrome.
Note: There’s a little trick when using this extension and watching shows on hulu or abc.com. You have to have it disabled for the show to start and then enable it right after the first commercial and then it will skip the rest! We’ve found it works best with a Mac than a PC.
Add to Amazon Wish List
I love Amazon Wish List, I keep all my favorite goodies there. Your wish list isn’t limited to items just in Amazon but anywhere online which is pretty neat. So if I really like a dress or a certain product, I’ll use this Chrome extension and add it to my ‘Things Ryan can buy me’ list. 😉
Keepa – Amazing Price Tracker
If you love and shop Amazon (who doesn’t!) you need Keepa Chrome extension. Just go to Amazon and right underneath the image and info, it gives you the history of the prices. You can see the lowest it has ever gotten, how many times it drops per month, and you can have Keepa email you when a product you really like gets lower than a certain price. Win win win for sure. You get that item you really wanted, you save money, and you learn a little patience while waiting for that lightning deal!
Dashlane
I use Dashlane daily and it is a literal life and time saver for me. Since I am creating websites for multiple clients and they have multiple log-ins that I need access to, I keep them in this app (with a secure password to sign in that is not saved anywhere) and the extension will automatically sign me in. It is FANTASTIC!! For websites where I have multiple log-ins like GoDaddy or MailChimp, it will pull up a list and I can click on the one I want to sign into. I ended up buying the premium so I could have my passwords sync across the devices I use and have bacukups but if you only plan on using one computer it is completely free! Do note that until you buy the premium version, your passwords will not be backed up so if your computer crashes and dies your passwords die with it.
LastPass is another app/extension that is popular. Before LastPass had a huge update in their interface, it was dated and hard to navigate so that is why I chose Dashlane and I have just stuck with it! LastPass is only $12 a year so that is another one to look into as well. The best thing is to just start using a password manager in general that will keep your passwords safe and secure and easy to find when you need to!
Honey
This is one I added fairly recently but I wish I would have known about it earlier. Honey is a web app that will give you all the coupons it can find for that site and automatically tries them to give you the biggest discount. Yes please! Saves me a lot of time going to Google and trying a bunch of random ones I try to find myself. Definitely a great one to add.
Truman Grad
I added this extension back while it was still in beta mode (called Trustafact) and have found it very cool. Truman Grad will check the website you are currently on and give you a grade on how safe it is to use. It helps you avoid any fraud websites, like those sketchy retail stores that have oh-so-cute clothes but you feel like your bank account will be hacked if you type in your credit card and order one. This extension will help keep you out of risk! Their website has much more, but the extension is free!
WhatFont
This has been great as a designer to see a typeface online that I love but can’t quite figure out which one it is. I just click on the WhatFont Chrome extension and hover over the text and it tells me right there! Simple as that. If you’re into fonts this is a great one to have.
Pinterest Save Button Chrome Extension
Most websites have crappy pin buttons so I like using Pinterest Save Button straight from my browser if I want to pin something. I rarely pin from a website but it’s a good one!
Capture Webpage Screenshot Entirely. FireShot
When I am creating web design portfolio pieces, sometimes I’ll use the design I created but most of the time the site has been tweaked and changed and the launched site looks a bit different than when I initially designed it. So I use Capture Webpage to scroll down the page and give me a PNG of the site! It is pretty awesome. It doesn’t like super long pages or those Ajax loading pages where you scroll to the bottom and it loads more automatically, but it makes it very easy for me to grab a screenshot so I can use them in my portfolio!
I’ve also used Full Page Screen Capture, but I remember it being a little bit more buggy. I added these a while ago and they are constantly getting updated so that is another one to look at!
And that’s it! Definitely go look at all the extensions Chrome has to offer. What extensions do you use?
