Chrome is a great browser. It’s fast, intuitive, and loaded with the essential features. But that’s only the beginning. Chrome’s true strength lies in its huge library of addons, which give it endless functions and capabilities.
The Chrome Web Store has so many extensions, it can be difficult to determine which ones will make a real difference in your browsing experience.
This is why we have compiled this list of the top 10 Chrome extensions. These are the extensions we have installed in our browsers. These will transform your online experience.
1. LastPass
Save your passwords and log in to accounts
It is no secret that password security is essential to online safety. However, when it is so hard to remember something like gLR6@z.kklEc, it can be tempting to just use 123456 all the time.
LastPass solves this problem by creating a strong password for each site and storing it in an encrypted vault locally. Then, it automatically fills out login forms and web forms as needed. LastPass is all you need.
You don’t need to add all of your passwords to a database, unlike other password managers. The extension is easy to install and it will prompt you to save it when you log in to an online account. It is extremely convenient.
2. Evernote Web Clipper
Cut web pages, chunks or bookmarks into small pieces and then read them
Evernote is a great tool for researching projects and/or if you find yourself distracted by interesting articles while trying to work, Evernote
Click the elephant icon to save an article or a simplified version.
You can select which notebook you want to clip it to and even add notes and tags if desired. You can quickly clip anything if you are in a rush. Evernote Web Clipper will automatically save a new clip using your most recent settings.
Evernote Web Clipper integrates into the context menu. You can also clip a page or screenshot, bookmark, or bookmark by right-clicking on a page. There are also customizable keyboard shortcuts.
Log in to your Evernote.com account or use the web app. Everything you’ve saved will be available for you to review when you have time.
3. Save to Pocket
Not into Evernote? Pocket is an excellent alternative to Evernote and offers additional content
Save To Pocket works in a similar way to Evernote Web Clipper. It allows you to save useful bits and pieces while surfing the web.
Save to Pocket allows you to save web pages, images, files, and links to a central list. The results are then automatically synchronized across all your devices.
It is a great tool for web research. It doesn’t matter if you add pages or links to your phone, tablet, or desktop. They’re instantly available for browsing on all of them.
The extension will suggest other content if you save something to Pocket. Users in the US have the option to view trending Pocket topics by using the Pocket New tab extension.
4. FoxClocks
A fully customizable world clock is available in your browser’s Status bar
FoxClocks is a brilliant idea that’s simple to implement. This will show you the time and countries of different countries at your bottom browser. It saves you the trouble of searching the same information on Google. That’s it.
FoxClocks considers daylight saving time, so you can feel confident that you won’t miss an important meeting or deadline by one hour. You can also see the time in any format you prefer.
To add a timezone to Chrome’s status bar, search for a specific city or select a timezone. You can also access locations by clicking the button next to your browser’s address line if that seems too complicated.
5. The Great Suspender
To free up RAM and improve performance, suspend tabs that aren’t being used.
Chrome is notoriously memory-hogging and can cause even the most well-equipped computers to grind to a halt when there are multiple tabs open. The Great Suspender solves this problem by suspending tabs that you aren’t currently using.
It’s also smart: You can whitelist domains and URLs that you do not wish to suspend (e.g. your email provider) and block tabs from playing media or displaying forms from being suspended. This will ensure you don’t lose any information you have entered.
This extension is a great option if you don’t want Chrome to stop but hate its RAM-hogging ways.
6. Tab Wrangler
After a specified time Close inactive tabs immediately
Tab Wrangler is a great tool for anyone who has dozens or hundreds of tabs open at once. It works in the same way as The Great Suspender by closing tabs you haven’t used for a specified time. It’s not alarming if that sounds scary. All tabs closed are saved in Tab Wrangler’s ‘corral’ (nice cowboy metaphors), so you can easily re-open them. Pin any tabs that you don’t need to close can be saved so they stay put.
Tab Wrangler is a great tool for tab addicts. However, it does not save the page state so if you have been working in a web application or form, it will be lost.
7. Full-page Screen Capture
Firefox Quantum has a full-page screen capture tool built in, and Full-page Screen Capture can do the same thing for Chrome.
You don’t need to grant permissions for the extension. Simply install it and then tap Alt+Shift+P or click the icon in your browser to grab a full-page screen.
As the page is captured, it will scroll. You are advised to not move your mouse until the page is finished. The resulting image will be opened in a new browser, ready for download. This is a great tool to save webpages you wish to read offline.
Full Page Screen Capture will alert you if the page is too large to be scanned in one shot.
8. Pushbullet
Are you distracted by your smartphone at work? Pushbullet lets you access all of your chat services, including WhatsApp Messenger, Kik Messenger, Facebook Messenger and SMS messages, from your browser.
If you have an Android smartphone, you will receive notifications whenever you receive calls or messages. You can also dismiss them on your desktop to clear them from your phone.
You don’t have to be at your desk, so why not use your keyboard and mouse? It’s much easier to send text messages using your computer than a fiddly touchscreen. Sharing links is also easy.
9. Stylish
Refresh unattractive web pages with custom-made color schemes
Some web pages can be extremely useful, but others are just plain ugly. Stylish is the solution. Chrome Extension allows you to apply custom skins on web pages. This makes them easier to read and gives them a more modern look.
You won’t have to worry about reading text on a background of black text if you don’t mind the many themes created for websites like Reddit, Facebook, and Google. You can also find themes for the most popular video hosting sites, such as YouTube and Vimeo.
Edit any of the installed themes or create your own using the Stylish CSS Editor if you feel creative.
10. Adblock Plus
We would be remiss if we didn’t mention Adblock Plus, the most well-known ad blocker for Chrome. The installation is simple and quick, and the benefits are evident immediately. Simply point your browser to an ad-heavy website and the Adblock Plus icon will display a running count of all it’s blocking. Most pages will display much faster.
Adblock Plus’s greatest feature is its incredible configurability. The Options dialog offers tools that will help you to either stop the extension from running on a specific site or to create new ad blocking rules.
We’ll just say that most websites depend on advertising. So maybe you should disable ad-blockers for friendly sites such as TechRadar.