Browsers

Firefox – best add ons

Anyone who knows computers knows that Firefox is definitely the superior web browser compared to the alternatives.  This open-source web browsing software created by Mozilla was released in November of 2004 and quickly became one of the most popular web browsers, beaten only by Microsoft’s built in Internet Explorer.  Firefox was the first browser to include tabbed browsing, a feature seen as necessary in today’s web surfing world.  I have  been using Firefox for years and compared to the alternatives it is less buggy, very stable and is also customizable.  There are a number of Firefox Add-ons including Themes, Plugins and Toolbars.  Being a web developer there are a number of plugins that make my work easy.

1.   Forecastfox -  Updates brought straight from AccuWeather.com to your web browser.  You can also easily click to view the local radar and also receive weather alerts.  My favorite feature is the hour by hour forecast that AccuWeather gives you.  Great for planning hiking trips or timing a photo shoot to end before the thunderstorm hits.

2.  FireFTP – This is one of my most used Firefox plugins.  After installing you can customize your toolbar to include the FireFTP seahorse button.  This add-on allows you to quickly and easily access your FTP servers without having to leave your web browser.

3.  Firebug – A MUST HAVE add-on for web developers.  You can analyze a web page and then move through the page while FireBug shows you where your at in the code.  Excellent for debugging and fixing errors in a site or to configure your css.

4.  User Agent Switcher – Ever have a website tell you that you can’t view from firefox, well trick them into thinking your using a different web browser!  Neat little trick.

5.  Web Developer – A number of features for web developers.  One nice one, it allows you to test your website in Internet Explorer to make sure it is cross compatible.

6.  Venkman – A powerful Java Debugger for Firefox.

7.  SEO for Firefox – A search engine optimization add-on for Firefox.  Use it to help configure your pages keywords so you get ranked higher on search engine results.

8.  DejaClick – A macro recording Firefox add-on.  Record your web surfing activity and then play it back again.

9.  Screengrab! – Quickly and easily save a website as an image, you can then crop whatever area you need.  Great for clipping pages for a blog image or to send to your friends.

10.  Gspace – Use the 4gb of space you have on your gmail account as storage space.  Let s you easily manage the files.

11.  Stealther – Ever wanted to browse the internet anonymously?  Want to keep anyone from viewing where you were or what you were doing?  Then this is the add-on for you.

12.  MeasureIt – This is an add-on for all you designers out there.  Trace the width and height of any page simply by activating the ruler on your toolbar.  Lets you find out exactly what size an image is or measure the width of your sites columns.

13.  Download Statusbar – I like this add-on a lot.  When installed you will be able to view your current download status on a bar at the bottom of your browser.

14.  Picnik – Quickly edit and save images from inside your web browser.  No need to open up a photo editor to re-size an image to a thumbnail or crop a banner.  Do it on the fly with Picnik!

15.  Tree Style Tab – Have you ever so many web pages open at once that you needed to open a new window just so you could have more room?  Well NEVER AGAIN!  With the Tree Style Tab you have a vertical tab structure that once you use you will never want to go back to horizontal tabs again!

16.  Windows Update – Tired of having to use Internet Explorer every time you want to update windows?  Well now with this windows update add-on you never have to again.

17.  Video Download Helper – Easily download and convert videos from various video websites.

18.  Codetch – Dreamweaver like editor for Firefox.  Edit your website as you browse.

19.  DownThemAll! – Download manager/accelerator for Firefox.  This is one worth checking out if you do a lot of downloading online.  Lets you pause and resume downloads as well as prioritize them.

20.  Capture Fox – Screen capture add-on.  Great for creating video tutorials or record your latest web surfing adventure.

21.  Minggl -  Manage all your social networks from your firefox toolbar.

The Next Add-ons are for Wordpress designers and publishers.  Some Firefox blogging add-ons to make your life a little easier.

22.  Zemanta – Automatically create links, tags and photos in real time as you write your blog.  Definitely speeds up the time it takes to publish a post.

23.  One click Installer for WordPress – Quickly and easily install WordPress plugins directly to your blog from your web browser.  After you install go check out Wordpress – best plugins.

24.  Wordpress Sidebar – Log in to your blog from your Firefox sidebar.  Makes it quick and easy to log in to your site.

25.  Wordpress Helper – Adds ability to quickly switch between publishing aspects of your blog.  Create a page or post or view your blog all with a couple clicks.

26.  Zwordpress – Quickly and easily manage multiple blogs and setup keyboard shortcuts to streamline your blogging.

27.  ScribeFire – Click and drag formatted content directly into your blog.  Makes importing content to your blog both quick, easy and painless.

28.  Monkiri – Grab parts of web pages and publish it instantly on your blog.  Not as many features as ScribeFire

29.  Deepest Sender – Click  ctrl + and  pull up an editor and create your wordpress posting directly from your web browser without having to visit your site.  Supports multiple blog accounts and lets you quickly switch between them.

30.  Screen grab to WordPress – Quickly grab a full or portion screenshot of a web page and then publish it to your blog.

31.  WordPress.com Firefox extension – This add-on lets you view your WordPress stats quickly and easily from your browser.  You can then click and get more specific details.

32.  Dash Blog – Easily grab a video from a website and post it to your blog on the fly.  Makes posting videos easy as 123!

33.  WordPress Post – Highlight an article, click a button and watch the article post instantly to your blog.

34.  SocialMarker – This is an easy to use social bookmark website.

Other Firefox Notes:

I usually setup Firefox to open new windows in a new tab.  You can do this by clicking   Tools > Options > Tabs  and selecting “New pages should be opened:  In a new tab”

If an add-on doesn’t show up on your toolbar you might need to move it there yourself.  You do this by clicking  View > Toolbars > Customize  and then dragging the icon you want onto your browser toolbar.

Did I forget a Tip or Add-on?  Feel free to post it in the comments below!

© 2009 Soft Thoughts.