The best thing about add-ons in Chrome is that trying them out is quicker and easier, than, lets say other similar browsers. You could install and uninstall extensions without the need to restart the browser. So that’s like the first step to productivity when it comes to dealing with Chrome extensions. There are a number of useful Chrome add-ons that aid in productive web browsing. This article highlights ten such excellent extensions that are worth trying out. This isn’t a definitive list of course, but the items listed are pretty cool nevertheless. Check them out.
1. Readability Redux
Readability Redux can significantly reduce your webpage reading time, thereby making you more productive on the web. How? Well, it eliminates the clutter from a webpage and presents the content with a clean look and larger fonts. It lets you focus on what matters and removes the distractions on a website.
2. Google Quick Scroll
Has it happened that you type a search query on Google, find a site which contains that query and then, when you land on that webpage, you have a hard time locating the words you searched for? Sounds familiar? Well, Google Quick Scroll, developed by Google itself, is the solution. It saves you time by helping you quickly locate the relevant portion of a search result on the landing page.
3. ChromeMUSE
ChromeMUSE is a superb url shortner and expander for Google Chrome. It can shorten the url of a webpage, copy it automatically to the clipboard and also expand short URLs. The best thing – you can choose which URL shortening service to use while generating the short URL.
4. AutoPagerize
AutoPagerize is one of those extensions which you don’t realize you need until you use it. What it does is simple – it auto-loads paginated webpages. Now, you may not come across paginated webpages (the ones which have the numbers 1,2,3…listed at the bottom and require you to click through to read further) everyday, but when you do, they are time consuming. Hence, this add-on aids in productive browsing by saving you the time taken to read those pages one by one. And it works on Google search result pages too.
5. Tab Resize – Split Screen Layout
Tab Resize splits the Chrome screen into two panes so that you can browse two websites side by side. It will save time when you want to compare the content on two sites for whatever reason.
6. Inline Search & Lookup
Inline Search & Lookup is an excellent extension for Chrome that looks up search results on Google, or words on dictionary/sites like Wikipedia, right from the webpage. You could also specify your own sources. Hence using this add-on would mean that you won’t need to hop on to a different tab and perform a Google or Wikipedia search each time you want to dive deep into something you came across on a webpage.
7. Shareaholic for Chrome
Productive web browsing includes productive social media sharing too. That’s exactly why Shareaholic for Chrome is included in this list. A must-have if you frequently share stuff on the internet.
8. Note Anywhere
Note Anywhere is a cool Chrome extension that can help you quickly jot down notes on a website using small web based sticky notes. It’s cool because the notes reappear at the same locations on that site when you revisit it in Chrome.
9. Session Manager
Session Manager for Chrome is something we talked about in an article where we described how you could easily restore and save tab groups in Chrome. It can quickly save multiple browsing sessions, which is pretty useful in case the browser crashes suddenly or you need to close it for any other reason.
10. StayFocusd
And finally, we’ve got StayFocusd, an add-on that could play a very important role in deciding how productive you are when you are online. You could use it to allot time slots to sites that you consider a hindrance to your productivity. Once that time is used up, those sites get blocked for the day. Simple and effective!
What are your favorites?
It’s your turn now. Tell us what extensions you use in Chrome that help you browse the web productively and efficiently. The comments section is open for you!
