First published: 2012; Last updated: January, 2014
Unlike Internet Explorer, Google Chrome is not just a web browser it’s a super productive tool. Some of the Chrome features that I like the most are Chrome Sync (as it can backup passwords, auto fill form, history, bookmarks, preferences, extensions, apps automatically on the Google servers), Multiple Users, ability to “Open link in incognito window” and much more. Also, there are tons of apps and extensions on Chrome Web Store and that makes Chrome addictive.
Read: 10 Google Chrome Tips & Tricks You Probably Don’t Know
The 12 Google Chrome Extensions That I Use The Most
The following are the 12 Chrome extensions that I use the most. In fact these are the only extensions that are currently enabled on my PC. But I’ve also listed the other extensions that I use occasionally.
1. Buffer
Buffer is the best way to share great content on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn from anywhere on the web, with just one click.
Buffer is the smartest way to publish your updates to social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.). It not only shares your content but also tracks its results. You can schedule your updates so as to get maximum interaction.
Read: The Art Of Social Media Timing: What You Need To Know
2. Evernote Web Clipper
The Evernote Web Clipper is the easiest way to save, mark up and share anything you see online. From clipping pages to taking and annotating screenshots, the Evernote Web Clipper lets you capture everything, then access it from anywhere.
Evernote is web’s favorite note-taking app and it’s free. Evernote is not just a note-taker app, it can be used for many other purposes like: to manage tasks, to save articles for offline reading, to save bookmarks, to capture and save screenshots, to share notes with others, for collaboration, etc. And everything in your Evernote is synced across all your devices – Web, Windows, Mac, iOS, Android.
Read: Why Evernote Is My (And Probably Your) Perfect Blogging Companion
3. Feedly Counter
Shows unread article count from Feedly.
Feedly Counter shows the number of unread items in your Feedly account. You can specify the update interval in settings. I use this extension as the official extension lacks this feature.
4. Google Dictionary (by Google)
View definitions easily as you browse the web.
With Google Dictionary extension you can double-click any word and get its definition in a small pop-up window. You can even check the definition of phrases using a shortcut key that you set.
5. Google Hangouts
Hangouts brings conversations to life with photos, emoji, and even group video calls for free.
With Google+ Hangouts, you can chat with your Google Hangout friends even when your Chrome windows are closed. It’s a major improvement to the Google Talk app with tons of extra features. It supports one-on-one and group conversations, image sharing, emoji, video calls, and more.
6. iCloud Bookmarks
Keep your Chrome bookmarks on Windows up to date with the Safari bookmarks on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
iCloud Bookmarks is the official extension to sync your Chrome Bookmarks with your Mac and iOS devices. You may also like the unofficial iCloud Dashboard extension as it offers one-click access to iCloud web apps.
7. PageRank Status
Shows Google PageRank and AlexaRank of current web page, quick access to Geo IP Location, Whois, Alexa, backlinks and indexed pages.
PageRank Status is my favorite SEO extension for Google Chrome. It shows SEO Stats, Traffic Stats, Domain Information, Page Information, Link Stats, Page Speed, etc. of the current webpage.
Use NoFollow along with PageRank Status to highlight nofollow links and to detect nofollow and noindex meta tags on webpages.
8. SEO & Website Analysis
SEO & Website Analysis by WooRank is an SEO extension that provides a deep SEO analysis covering more than 80 SEO metrics…
SEO & Website Analysis provides a very deep SEO report for any given website. It’s quite useful when you want to analyze a webpage thoroughly. It shows the following details about a webpage: Visitors, Social Monitoring, Mobile, SEO Basics, SEO Content, SEO Links, SEO Keywords, SEO Authority, SEO Backlinks, Usability, Security, Technologies, etc.
9. Alexa Traffic Rank
Alexa Traffic Rank is Alexa Internet’s free extension for Chrome, and is the only extension that includes you in Alexa’s traffic panel. The Alexa extension accompanies you as you surf, providing you with Alexa data about the sites you visit without interrupting your browsing.
Alexa Traffic Rank is the official Alexa extension for Google Chrome. It shows the Alexa Traffic Rank of the website that you’re viewing by hovering your mouse over the extension button. The PageRank Status extension (listed above) already shows the Alexa Rank but you have to click it to get the stats.
10. Search by Image (by Google)
Found an image on the web that you’re curious about? With this extension, you can initiate a search on Google using pictures on the web.
Search by Image is an extension by Google for reverse image searching. Just right-click an image on the web and click “Search Google with this image” menu. You can also enable a clickable Search by Image icon that appears when you hover mouse over an image. When you search by image, you’ll see visually similar images, best guess for that image and also pages that include matching images.
11. Screen Capture (by Google)
Capture visible content of a tab, a region of a web page, or the whole page as a PNG image.
With Screen Capture (by Google), it’s super easy to capture screenshots. You can capture the whole web page or the visible part or a specific region of a web page as a PNG/JPEG image. You can also edit your captured images before saving and can easily share to social media.
12. Yet Another Google Bookmarks Extension
Displays Google Bookmarks in a tree. Supports nested labels, searching, sorting, creating, and managing Google Bookmarks.
Yet Another Google Bookmarks Extension displays your Google Bookmarks in a tree. It shows ads by default but you can disable it in settings.
More Google Chrome Extensions
Below are the extensions that I have tried personally or have been using before. But since I don’t like too many apps and plugins I’ve removed them but still they’re recommended and you can definitely give a try.
13. Bitly – Save, share, and bundle your links. Also try: AddThis, Chromnitweet (Update Twitter right from your Chrome’s Omnibox), Share on Twitter (Share the current web page, selected text, or image links on Twitter using the the context menu or toolbar icon), Shareaholic, Facebook Like Button.
14. ColorZilla – Advanced Eyedropper, Color Picker, Gradient Generator and other colorful goodies
15. Delicious – Official Delicious Bookmarks extension to add new bookmarks to your Delicious account. You can enter the title, tags, and comments before saving.
16. Download To Dropbox – Upload files directly to your Dropbox account from the web.
17. Speed Dial 2 – One of the best alternative to Google Chrome’s New Tab page. It features favorite pages, apps, bookmarks, browsing history, etc. Now if you want to create a custom New Tab page then try New Tab Redirect! and if you only want a blank New Tab page then try Empty New Tab Page.
Read: Why Speed Dial 2 Is The Best Google Chrome New Tab Extension
18. Mozbar – Access all the important SEO metrics of the webpage that you’re browsing.
19. Omnibox Site Search – Search the current website that you’re browsing using Google Search. Update: You can do a site search using Google without installing any of those extensions by creating a custom search engine in Chrome.
Read: How To Create Custom Search Engines In Chrome To Boost Productivity
20. Page Refresh – Auto reload the web pages, if they are idle, on a selected interval.
21. Pickpocket – As you probably know, Pocket is the best way to save articles and bookmark images and videos. But their official extension is good to bookmark only. But with Pickpocket extension you can manage your Pocket links from a convenient popup.
22. Save To Google Drive – Allows you to save your web content or screenshots directly to your Google Drive account.
23. Send from Gmail – Share the current webpage via e-mail with the page title as the subject and selected page text and link address as the message.
24. Simple Time Track – It’s a simple time tracking extension for Google Chrome. You can add multiple tasks and track the time that you’re spending on each task.
25. Todoist – It’s the perfect to-do app and is the best alternative to Google Tasks or Any.do. It was my preferred task manager app but I had to remove it as I switched to Evernote Premium.
Read: Why Todoist Is The Perfect To-do App For Windows, Mac, iOS & Android
BONUS: Autocomplete = On
Changes ‘autocomplete=off’ to ‘autocomplete=on’ in web pages, so your passwords will be remembered.
Thanks to Autocomplete = On, I don’t need a dedicated password manager. You might have already noticed that when you sign-in to certain webpages Chrome doesn’t save your password. It’s because the webpage has turned off the autocomplete feature of your web browser. When you install this extension Chrome will enable autocomplete on those pages.
So, which is your favorite Google Chrome Extension?
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Top 25 Google Chrome Extensions I Can’t Live Without is a post by Minterest