What are Chrome Extensions? – Examples, How to Install, and More

What are Chrome Extensions?

Chrome extensions are small programs that have specific functions. They do not take up much memory space, but their help is enormous.

The extensions are installed directly in the Google Chrome browser and show one more option in the menu or with an icon on the taskbar. Some are not as visible as others, but their performance is noticeable in their activity.

These extensions perform their actions while the browser is in use and are in charge, in a visible way or in the background, to make everything work in the best possible way, depending on its type and browser use.

Although their job is to help, it is possible to put them on pause or inactivity, either because we are not comfortable with their performance or because they want to compare with another of the same type.

Examples of Chrome Extensions

Some act as a search engine for a site that does not have it or give the option of downloading some video content or images from a place that does not allow it.

None of them carry out an activity that is not allowed but instead expands the functions and possibilities of using everything we find online.

How to Install in Chrome Extensions?

1. An install the Chrome extensions. The easiest and wildest way is through the Chrome Web Store.
2. You can put it in the Google search engine or click on the following link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/category/extensions.
3. There you can search for extensions in Chrome-based on categories of use and performance or by name.
4. If you previously know which one you want to add to the browser, you will find it quickly. If not, it is best to search for and choose the one that best suits your needs.
5. Knowing how to install extensions in Google Chrome is very easy and also very fast.
6. When you have found an extension that interests you, you have to click on it. It will take you to the extension section, and there you will find a button that says, “Add to Chrome.”
7. The installation will not generate income for more than a few seconds. Once finished, you will receive a notification indicating that it can now use. It does not have to be activated, as it starts by itself.
8. You will be able to see a small icon, in the vast majority of cases, on the right side of the browser’s taskbar.
9. By clicking there, you will see the extension’s functions in more detail and manage its operations. It makes your performance more personalized and your result even better.

How to Remove Chrome Extensions?

• Removing Chrome’s extension is very simple: you have to click on the taskbar’s extension icon.
• When you do this, a small menu will display to find the option “Remove from Chrome.”
• You must select it, and then a dialog box will open where you must click on “Remove” to confirm the uninstallation.
• With this, the extension will eliminate, and also, you can install it again whenever you want.
• Several reasons may lead you to remove or uninstall an extension in Chrome:
• The extension is not what we expected: it does not meet our expectations for the function we were looking for it.
• The function we needed it for already perform.
• We are comparing various extensions.
• Removing it from the browser when it no longer uses is always recommended, as it reduces the RAM used by Chrome.
• As you might expect, my preferred Chrome extensions are the ones that make the job faster and easier. Fortunately, the variety of extensions of this type is so wide and with infinite alternatives.
• Although now I will recommend you some extensions on specific topics that I have tried, it will make the job easier, save time and effort.

Chrome Extensions for Web Developers

As a web developer, many activities must work with each other to have a satisfactory result. The time invested is essential, and trial and error is almost a constant guideline to attract the user and appear on Google.

Some Chrome extensions take care of making these tasks faster, and errors are eliminated or prevented and, therefore, you avoid wasting time and the negative consequences that come with it.

These Chrome extensions are the ones that I consider to be the most helpful to web developers. They are sure to serve you too.

1. iMacros

• As a web developer, a lot of time spent testing parts of websites, seeing if they work as they should, and then correcting them with modifications that have very similar paths, but that must do again.
• With iMacros for Chrome, it is possible to record the actions performed and then repeat them automatically.
• The time savings are enormous, in addition to avoiding making mistakes by not doing them correctly.

2. What Font

• Creating an attractive landing page or a web page that meets the objectives set, the font you use will be essential, well, What font makes your work much easier.
• It allows you to configure the font you will use on the website in just a few seconds. And something more important: if you want to use a font seen elsewhere, it tells you what it is and even allows you to copy it instantly.

3. Responsive Web Design Tester

• One less nightmare with this extension, as it allows you to instantly test if the site you are developing works well on different mobile devices. It saves a lot of time and headaches.

4. Windows Resizer

• It uses to visualize how your site will look in different screen resolutions.

5. Drag Design

• It is a straightforward way to edit your site without actually editing it, but effectively since you can make changes and see how they work.

6. Yslow

• This wonder is responsible for detecting and showing you what is causing your site to perform poorly.

7. Check My Links

• Instantly check what links are on your site and their status, that is, if they are still valid and work or if they are already broken and must be updated.
• If you do not have updated links correctly, you run the risk of having a 404 error that causes a bad user experience, and Google will penalize you.

Chrome Extensions for Web Designers

1. Page Ruler

• Page Ruler is a Chrome extension that I love: you can measure objects anywhere on the web: draw a ruler on any page, drag the ruler’s edges to resize it.
• It can use the arrow keys to move and resize the ruler. You can manually update the size and position of the ruler from the toolbar to make changes.

2. ColorZilla

• With this extension, you can get the color from anywhere in the browser, quickly adjust it, and paste it into another program.
• Do you want to use a color that you have seen on any website or illustration? You have to use this extension and place it on top of just the color you want to use.
• It is copied to your clipboard so that you can paste it or even get a color palette virtual extension !!!

3. Nimbus

• Nimbus Screenshot & Screen Video Recorder is one of my favorite Chrome extensions because you can quickly take screenshots: capture the entire web page or just a section.
• The whole browser window or only a selected area, record video from the screen / (Screencasts) tab or another active program.
• You can also edit the captured images to personalize them, add comments, etc., and save them once personalized.

4. FireShot

• FireShot is the alternative that I use for screenshots. It’s easier when I don’t need to edit the images.

5. Loom

• I do not know if this is the ideal section for this extension, but of course, I could not fail to mention it since, with Loom, you can record your screen with voice and face to create a video that can be shared instantly.
• It is a super-utility for creating tutorials, answering questions with your work team or clients, conducting video marketing, and a very long, etc.

Chrome Extensions for SEO

The data use for SEO strategies is essential, and the more exact they are, the better results we will have when applying them.

Using tools and applications that help you perform an SEO analysis is essential.

Making decisions when choosing an excellent keyword to the position is highly recommended.

Some Chrome extensions help to achieve this. If you want to know them, then I show you the best according to my experience:

1. Ahrefs SEO Toolbar

• This extension allows us to identify the links that lead to our website and those that lead to other pages.
• It is a vast source of information to steal keywords from the competition.

2. SEOquake

• It shows in the browser as a bar, and in it, we can access specific data of great help such as Yahoo Links, Alexa rank, Google Page Rank, Bing Index, no follow links, and many others that are intangible for any SEO.

3. Page Analytics By Google

• This extension is fantastic to obtain critical information about how users interact with your website.
• They often spend on each part of the web, and the bounce rate exists from the click.

4. Page Load Time

• This Chrome extension measures the time it takes to load each part of a website.
• It uses to know which areas of your site you should optimize to prevent users from deciding to leave when they have to wait to see the information in question on your site.

5. Check My Links

• Check My Links crawls a web page and looks for broken links.
• Isn’t it helpful to quickly verify that all the links on the page are working correctly? This extension does it just in one click and saves you a lot of work: It highlights which ones are valid and broken.

Chrome Extension for Social Media

Without a doubt, the tasks that are carried out daily on social networks absorb a significant amount of time for any marketer. With the extensions that I am going to recommend, you can save a lot of time on daily tasks:

1. Metricool

• With the Chrome extension for Metricool, you can publish or plan your content on the social networks that you have linked to your Metricool account while browsing the internet.
• You can choose the text that will go in the publication, and the famous photograph of the magazine that accompanies the content will be displayed, which you can delete or replace with the URL of the copy you want to add.
• You have the option to choose the account with which you want to publish, as long as you have it connected to the tool.
• And finally, you select the time and day you want to publish it and the social networks in which you prefer it to appear.

2. BlogsterApp

• Along with Metricool, Blogsterapp is the two tools I use to share the contents of the magazine. With this extension, it is much calmer to share exciting content from the Chrome browser.
• You can add up to 5 headlines per publication and share the content, including news from third parties, following a dissemination plan that you configure yourself for each of your communities.

3. Buffer

• Buffer is a prevalent Chrome extension for sharing content on the social networks that you have associated with your account.
• You can post your updates on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and others and track the results.
• Click the Buffer button on any website to add Facebook Tweets and updates to the posting queue you have previously set up in your account.
• With each update you post, you can see an analysis of clicks, retweets, mentions, shares, “likes,” and more.

4. RiteTag

RiteTag is an excellent Chrome extension for Twitter. You can generate hashtags for texts: Write a hashtag and press space to get instant hashtag suggestions, also select any text on a page, right-click and choose “Get hashtag suggestions for text.”

You have a color code that indicates the strength of the hashtag:

green = use this hashtag to see now

blue = use this hashtag to see

red = don’t use this hashtag. Your posts will vanish in the crowd

gray = don’t use this hashtag; very few people follow it

5. Emoji Keyboard

• If you want to make your posts more attractive, don’t miss out on this extension.
• With an emoji keyboard, you will get that all your publications have personality and a more friendly and graphic appearance.

Chrome Extensions to Improve Productivity

Having a good organization is the foundation of productivity. It doesn’t matter if we are fast at what we do.

If we do not know what we will do each day or the most appropriate order for each activity, we will lose time, which translates into low productivity.

For this, many extensions help to have high productivity, organizing each part of our day and activities. Everything is done faster, but efficiently, without errors, and without delays.

1. Meetingbird

• It is an excellent extension for shared use since you can organize meetings, activities, deadlines, and the like with your coworkers and assign each of the tasks to complete, in addition to checking that they do on time.
• It avoids misunderstandings since it is updated automatically for all members.

2. Office Online

• This extension will allow you to use the entire package of Microsoft Office programs, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and others, which are always widely used.
• If you do not have this connection on the computer you use, it will help you not waste time to find one that does.

Chrome Extensions for Organization

Often in your day to day, browsing the internet, you find a lot of valuable information that you cannot read at that moment and that you want to save as interesting articles, ideas, notes. Some extensions will certainly help you:

1. Evernote

• Evernote is a Chrome extension widely used for its functionality: You can save interesting articles that you have read, notes that occur to you while browsing, videos, photos.
• In short, everything in one place, create lists of tasks and pending activities, organize your notes using notebooks and tags, and you can search your messages using keywords and text.

2. Todoist

• With Todoist, you do have everything organized. Todoist is a Chrome extension to manage all the pending tasks.
• It can organize and configure in your calendar, create sub-tasks within projects, add emails as tasks directly from Gmail or Outlook, receive reminders of things to do through email or SMS (Premium version option).
• And you can also access and view your tasks from any Android or iPhone mobile phone.

3. LastPass

• How many passwords do you have to admission applications, websites, etc.? Remembering passwords is the torment of any marketer, and this extension is a password manager: it saves your passwords and gives you secure access from any device.
• With Lastpass, it manages your passwords and generates strong passwords to replace weak ones, and you can log in to websites automatically – no typing required!

Chrome Extensions for Email

As if that weren’t enough, you can also manage your email thanks to the extensions offered by Chrome. Well, you will know two alternatives that make a difference:

1. Boomerang Calendar

• Allows you to plan emails to be sent on the specified day and time. It prevents us from sending the necessary mail because we do not connect at the required time. We can organize everything at the same time.

2. MailTrack

• Following the pattern that WhatsApp made fashionable, this extension makes it possible to receive a notification when its recipient reads an email that we have sent.
• So you will know if that “I had not read your email and that is why I did not meet the delivery date” is true or not.

Conclusion

Time is the most important thing. There is no way to buy it, and it becomes essential to make the most of it.

It makes it extremely necessary to have the tools that facilitate each task and make them faster to do more in less time and transform it into money.

In this case, these tools are the Chrome extensions, so you must dedicate the necessary time to select the ones that will be useful for your work since you will see that the investment will translate into gains in time.