We love the Web. Seriously, we do. But sometimes, achieving what you want is a little harder and takes a little longer than you’d really want. It’s for that reason that we’ve put together a list of 27 of the most useful extensions for Google’s Chrome browser.
We’ve broken them down into groups of a few per category to keep it organized, which means we’ve invariably missed out a few of your favorites – let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page and we’ll keep this list updated.
Before jumping in, it’s worth noting that you should only install Chrome extensions that you feel confident in trusting – most require permissions to view all your browsing data, at the least.
And if you’d rather view this article on one page, you can do so here – or jump directly to your chosen section below.
Before jumping in, it’s worth noting that you should only install Chrome extensions that you feel confident in trusting – most require permissions to view all your browsing data, at the least.
And if you’d rather view this article on one page, you can do so here – or jump directly to your chosen section below.
Content Organization
Pocket
Pocket is no stranger to anyone at this point, but that doesn’t mean it should be overlooked in a list of essential Chrome extensions either. If you find yourself opening more stories than you can possibly read in one sitting, Pocket is definitely worth checking out.
Pocket is no stranger to anyone at this point, but that doesn’t mean it should be overlooked in a list of essential Chrome extensions either. If you find yourself opening more stories than you can possibly read in one sitting, Pocket is definitely worth checking out.
Once you’ve installed the Chrome extension (a Chrome app is also available, if you prefer) and logged in, the Pocket icon should appear in your toolbar. Now all you need to do is press it each time you discover an article or any other page that you’d like to read later.
As you’re saving it, there’s also the option to add tags, which will help retrieval if you have a large collection of items awaiting your attention.
As you’re saving it, there’s also the option to add tags, which will help retrieval if you have a large collection of items awaiting your attention.
While it’s not the only Chrome app that can perform this sort of functionality, Pocket has another bonus – its ubiquity means that your list of saved items (and the ability to add to it) is available pretty much anywhere. The mobile apps have their own range of functionality too, including a $4.99 per month premium option.
➤ Pocket
Dragdis
There are plenty of ways to share content across the Web, but Dragdis brings a universal approach that allows you to categorize and arrange items for perusal later, or quickly share them with friends or colleagues.
It’s not as slick as something like Pocket for pure news curation, but if you’re looking for a general Chrome extension that lets you easily create folders with icons of your choosing for various categories, then Dragdis is worth checking out.
There are plenty of ways to share content across the Web, but Dragdis brings a universal approach that allows you to categorize and arrange items for perusal later, or quickly share them with friends or colleagues.
It’s not as slick as something like Pocket for pure news curation, but if you’re looking for a general Chrome extension that lets you easily create folders with icons of your choosing for various categories, then Dragdis is worth checking out.
It’s available to use for free, although you will need to create an account or sign-in via Twitter, Google or Facebook if you want to use it. One note, if you sign up via Twitter (as I did), you’ll still actually need to provide an email address and password to use the service. Not a big deal, but worth mentioning as it felt like a bit of a bait-and-switch to me.
Once you’re set up, it’s easy enough to use, simply create folders as you need them and drag URLs or images directly from a page to save them for retrieval later. To access content that you’ve dropped, just click on the corresponding folder in the sidebar and it’ll open that folder in the browser – it’s a shame there’s no way of expanding the sidebar folders to show what’s inside, but it’s not a deal-breaker.
My biggest complaint about Dragdis is the amount of time it takes to open the folder after clicking in the sidebar. You can also add tags and other descriptions to any content that you drop to make finding it a bit easier to find later, or share it via Twitter or Facebook.
➤ Dragdis
Once you’re set up, it’s easy enough to use, simply create folders as you need them and drag URLs or images directly from a page to save them for retrieval later. To access content that you’ve dropped, just click on the corresponding folder in the sidebar and it’ll open that folder in the browser – it’s a shame there’s no way of expanding the sidebar folders to show what’s inside, but it’s not a deal-breaker.
My biggest complaint about Dragdis is the amount of time it takes to open the folder after clicking in the sidebar. You can also add tags and other descriptions to any content that you drop to make finding it a bit easier to find later, or share it via Twitter or Facebook.
➤ Dragdis
PushBullet
PushBullet, like Pocket, benefits from the fact that it’s available to download on so many platforms, as well as being accessible via its Chrome extension.
However, it’s a little different to the others here as it doesn’t just let you save articles to read later, it also makes it a doddle to share links, photos, files or other content between your devices at the press of a button.
To get started, simply install the Chrome extension – plus the relevant app for whichever other devices you own – and you can start sending content to your phone, Chrome, desktop and more. You’ll need to create an account or sign in through Google first though.
PushBullet, like Pocket, benefits from the fact that it’s available to download on so many platforms, as well as being accessible via its Chrome extension.
However, it’s a little different to the others here as it doesn’t just let you save articles to read later, it also makes it a doddle to share links, photos, files or other content between your devices at the press of a button.
To get started, simply install the Chrome extension – plus the relevant app for whichever other devices you own – and you can start sending content to your phone, Chrome, desktop and more. You’ll need to create an account or sign in through Google first though.
Clicking the PushBullet extension icon will show you a quick drop-down box, allowing you to easily push a link to one of your devices. In addition to links, the extension also allows you to send messages, locations and lists of items. If you want to push files through the browser to another device, you’ll need to head to the PushBullet.com portal or install one of the desktop apps.
As well as allowing you to send all sorts of files to your different devices, PushBullet also mirrors your phone notifications on the desktop so that you never miss a call, message or anything else happening on your phone. And if you get sick of them, you can silence them for good by choosing to switch off mirroring.
➤ PushBullet
➤ PushBullet
Notable mention…
Evernote’s Web Clipper for Chrome is another well-known, time-saving tool that let’s you quickly grab images or articles for sharing with friends or colleagues.
Evernote’s Web Clipper for Chrome is another well-known, time-saving tool that let’s you quickly grab images or articles for sharing with friends or colleagues.
As already noted, there are lots of ways to share or store articles for later consumption – and there are lots of ways to take and share screenshots too – but the key advantage here is that all your clippings are saved straight to Evernote and then available on virtually any device.
Using it really is simple; all your clipping options are available directly from the extension’s icon once installed. By default you can save a single article (or select multiple manually) from a page with multiple articles, save the whole page, save a simplified version of an article, screenshot the page or bookmark it for later.
If you don’t want to save a whole article or image, you can set a reminder to revisit a page. Extra usefully, it also detects when you’re looking at an email and provides an option designed to make it easy to clip individual emails (and replies, if you like).
➤ Evernote Web Clipper
Using it really is simple; all your clipping options are available directly from the extension’s icon once installed. By default you can save a single article (or select multiple manually) from a page with multiple articles, save the whole page, save a simplified version of an article, screenshot the page or bookmark it for later.
If you don’t want to save a whole article or image, you can set a reminder to revisit a page. Extra usefully, it also detects when you’re looking at an email and provides an option designed to make it easy to clip individual emails (and replies, if you like).
➤ Evernote Web Clipper
© 2014 http://thenextweb.com/apps/2014/08/20/27-best-chrome-extensions-check-today/
