Top 6 chrome extensions for easier website projects

When working on a website project, there are many things to consider. If it’s the first time you have created a website, you need to figure out what you like and don’t like from a design perspective.

If you do find something you like, how do you figure out what fonts or colours they are using? If you like a particular layout of website, how do you capture the whole page as an image?

Then, once your website is launched, you need to make sure the website is still functioning correctly for your visitors, you’re not accidentally skewing your analytics data each time you work on your website, and you want to continue to create content that has relevant keywords for SEO.

If you do a search of the web chrome store, it seems like there is an extension for just about everything. Even if you have some idea of what type of extension you want, how do you know what’s the best one? Which you do you trust enough to try?

The following is a list of chrome extensions that are my top picks to help make all of the above easier.

1. WhatFont

Have you seen a website and immediately loved the font? It’s easy to find out what it is by using WhatFont.

Once you have installed it, simply click on the WhatFont icon in the menu bar to activate it. Then just hover your mouse over the web page to reveal the fonts being used.

If you then want to use that font for your own website project, you will need to do a quick search to find out where the font can be accessed.

Google fonts provide a great range of free fonts, therefore a large number of websites will use these. However, there are lots of font repositories, which include free and paid fonts. You may even find some businesses are using custom fonts.

2. ColorZilla

Have you seen a great colour scheme or really liked the colours of an image online? ColorZilla lets you pick the colour right off the page.

Once you have installed this extension, it’s easy to find out any colour. All you need to do click on the icon in the browser, then select “Pick Color From Page”. Hover your mouse over the image or coloured area and click the mouse to select the colour you want.

ColorZilla will register and save the HEX code for you. Click on the icon in the browser, and click on “Color Picker” to view the hex code. You can also see a preview of the colour, plus a history of previously picked colours.

3. FireShot

Modern desktops, laptops and phones all have a screenshot function built in, but what if you want to take capture an entire web page?

You could try taking multiple screen shots as you scroll down bit by bit and edit them all together… or you could just install the FireShot extension.

FireShot has the usual options to capture a selection or the visible part of the screen, but what makes this extension so great is the ability to “capture entire page” in one click.

Once it has completed the screen capture, it will open the image in a new tab on your browser. You can then save it as either a .png, .jpg or a .pdf file.

4. Window Resizer

When creating a website, mobile responsiveness is extremely important. You want your website to look great on any device, no matter the size.

To check how your website is displaying and to trouble shoot issues, the extension Window Resizer makes it easy to change your browser to a range of sizes that match commonly used devices.

You can also add and save custom dimensions if there are different device sizes you want to test on.

This extension is handy when customers report that a particular element is not showing the way it should on a mobile or tablet. You can then use Window Resizer to test similar device sizes and investigate the problem.

If you have a web developer, you could use FireShot to capture the problem and send them an image of it! This will make it much easier for them to re-create the problem and fix it for you.

5. Block Yourself From Analytics

If you have a website, you’ve most likely heard of Google Analytics. For those that haven’t, it is a free web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports the traffic to your website.

Google Analytics provides a wealth of insights on how your website is performing, but these insights rely on the quality of the data being collected.

As a business owner, you are going to be on your own website quite a bit, either reviewing the content and updating products, or just admiring it!

When your website is new, traffic is going to be quite small to start with. If you are then visiting your own website quite a lot, it will start to skew the data being collected in Google Analytics, making it less meaningful.

One way to fix this is blocking your IP address in Google Analytics, but a much simpler way is to install the extension Block Yourself From Analytics.

To block your own website visits, click on the icon at the top of the browser then select “Options” to add your website URL directly. If you are already on your website, click “Block Analytics for this website” and it will automatically block it.

6. Keywords Everywhere

Search Engine Optimisation is a huge part of getting your business found online. SEO includes a whole range of strategies, but creating content that focuses on relevant keywords for your business is one of the most important.

There are also lots of different methods about how to find good keywords, such as using the Google Keyword Planner or lots of paid online tools. For a simple and free option, try the Keywords Everywhere extension. It makes keyword research easy and a lot of fun.

Once it is installed on your browser, it adds three main features to your search engine page. At the top, it gives you the volume, CPC and competition for any keywords you search for.

For popular search terms, it also provides two boxes on the right hand side called “Related Keywords” and “People Also Search For”. These list a whole range of alternative keywords that you might be interested in.

Lastly, the feature that is the best part of this is extension is that it adds a little star beside all the keywords on the page. If you click the star, it turns yellow and saves it for you. You can then try searching a whole range of different keywords and see what new ones you can uncover.

Once you have found all the keywords you like, the information can be exported to a spreadsheet for more in-depth analysis.