Supercharge your workday with these essential Google Chrome extensions
If you use Google or G Suite you’ll probably understand why it’s one of the most widely used online collaboration tools. From Google Docs, Forms and Sheets, right through to Hangouts, Keep and cloud storage, it’s not only a great online system for personal use, but also for small and large businesses with or without a significant budget.
But do you know about Google Chrome extensions? The Google Chrome Store is open to anyone with a Google account and offers thousands of browser add-ons to both enhance and help your business run more smoothly.
Keep reading to find out my top 10 Google Chrome extensions!
Security first!
Google does not make all the extensions within the store. Many are made by third-party developers, so it’s important to follow a few guidelines to ensure you don’t download anything malicious.
Don’t download hundreds of extensions. In addition to making your pc run slower, you have less chance of keeping an eye on permissions etc.
Make sure you have decent anti-virus software installed.
Only use extensions from official web stores.
Don’t just agree to any permission. Check and make sure you’re happy. If an already installed extension asks for permissions again, do a quick double-check, as it could be compromised.
Sign in to your Google account and then click here to access the web store. The store sorts the extensions by category (of which there are many), and then you can narrow this search down by Features such as running offline, or android and Google Drive compatibility. This is useful functionality, but if you already know an extension you wish to download, you can just use the search option.
Most of the extensions are free and are as easy to uninstall and they are to install, so why not have a go and download one? Any extensions you add will be saved in the top-right-hand corner of Chrome, allowing you easy access to control settings straight from your browser.
Top 10 extensions
Depending on the type of business you run will very much depend on the type of extensions you will find useful, so I have tried to list extensions that are as generic as possible. There are many more, but these are some of my favourites:
1. LastPass
If you’re like me you probably have oodles of passwords to various apps and accounts. It’s not safe to keep them written in a little book anymore and I’m hoping you’re not using the same password everywhere! Lastpass not only stores usernames and passwords, but it can also generate passwords. Not only that, it has a password sharing option. Best of all? It’s free!
2. Grammarly
This great little app checks and provides suggestions to your grammar. When you install the extension, it also works when you’re using social media, Gmail etc, so you can be confident that your writing is grammatically correct. There is a paid-for upgrade option which, as you would expect, offers even more ways to improve your writing.
3. Toggl
Many people in business need the option of timing themselves for tasks, projects and productivity tracking. This extension does just that, and more. You can assign time to projects and tasks, and it can also be used in conjunction with lots of other online apps like Trello, Asana, Todoist, Jira etc.
I personally prefer Clockify for time tracking, but I've listed Toggl as it's more widely used. Why not try them both out and see which you prefer?
4. Todoist
If you’re after a simple task manager then this is the one for you. You can prioritise and organise tasks and projects to simple lists and you can sink with your phone and tablet. Collaborate and share projects with others and of course, the upgrade options provide you with even more wonderfulness.
5. Evernote Webb Clipper
Evernote is still up there as being one of the best note-taking tools around and this extension takes it to another level. You can use the extension to save anything from the web. The old-fashioned way was using bookmarks, but this is so much more efficient. You can save an entire web page or a snippet, take screenshots and organise your saved items by tabs.
If you're not an Evernote user you could try the Google Keep extension instead. I've recently switched from Evernote to Google Keep and was torn which one to list, so why not try them both out and see which you prefer?
6. EyeDropper
This extension is essential if you design marketing materials, social media graphics etc. Ever wondered what that colour is in a photo or webpage so you could match the text etc.? Wonder no more because that’s exactly what the EyeDropper extension does. It also saves previous colours picked and provides the colour in RGB and Hex.
7. Awesome Screenshot
With 1.7 million users, this is one of the bigger screenshot extensions around and you will soon see why. You can capture all or parts of the webpage, annotate and blur sensitive information which can be tricky to do with standard screenshot apps. The free programme even offers 30 seconds of video recording. Upgrade options provide integration with other apps, longer video recording and team options.
8. Adblocker Plus
Another popular extension with over 10 million users. This app does exactly what is says – blocks videos and ads on social media. But you can whitelist sites that you trust so that the advertising is available if you wish. It must also be noted that some sites won’t function with this extension installed.
9. Momentum
This extension is not essential but is definitely nice to have. Momentum allows you to customise a new tab with the weather, time, a to-do list, quote or you can let the extension add its own photo and inspiration. The various widgets are easily customizable, and the upgrade option means you can sync with other task managers such as Asana, Basecamp, GitHub, Bitbucket, Google Tasks, Todoist, Trello, and Wunderlist.
10. Click and Clean
If you search the web a lot then you’ll know that having a full cache can slow your PC down. This extension removes typed URLs, cache, cookies, your download and browsing history. The dashboard is very easy to use so you can be specific about what you want to delete.
There are so many Google Chrome extensions to help you with your productivity, creativity, social and communication, news etc. with new ones being added all the time! Why not start by trying out some of those listed above and then have a search of the Google Chrome Store to see which others sound useful?
