Google Chrome is by far the most-used browser in the world. If you’re a designer or developer, it’s easy to see why. Chrome is packed full of tools like Google Chrome plugins and extensions that you can use to work smarter, not harder. As you build sites for your clients, these unique tools can help you achieve more effective results in less time.
Here are seven of the best google chrome extensions for developers and designers. Get to know how they work and why you should try them out.
1. ColorZilla
Color can transform a website. The colors you choose can evoke specific feelings, affect your content’s accessibility, and give visitors a strong sense of who your client is. Even a small difference in hue can create a different user experience.
ColorZilla is one of the best Google Chrome extensions for developers who want to figure out the exact HEX and RGB codes for any color on a webpage. This way, if you can:
- Follow a consistent color scheme by pulling your client’s brand colors
- Identify colors from other websites that you want to use for on yours
ColorZilla can even analyze any webpage and tell you the color palette used within it.
2. WhatFont
Just like colors, fonts can play a big role in shaping your clients’ visual identity and the website experience. But sometimes, clients aren’t sure what fonts they originally used for their brand. Other times, you might find the perfect font on the website of a brand that you have no affiliation with.
WhatFont is just like ColorZilla for typography. Using this Google Chrome plugin, you can figure out what font a site is using just by hovering over it. For some fonts, it can even tell you what service was used (like Google Fonts or Adobe Fonts), so you can get the font for your project.
3. Google Tag Assistant
Adding marketing tags to a website can help your clients perform better. These snippets of code allow them to use tools like Google Analytics, Google Ads conversion tracking, and more — that is, if your tags are working.
Google Tag Assistant is an extension that can:
- Verify what tags are present
- Notify you of any errors
- Suggest improvements
Google Tag Assistant’s recording feature can further inform you of a typical user flow on your site, so you can revamp your designs as needed.
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Learn More4. Lorem Ipsum Generator
When you want to see what your website will actually look like when it’s complete, you need content in place. However, content takes time to create and collect. You’ll likely complete the first versions of your web design before your content writing is complete.
Lorem Ipsum Generator is one of the best Google Chrome extensions to solve this problem. This tool can instantly add Lorem ipsum — otherwise known as placeholder text — right on your designs. The “words” in your placeholder text will vary in length to simulate real content.
Using this tool, you can see if your line spacing is too large, if your font size is too small, and much more.
5. OneTab
No matter your role in your agency, you may find yourself leaving too many tabs open at once. This can make your digital workspace cluttered, use a ton of memory, and even slow you down.
When you want to consolidate all your tabs, OneTab is the best Google Chrome extension for you. OneTab converts all of your tabs into one list, which you can easily use to switch between sites. It makes it easier to sort through all your tabs, while saving you as much as 95% memory.
This extension can help you improve your workflow productivity and stay focused on one tab at a time. And when you do need multiple tabs open at once, you can restore them all at once or individually.
6. Awesome Screenshot & Screen Recorder
Whether you’re asking for client design feedback or reporting bugs, capturing your screen can help you provide the perfect visual context. Awesome Screenshot & Screen Recorder is a Google Chrome extension for developers who want to record your screen, capture a screenshot, or even record yourself.
After your visual is captured or recorded, you can annotate it with different shapes, blur sensitive information, and highlight important details. Then, you can share your file directly with your team or clients via Jira, Slack, and more.
7. Check My Links
Effective content writing often calls for the use of internal links and high-quality external links. This can help you improve your search engine optimization (SEO) and rank higher on Google. But broken links can make your efforts ineffective and take away from the user experience.
Check My Links helps content writers, designers, and developers check for broken links, without clicking on each one. This Google Chrome extension crawls through your current webpage to tell you if there’s issues with any links. With this tool, you can quickly resolve any errors before your end users experience them.
Improve Your Websites With the Best Google Chrome Extensions for Developers
Creating an outstanding website is much easier with the support of digital tools. Adding Google Chrome extensions for developers onto your browser can streamline your design and development processes, while helping you make your site error-free.
When you want to do more on your browser — beyond what Google Chrome has to offer — SimpleStage can help. SimpleStage is a cloud-based platform that can help your agency collect feedback, content, and bug reports straight from any page of your site, even if you’re not using Chrome.