Chrome is my daily driver for browsing, testing, and developing for the web. With an active community of developers, the Chrome Web Store has so many options it’s hard to figure out what’s gimmicky and what’s actually useful. Here’s a list of extensions I’ve been using for years for speeding up my workflow:
Clear Cache shortcut
: it does what it's supposed to: a simple bin icon that will flush your cache when clicked. It saves quite a few clicks compared to going to the Settings and it's very useful when using a CMS or checking if deployments were successful.
The Great Suspender
: I use this very often to prevent idle tabs from consuming all my RAM, CPU, and therefore battery life. It can automatically suspend tabs based on how much time you've spent away from them or manually suspend them.
Infinity New Tab
: With so many 'new tab' apps out there, it's hard to find one without gimmicks or intrusive functionality — but at the same time, Chrome's default solution is very uninspired. I like Infinity New Tab because it allows me to customize very simple shortcuts to the websites and services I use the most, and it does the jobs without getting in my way.
WhatFont
: Sometimes you just want to know what amazing typeface people are using on their websites so you can expand your library os references. As simple as that.
Amino Live CSS Editor
: Amino opens a popup window where you can insert your own CSS. You can configure it to apply the rules only once or everytime you visit the page. Very useful for testing new styling and / or finding bugs.
Web Developer Extension
: This extension opens a toolbar where you can disable JS execution, CSS, Cookies, Forms, and many other tricks. It's a superset of functions found in the Developer Tools, but with it saves me many clicks throughout the day.
Spectrum
: this extension emulates decreases visual perception in colours and it's very useful for making sure we're designing our products to be inclusive and accessible. Spectrum overlays a colour filter on top of the page so you can check if contrast levels are adequate and if your copy is readable.