10 Top Chrome Extensions for Your Web Development Workflow

The web development industry is fast-paced, and keeping up with the trend is not easy. Therefore, it is crucial to make full use of existing tools. This article will introduce ten Chrome extensions designed to optimize your web development workflow and improve efficiency.

Core points:

• Chrome extensions are small software that enhance the browsing experience and productivity of web developers. Some popular choices include Web Developer, Your Framework Developer Tools, Daily 2.0, Toggl Button, Lighthouse, OneTab, CSS Peeper, User CSS, Web Developer Checklist, and Tampermonkey.
• Web Developer is a must-have extension that provides a range of web analytics tools, including disabling JavaScript, image outlines, browser window resize, HTML verification, and viewing of meta tag information.
• Daily 2.0 collects the latest web development and technical articles from the Internet and displays them on new tabs in a user-friendly layout to help developers understand industry news.
• Tampermonkey is a user script manager that allows developers to change web behavior, add extra features, automate repetitive tasks, or adjust website layouts to their personal preferences.

What is a Chrome extension?

As stated in the Chrome Developer Portal, extensions are small software programs that customize your browsing experience. This can be anything from a spelling and grammar checker to check what you type, to a password manager that saves your favorite website login details.

Chrome offers thousands of extensions, all of which are available for free from the Chrome Web Store. You can check the currently installed extension by visiting the following link in your browser: chrome://extensions/.

Why choose Chrome?

This article focuses on Google Chrome because it has a huge market share (currently 65% ​​and is still growing). There are also many Chrome-based browser support extensions. These include Brave, Vivaldi, and the upcoming Microsoft Edge. However, we should remember that Chrome is not the only option, and many of the extensions mentioned here have Firefox and/or Opera equivalents.

Lastly, before we dig into the extension, take a moment to remember that Chrome is a proprietary software released by Google. As we all know, there are privacy issues with Google products, so you may be able to visit GitHub and view the ungoogled-chromium project. As the name implies, this is Google Chromium and does not include integration with Google.

1. Web Developer

We will start with the Swiss Army Knife of the extension. With over 1 million users and a 4.5-star rating in the Chrome Web Developer is a must-have. It adds a toolbar button to Chrome that will display a large number of tools that can be used for any web page. These tools are grouped by category (CSS, forms, images, etc.), allowing you to perform operations such as disabling JavaScript, contouring images with missing alt attributes, resizing browser windows, verifying page HTML, viewing page meta tag information, and more.

You can download it from here.

2. Your framework developer tool

If you use JavaScript framework to develop your application without the developer tools that use the framework, you may be doing something wrong. Let me explain with Vue as an example.

If you need to debug a Vue application, or just want to know the situation behind the scenes, what should you do? Checking the source code of the page will show the HTML that Vue is rendering, but the Vue application is much more than that. What about the props, data or compute properties of the component? Or what about the status or routing of your application? How do you check these contents?

The good news is that Vue.js developer tools can meet your needs. Just install the extension and open it on the page running the Vue development version to see exactly what is happening in the application.

The following is a link to download the three framework developer tools:

• Vue
• React
• Ember

3. Daily 2.0 – Resources for Busy Developers

Because we work in a fast-paced industry, keeping up with news and dynamics can sometimes be a challenge. Daily 2.0 came into being, an extension that collects the latest web development and technical articles from the internet and displays them on new tabs in an attractive masonry layout.

This extension is easy to use. When you install it, you will be asked to choose from a bunch of categories that interest you, and Daily 2.0 will do the rest. Hover your mouse over the sidebar on the new tab page to filter your feed by tags and sources.

You can get it from here.

4. Toggl Button: Productivity and Time Tracker

If you are a busy freelancer, if you work remotely, or you just have to track the time you spend on your project, Toggl is for you.

This extension requires you to create an account before using it. Once logged in, it allows for quick and easy real-time productivity tracking, all data is stored in your Toggl account. It comes with a built-in Pomodoro timer, as well as integrations of many internet services such as GitHub, Trello, and Slack. One of my favorite features is that when you are idle and the timer is running, it pops up notifications allowing you to discard the time.

Toggl can be downloaded from here.

5. Lighthouse

Lighthouse is an open source automation tool for improving the performance and quality of web pages. You can install it through the Chrome Web Store, or start with Chrome 60 and run it directly from the Audit tab of the DevTools in your browser (press F12 and select Audit).

When Lighthouse is opened, click Generate Report and select the audit category to include. Lighthouse will run the selected audit against the page and generate a report on the page's execution. You can use failed audits as a metric for improving your page. Each review also contains links to further readings and potential fixes.

Lighthouse is made by Google and probably uses the same ranking factors as their search engines. This means it can give you some of the best advice on how to optimize your website.

You can get it from here.

6. OneTab

This is the case. You are dealing with your web application and suddenly encounter an unexpected error. You spend hours tracking the fix and when you're done, there are a lot of tabs opening in your browser. Add these to the tab page of the project you were working on yesterday, and all the articles you haven't had time to read, and soon you'll find yourself in a tag confusion.

This is where the OneTab extension can help you get your sanity back. Whenever you find yourself having too many tabs, click the OneTab icon to convert all tabs into a list. When you need to access the tabs again, you can recover them individually or at one time. If used properly, this extension can greatly improve your productivity.

OneTab is available for download from here.

7. CSS Peeper

CSS Peeper positions itself as a CSS viewer designed for designers, allowing you to extract CSS and build beautiful style guides. It allows you to check the CSS rules for any element on the page and present all style information in a simple and clear way. It also lists all the colors and images of the page that can be copied to the clipboard or exported with just a click of a button.

This extension is easier to use than the browser's built-in "Check Elements" feature, the only downside is that you cannot dynamically change the style of elements.

You can find CSS Peeper here.

8. User CSS

This extension works with CSS Peeper and provides a quick and easy way to add custom CSS to your web pages. User CSS is easy to use after installation - click the extension icon and enter your style in the slide-out side panel.

A nice feature of this extension is that it retains your custom CSS style. This means you can also use it to permanently hide distracting features on websites you visit frequently, such as the trend widget on Twitter.

You can download User CSS from here.

9. Web Developer Checklist

New projects online can be stressful at any time - there are a lot to remember and coordinate. For example, do you remember to verify the HTML of the website? Have you checked SEO? What about auxiliary function checks? Do you run it via Google Page Speed? The list continues.

This is where the Web Developer Checklist extension can help. It analyzes violations of best practices in a web page and allows you to discover problem areas in the website before handing the web page to a client. This extension is a great companion program for WebDevChecklist.com.

Web Developer Checklist is available for download from here.

10. Tampermonkey

User scripts are small computer programs that allow you to change the behavior of web pages. These can be used for various tasks, such as adjusting the website layout to your preferences, adding extra features to the page, or automating repetitive tasks.

Tampermonkey is a user script manager - an extension that allows you to manage and run user scripts and create your own user scripts. It is the last feature that makes it a place in the list, as you can effectively use Tampermonkey to simplify your web development workflow. For example, I'm working on a large form that needs to be tested recently. Instead of manually entering values ​​every time, I wrote a Tampermonkey script to do this for me, saving countless key presses.

Tampermonkey can be found here.

Conclusion

In this article, we introduce ten of my favorite Chrome extensions to improve your web development workflow. I hope this gives you some inspiration, but remember that this list is by no means exhaustive.

If you missed your favorite extension, or you have a gem to share with other readers, I would love to hear from you in the comments below.

Thank you for reading.

FAQs (FAQs) for Chrome Extensions for Web Development Workflows

What are the top Chrome extensions for web development workflows?

There are several Chrome extensions that can significantly enhance your web development workflow. Some of the top extensions include Web Developer, Window Resizer, ColorZilla, CSSViewer, and JSONView. These extensions provide a range of features, from checking HTML and CSS elements on any web page to resizing browser windows to simulate various screen resolutions.

How do I use the Web Developer Chrome extension to improve my workflow?

Web Developer extension adds a toolbar button to your browser that contains various Web developer tools. This can help you quickly access features such as disabling JavaScript, viewing CSS, and checking elements. It also helps you verify your code and check for any errors or inconsistencies, making your web development process more efficient.

How does Window Resizer extension enhance web development?

Window Resizer allows you to resize your browser windows to simulate various screen resolutions. This is especially useful for responsive design testing, as it allows you to see how your website or application looks on different devices. You can choose from the list of preset screen resolutions or create your own custom size.

How does ColorZilla help with web development?

ColorZilla is a convenient tool for web developers and graphic designers. It includes straws, color selectors, gradient generators, and many other color-related tools. With ColorZilla, you can get color readings from any point in your browser and quickly adjust it or paste it into another program.

What is the purpose of CSSViewer in web development?

CSSViewer is a simple CSS property viewer. It allows you to hover your mouse over any element on a web page and view its CSS properties. This is useful when you are trying to understand how to implement a specific design or debug your own CSS code.

How does JSONView improve web development workflow?

JSONView is a Chrome extension that helps view JSON documents in your browser. Typically, JSON documents are displayed as plain text only. JSONView formats and highlights these documents to make them easier to read. This is especially useful when you use API or any other JSON format data.

What are the Chrome extensions used to debug JavaScript?

Yes, there are several Chrome extensions that can be used to debug JavaScript. The most popular of these is JavaScript Errors Notifier. It notifies you of JavaScript errors via an icon or notification pop-up in the toolbar bar.

How to use Chrome extensions to improve my coding efficiency?

Chrome extensions like Clear Cache and Session Buddy can significantly improve your coding efficiency. Clear Cache allows you to clear caches, cookies, and other browsing data with just one click, while Session Buddy allows you to manage browser sessions, saving you time and helping you stay organized.

What are some Chrome extensions for web design?

Yes, there are several Chrome extensions available for web design. Some of the top extensions include WhatFont, which allows you to identify the fonts used on a web page, and Eye Dropper, which allows you to select colors from a web page.

How to find and install Chrome extensions?

You can find and install Chrome extensions from the Chrome Web Store. Simply search for the extension you want and click "Add to Chrome" to install it. You may need to restart your browser to make the extension work.

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