Firefox, A Blogger's Best Friend

Image via WikipediaAccording to Google Analytics this post might not mean a lot to roughly 78% of you, since you are already using Firefox, for the 22% of you that are not using Firefox you need to keep reading. If you take your blogging seriously at all you need to use the best tools for job. For blogging that means you should be using Firefox as your web browser. I could go and and on about why I hate loathe detest dislike Internet Explorer from the perspective of a web developer, but from the perspective of a blogger Firefox offers many advantages.

• Tabbed Browsing - Firefox might not have been the first browser to offer tabbed browsing, but it is one of the greatest features for bloggers to have. The ability to not litter your desktop with dozens of open windows offers greater productivity. Tabbed browsing also makes it much easier to keep web pages that you are using in research of a blog post open while you write for easy reference.

• Firefox add-ons extend Firefox to make it much more than a web browser, they turn Firefox into the perfect blogging tool. Here are some of my favourite Firefox add-ons to make blogging more productive and fun.

  • CoLT - CoLT makes it fast and easy to create links to all of the other web pages you want to reference in your post. No more copying and pasting the URL then creating a hyperlink, CoLT will do it all for you in one easy right click.
  • ScribeFire - If you are a blogger that dislikes your blogging platforms editing page, give ScribeFire a try. It turns Firefox into an excellent desktop blogging application. I use it on my Windows machine, mostly for creating drafts, but that is a personal preference.
  • FireFTP - This is not scrictly for bloggers, but FireFTP sure makes it easy to upload that newest plugin you want to try or to upload that brand new theme you have spent hours and hours creating.
  • Zemanta - This is a new add-on I am trying out. So far I have found it useful. It offers suggestions for you as you type. It found the Firefox logo I used at the top of this post for example, but it is not limited to images. It also offers suggestions for articles that you might want to link out to.
  • Web Developer - I use this add-on all the time and I find I am a little lost without it installed. Becuase I also do all kinds of web development it is essential. If you are just blogging you might not need it as much, but it does come in handy to clear you cache, and resize your browser at the very least.
  • TwitterFox - If you microblog through Twitter you need to use this plugin. Why have another application open eating up resources just to Tweet when you already have your web browser open.
  • Dictionaries & Language Packs - My spelling is horrible, I admit it. I need a dictionary all the time. Install a dictionary to help you with your spelling, it will make your blog more enjoyable to read.

• Multiple Home Pages - This goes along with tabbed browsing. You can open several pages as your home page. Do you have some sites you always visit first thing in the morning? Why waste time clicking from place to place, just open them up as your home pages. Some of the pages I start with are GMail, Google Reader and CBC News.

If I have not given you enough reasons to try Firefox to help you be a better blogger I am sure there are others that can offer their reasons for using Firefox. If you are not using Firefox for blogging what web browser do you use for bloggng and why?