Top Firefox Add-ons for Webmasters

Firefox is my web browser of choice. There are lots of reasons why I use Firefox, the main reason is because I like it. It renders web pages faster than Internet Explorer and has less security concerns. It is also the default browser on my operating system, Ubuntu Linux, but I have been using it longer than I have had Linux on my desktop. The other reason I use Firefox is because it helps me be more productive as a webmaster.

The add-ons that are available for Firefox make it much easier to be a webmaster. The following are the add-ons I recommend to help in your day to day webmaster work.

Web Developer

I use this toolbar so often I don’t know how I ever did this work without it. There are features that I am still discovering and learning how to use. I think it has made me be 100% more efficient at being a webmaster than any other tool I use.

Firebug

While there some similar features between Web Developer and Firebug there are enough differences to make Firebug stand out from Web Developer. This is especially true if you are doing any kind of AJAX programming. You can use it to watch the requests taking place behind the scenes to see what is going on. Makes working on AJAX websites much easier to do.

FireFTP

When I was using Windows my FTP program of choice was FileZilla. When I switched to Ubuntu I did not like the FTP programs that were available, then I found FireFTP. This way I can use FTP right from inside of Firefox with out having to start up another program. Makes it very handy to upload files and test them on another tab.

SecurePassword Generator

Creating new passwords for clients, website registrations and web softwre installations. It is a very handy add-on

Adblock

Adblock is one of those add-ons that I often forget about, mainly because once I set it up I don’t do much with it. My main reason for using it is to block my own ads from my websites. I can’t click on my own ads and possibly risk losing my publisher account if I don’t see the ads.

SearchStatus

I use this add-on almost as much as I use Web Developer. As I surf websites I can check for the current PageRank, Alexa rank, complete rank, check backlinks, indexed pages and all kinds of useful information. It is so much a part of my web browsing that I have a hard time surfing without it.

Foxmarks

I have both a desktop and a laptop. Foxmarks makes sure that the bookmarks on both are identical. I can bookmark something at a clients office on the laptop and know when I go home to work in my office that it will be there on my desktop. It works great to keep the bookmarks synced, but it is also great when I might be away from both of my computers and I need to find that site that I had bookmarked. Just login to the Foxmarks website and presto, there they are. It has been a great time saver.

Adsense Notifier

I have to admit it is fun watching the Adsense notifier as I work. It keeps me from checking my Adsense stats to often during the day, but I still have an idea how my websites are doing as far as Adsense goes. If you are an Adsense publisher this is a must add-on.

Gmail Notifier

I use Gmail for almost all of my email these days. I download my mail using POP usually every couple of days to my desktop simply so I have a copy of it locally just in case. The Gmail Notifier let’s me know when I have new email, let’s me preview it so I know if it needs to be dealt with immediately or if it can wait until I have a minute.

There is my top nine add-ons for Firefox for webmasters. I have some other add-ons installed, like Forecastfox and of course StumbleUpon, but they are not so helpful for web development. What are the essential web developer add-ons that you rely on?