Whether you’re a graphic designer, a web designer, a copywriter or any creative person toiling away at the coalface of the internet, you’ll have your favourite browser add-ons and extensions that help you make it through a productive day.

Depending on your needs, you probably spend more with Firefox and Chrome than you do with your loved ones. But that isn’t a bad thing. After all, they are fabulously designed and packed with more sweet features than Willy Wonka’s factory.

Best of all? These browsers boast a huge library of add-ons to make your daily work life easier. And we’re not just talking about the popular extensions, we’re talking about the ones hiding in the crevices.

So, here are 10 browser extensions that may have passed you by, but which we think you’ll find essential!

1. Axe

Available from Firefox & Chrome.

Improving accessibility and encouraging inclusiveness is a crucial part of the web design process. This tool highlights accessibility defects on your website, so you know exactly what problems to fix, and how to fix them.

• It works on all modern browsers.
• It has zero false positives.
• It is highly configurable

2. BuiltWith

Available from Firefox & Chrome.

If you’re inspired by a website and want to know more about who made it and how it works – BuiltWith’s website profiler tool lets you know. It returns all the technologies it can find on the page.

This can also be useful in providing sales intelligence and even leads to your sales team.

3. Evernote Web Clipper

Available from Firefox and Chrome.

The researcher’s best buddy. The Evernote extension allows you to grab things you see on the web and tuck them safely away in your Evernote account – where you can look at them later, on any device.

• Evernote Web Clipper allows you to clip any webpage, obviously.
• Then you can highlight the important parts.
• Add your own notations.

4. Font Finder

Available from Firefox & Chrome.

FontFinder has 3 key functions:

• Analysing any font on a page.
• Copying info to the clipboard.
• Adjusting the font options

It will report on the font’s colour (in rgb and hex), its family, measurements, and anything a designer might need to track down a font and make best use of it.

5. Project Naptha

Available from Chrome.

Project Naptha allows you to search, highlight, then copy and paste – and even edit and translate – the text formerly trapped within an image.

Free up the text trapped in comics, scans, photographs, posters, charts, diagrams, screenshots and memes.

6. SEOQuake

Available from Firefox and Chrome.

SEOquake offers a suite of key SEO metrics and useful tools.

SEOquake allows you to:

• Review all major metrics in no time.
• Get a thorough SERPs analysis.
• Estimate keyword density.

And much, much more.

7. Sizzy

Available from Chrome.

If you’re always dealing with the thorny issue of making your websites fully responsive – Sizzy allows you to check it in a range of configurations.

• Preview your url on multiple devices at once.
• Filter the devices.
• Zoom in and out.

All at the touch of a button.

8. Toby

Available from Chrome.

If you’re one of those people who finds they have dozens of tabs open – this extension could benefit you – whether you’re a creative, a designer or an accountant. It allows you to drag and drop your browser tabs into collections. It could save you hours of hunting through unsorted bookmarks and tabs.

9. Web Developer creative browser extension

Available from Firefox and Chrome.

Although it hasn’t been updated for nearly two years, this is a tool that has over a million users, making it one of the most essential extensions available.

The extension adds a toolbar button to your browser, which then offers you instant access to a range of web developer tools.

10. Word Count Tool

Available from Firefox, & Chrome

This does far more than just count your words for you – though that’s useful enough. The report will also measure:

• Longest word.
• Longest sentence.
• Estimated reading time.
• Several different measures of readability level.

Share the pro tips

These are the extensions that float our proverbial boats. Try them out and let us know what you think.

Also – you doubtless have your own preferred extensions – the things that make your browser your own, that you probably couldn’t do your job without.

So, let’s spread the word – share some best practice.