So your older, possibly not-so-tech-savvy relative got a new laptop for the holidays and you’ve been called in to help him set it up. One area that people tend to forget is adding browser extensions to Google Chrome to customize your browsing experience and add some useful tools as well.
To help you and your family member narrow down your choices on the Chrome Web Store, we’ve put together a quick list of some of the best Chrome extensions for shopping, ad blocking, productivity, fun, and more.
Shopping
If your family member is an avid online shopper, make sure they are familiar with these Chrome extensions to find deals and coupon codes. They are especially useful because they can automatically find and apply promo codes at checkout, essentially saving money with little to no effort.
(Need more shopping extensions? Check out our list of the best Chrome extensions for coupons.)
Honey
Honey takes the hassle out of finding and applying coupon codes to your online purchases. With very little effort, this extension does all the work for you, and all you have to do is install the extension and let it save you some money while shopping online. Plus, Honey is backed by more than 30,000 websites, so you’re sure to find coupons on most, if not all, of your online purchases. There is even a rewards program called Honey Gold that allows you to earn “gold” on your purchases. You can then redeem that “gold” for gift cards.
Deals Finder RetailMeNot
Like Honey, RetailMeNot Deal Finder is an extension that automatically finds and applies coupon codes to your online purchases to save you money. RetailMeNot Deal Finder also has a significant number of participating retailers – more than 20,000 stores. This shopping extension also includes money back offers that can be combined with coupon codes.
Ad blockers
Ads can be annoying at best and intrusive and malicious at worst. If your family member needs help dodging them while browsing the web, consider our picks for the best ad blocker extensions for Chrome.
(AdBlock and AdGuard aren’t the only ad blockers in town. Need more options? Check out our guide to the best ad blockers for Chrome.)
Adblock
If you want fewer ads cluttering or disrupting your web browsing experience, you can consider adding AdBlock to Chrome. With AdBlock, you can block pop-up ads, get rid of video ads, and block banners. You can also whitelist certain sites and block ads that are riddled with malware and scams.
AdBlock is free to use, despite a confusing initial request for donations when you first add the extension. If you prefer not to donate, simply close the donation request tab that opens.
AdGuard
AdGuard is another ad blocking option for Chrome users. This ad blocker blocks all types of ads, including: banner, text, pop-up, and video ads. It will also block third-party trackers, spyware and adware installers, and offers protection against malware and phishing.
Productivity
If your family member needs work, our picks for the best productivity Chrome extensions will help you improve your writing on work emails and stay on top of your to-do lists.
Grammatically for Chrome
Looking to improve your writing on emails, social media, or writing projects? Grammarly for Chrome can help with that. This handy browser extension can review your writing and provide helpful feedback on how to improve it. And it goes beyond a simple spelling and grammar check. Grammarly for Chrome also features suggestions for better clarity, better tone, and to improve conciseness and fluency. It is an easy way to improve your communication skills.
Grammarly for Chrome is compatible with sites like Google Docs, WordPress, Facebook, Gmail, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Todoist for Chrome
You don’t have to rely on easy-to-lose sticky notes or scraps of paper to keep up with your daily tasks and appointments. Why not keep all of your to-do lists in one convenient place? You can do it with Todoist for Chrome. This extension allows you to set up daily to-do lists, mark your completed tasks, and add websites as tasks.
Todoist is also available as separate desktop and mobile apps, so you can stay organized (and collaborate with others), on multiple devices.
General web browsing and customization of Chrome
There are ways to optimize and customize your web browsing to make it easier to use. Our favorite extensions for managing web browsing in Chrome can do things like help you organize your open tabs so they don’t clutter up your browser or take up too much memory. Or even create a beautiful workspace-like tab for yourself that is packed with useful tools like a weather widget and notepad.
Session partner
We all have. I opened a million tabs out of research or boredom and then either forgot about them or couldn’t bear to close them because “we might need them one day.” And now your browser is cluttered with too many tabs taking up too much memory. If Chrome’s native bookmarks or tab management features aren’t enough for you to take control of your tab backlog situation, you can try adding the Session Buddy extension.
Session Buddy allows you to organize and save your open tabs in collections that can then be restored later when you need them. Searchable too, which means you can search through your tabs and collections to find what you need. What if your browser crashes? You can also restore your eyelashes.
New Infinity tab
Infinity New Tab turns your Chrome browser’s new tab into something of a workspace that’s packed with useful tools to help you plan your day and manage your web browsing. This extension immediately turns your new tabs into beautiful minimal spaces with quick access icons to your favorite sites, an extension manager, a weather widget, and a notepad. You can also create and manage to-do lists and bookmarks and customize your wallpaper.
Fun
You can also play games and do other fun things on Chrome. Here are a couple of popular Chrome entertainment extensions:
Tetrys
Do you need a short break to work or study? With this extension, you can do just that. You can play a fun and fast game similar to Tetris without having to leave the Chrome browser. Just use the arrow keys on your keyboard to play. And if you close this little pop-up game, it will pick up where you left off when you open it again.
Avatar Maker
If you are tired of using a photo of yourself for your profile photos and you want something different, you can design an avatar for yourself. Avatar Maker is a Chrome extension that makes creating one for yourself quick and easy. Once installed, clicking on the extension icon opens an application with an easy-to-use interface. Your avatar customization options are a bit limited, but if all you want is a quick, colorful, and cute avatar as your next Twitter profile photo, Avatar Maker is a great option.
Avatar Maker also allows you to save your created avatars, generate random avatars, and download your avatars in PNG or SVG formats.
Editors’ Recommendations
Above article is first published by the Source link. We curated and re-published.