Chrome browser extensions are lightweight digital tools that integrate directly into your browser, offering features and functionalities that can enhance your online workflow.

Find and install extensions

To access extensions, open Google Chrome. In the top right corner, click on the kebab menu (aka the three dot menu). From the dropdown menu, select Extensions. There are two options: Manage Extensions and Visit Chrome Web Store. The Manage Extensions page is where you can enable, disable, remove, update and find out more about the extensions. In the Chrome Web Store, you can search for extensions and discover others.

For this article, I’m focusing on Chrome extensions but other browsers have the same or similar extensions available. You’ll need to locate and explore the relevant web store via that browser.

In Google Chrome, pinned extensions are displayed on the right side of the address bar. From here, click the puzzle piece icon to access the extensions menu, where you can manage and organise extensions, and toggle the pinning.

Here are some of the extensions I use.

The Loom extension allows for quick access to activate Loom. Loom is a screen recording tool that you can use to record and share a video of yourself, your screen or both. This can be helpful if you want to explain some of the reports you are sending across, or you want to provide step-by-step guidance on how to do something. It helps to humanise the interaction and the recipient can watch the video whenever it suits them.

There are a variety of password management tools and they all work in a similar way. I use 1Password. When you attempt to log into a website, 1Password is activated. A popup window opens to provide you with secure login credentials, keeping you cyber safe and saving you time.

The AdBlock tool allows for a cleaner, focused experience across the internet. It can be easily toggled off when some sites, like online blogs, request you to pause the AdBlock while reading articles, so their ads can show.

The freemium Smallpdf extension allows you to edit, convert and compress PDFs, and will provide AI summaries of the content.

The Eye Dropper extension helps you identify colours from any area on a website with a simple click of the tool. This is helpful for colour matching when creating graphics and presentations. For example, if you took a photo at a CA ANZ function, you could use Eye Dropper to identify the colour codes used in the CA ANZ logo. When you import the image into a graphics program like Canva, you can use the code to define the frame colour. This simple technique gives you an aesthetically pleasing, professional look.

Volume Master allows you to increase your volume up to 600%.

The Zoom extension provides quick access to scheduling or starting an online Zoom meeting.

Tab Copy is a quick way to copy different variations of URLs you have open in different tabs. For example, if I was researching something and opening up lots of tabs, I could use Tab Copy to copy all the browser tab details and paste them into a single document to help me organise, track or share the resources.

Postlight Reader removes clutter, so you can read web articles, ad and distraction free. It also has the option to change the text size, and light or dark theme options.

The Link to Text Fragment extension lets you create a hyperlink to a specific section of a webpage.

The XBert extension allows you to work between Xero and the workflow automation tool XBert.

The document management solution SuiteFiles has released a beta Google Chrome extension that integrates SuiteFiles with Karbon, called SuiteFiles Karbon. It enables document management within Karbon and minimises switching between solutions, speeding up the file review workflow.

Where can you learn about useful Chrome extensions?

Inexplicably, Chrome extensions are rarely talked about. For those of us who use them, they’re so seamlessly integrated into our workflow that we forget to mention them when we talk about our app stack. Here are some useful prompts to help you find useful Chrome extensions:

• Ask your peers what extensions they’re using and where they are using them.
• Ask existing solutions if they have a Chrome extension – a number do, but we don’t seem to hear about them.
• Search online, or scan the popular or ‘top 10 extensions’ articles to see if something piques your interest.

The great thing about writing these articles is it forces me to review my own tech stack. During this, I re-evaluated a few extensions I’d previously dismissed. I was pleased to discover that, over time, they’d improved and I have added them back into my tech stack. 

However it can be a bit of a rabbit warren: I’d not waste too much time on it. Maybe schedule a once-a-year review, unless you notice something that’s worth checking out.

Avoid extension overload

Browser extensions can be handy but keep it light! They can have unexpected consequences like slowing your browsing speed or interfering with other apps. I’d recommend installing and testing one, then waiting a few days before installing another.

Also, it’s worth periodically reviewing what you have installed and removing anything you are not actively using. Extensions can always be quickly reinstalled if they are missed.

Low effort, high impact

The implementation of a lot of technology can be daunting, but Chrome extensions are almost the opposite. They are fun, lightweight, take a few minutes to install and offer subtle improvements. If you try them and don’t like them, they can be uninstalled quickly.