I have been using Firefox, for the longest time now, that I cannot even remember when I first started using it. Firefox standalone is powerful, but when you start exploring with the add-ons and extensions, Firefox just becomes quite simply the best browser out there.
Here are some of the extensions, in no particular order that I find useful, keep in mind there a ton more useful Firefox extensions out there.
Adblock Plus
|
This add-on blocks just about every advertisement out there. If you still want to see adds for a particular website, you can enable it on the individual pages. I run this to protect myself from accidently clicking on my own ads on my websites. A very hand Firefox extension for every user. |
Answers
|
Whenever you are reading an article, and you are unsure what the word means, then all you simply to do is hold down the alt button on your keyboard, and click the word, and automatically a box will appear with the answer to the definition of the word! It saves you time. |
ColorZilla
|
A tool that webmasters, graphic designers, and others can use to select colors on websites. Basically, it is an eyedropper tool that can be used on any website!
It comes very handy to me as a webmaster, with the eyedropper tool; I can use it to get the hexadecimal number of any particular spot of an image that I want! The neat thing about this tool is that it gives the full details, Hex number, and RGB numbers, everything you can possibly need to utilize the color you wanted! |
DownThemAll
|
This was the first ever Firefox extension that I used. It has been out for the longest time, and has only improved over time. It is a download manager program for Firefox. But the biggest thing that it does is, it lets you easily download all the files on any given websites, in just a few seconds.
Let’s say that a website contains 100 links to zip files, for you to download. Imagine how much time that would take for you to individually select every link to download. That’s painstaking! Imagine if there are 100 images on the website, and you want to download them all to your hard drive, that’s pain staking too! But with DownThemAll, all you do is just set some simple options, or ‘filters’. So in your case we would filter to only .zip or images, and with one magical click, DownThemAll will download it all for you automatically! |
HTML Validator
|
Html Validator validates websites as you visit them. A super useful tool for webmasters who need to know whether there are any errors in their code. It also provides a feature that suggests how to automatically clean up the page to match the html coding standards. |
MeasureIT
|
A tool that will let you draw out and measure the width and height of whatever you want on a website! If you want to measure how big a banner is on a website, or how much space to allocate for coding, you can do it in a simple snap of the ruler!
It is powerful, because you will save time from having to guess in the code, how much space to allocate for a website element. |
Search Status
|
A simple tool, that takes up very little space. It displays the PageRank, Alexa rank and Compete ranking anywhere in your browser, along with fast keyword density analyzer, keyword/nofollow highlighting, backward/related links, Alexa info and more. |
SnapLinks
|
A tool that allows you to highlight the links that you want to be opened in a new tab. This saves you the time from having to open individual links by themselves. So you can easily highlight as many links as you want to have opened! I have even used it top open 100 links once, but off course the load on that is pretty heavy, hehe. |
SeoQuake
|
Seoquake is an extension mainly designed for webmasters, who work with search engine optimization. Seoquake provides relevant information such as Alexa Ranking, Page Rank, Who is, and countless other information that webmasters looking to improve their website traffic need to know. My only gripe with the SeoQuake is that with the recent update, there is a new feature called AdSpy. Basically AdSpy crawls websites looking at their Google Adsense ID. AdSpy gathers the information and then collects data regarding that Id. So in essence…. if you visit a website, and that website as Google adsense ads, you can find out what other websites has the same Google adsense ID. So there could be some hidden invasion of privacy going on….. I will likely be moving away from SeoQuake as soon as I find a better alternative. |
View Source Chart
|
Draws A Color-Coded Chart of a Web Page’s Source Code. A very useful tool that will turn unorganized source codes, into easy to read blocks of colored code! |
Web Developer
|
Web Developer is a toolbar that is filled with various web developer tools.
Examples of useful tools, Window Resizing, css tools, form tools, and countless others! I am sure there is at least one useful feature that every webmaster will enjoy. The only downside to the tool is that it takes up another “toolbar” space in your Firefox browser. |
I’ve outlined the extensions, that I am using, now its your turn! I want some feedback, to create an even better list, that future readers of this post will find useful to them. So my question, what are some of your favorite Firefox extensions, and why?
Website Review of: Search Engine Panel
Getting To Know the website.
What is the purpose of this website?
Search Engine Optimization
Recent Blog Posts
Hitwise’s March 2008 U.S. Search Results - Some statistics for the 2008 year of which search engines are being used by users.
User-Generated Content and the Power of Blogs - An article that talks about the growing content of the internet, and how user generated content is increasing.
Microhoo Takeover Battle Rages On - Talks about the recent events between Microsoft and yahoo.
Index and Root Pages Merged by Google - A post that talks about Google changing the way they handle the index page/root page of a website.
Acquiring .EDU Links Through Yahoo Search - A post that gives details on how to see where your competitors are acquiring their .EDU links.
Website Review of: Michael Aulia’s Tech Blog
Getting To Know the website.
What is the purpose of this website?
Tech news, personal reviews, and a geek to geek’s ramblings.
Who is the owner of the website?
Michael Reza Aulia, a full time software researched and development manager at an IT company located in Melbourne, Australia.
Michael is currently an active member of the Emmanuel Baptist Church. He plays the bass, and is involved in other ministries in the area.
Michael considers himself a geek, and enjoys playing games, loves everything about computers, and technology.
Recent Blog Posts
PC Games: Frontlines: Fuel of War Review/Impression - A great review of Michael’s personal experiences with the Frontlines fps (first person shooter) game. I have never played the game myself, however I would have to side with Michael on the issue of splash damage in the game. As an experienced fps player myself, I can vouch that, the usual tactic with a rocket gun, is to shoot near the enemy’s feet. Strange, that the game does not account for splash damage as heavily.
On a business note, I would say to Michael, to add an affiliate link for others to purchase the game.
The answer for “Guess the right girl”… - Wow, out of all the initial 8 choices, its so hard to distinguish who is a boy and who is the one and only girl. You might as well just pick any random one, lol.
Free Lapbooks for Sunday School Teachers - Good post, and I am sure this one has likely received alot of search traffic. Doing a search on Google for, ‘Free lapbooks for teachers’ yields Michael’s website at number 6. And doing a search for ‘Free Lapbooks for Sunday School teachers’, yields a position of #2. So this post likely is receiving alot of other nice searches as well.
A good free tool for your Windows housekeeping - Great post, and explanations of how Glary Utilities can be a helpful tool to maintain your windows running smoothly.
Don’t like WordPress “Fresh” administration theme? Try Fluency - Useful post, although one problem is the image blew the first paragraph. The image has been resized, and you can’t click on it. If you know what you are doing, then you can just right click on it, and view the image in its original size. However, I am sure not alot of people know that you can do that. One suggestion, I would say is, instead to resize the original picture, and have it as a thumbnail link to the original image.
Final Thoughts on Getting to know the website
Great content, keep up the good work!
Theme / Design Critique
Header
Fantastic! I love it!
Sidebar
Overall the side bar is laid out very well. However I do have some suggestions for Michael.
I would recommend to Michael to change the layout of the adsense code. To do a test. Instead of the 160×600 pixel Wide Skyscraper adsense unit. Try the Medium Rectangle or Large Rectangle above the categories. In all of my websites, the rectangle has performed the best. Keep the same colors as is though.
The other adsense placement is, to place another of the same 160×600 wide Skyscraper below the first one.
Other than the adsense placement, there are no other recommendations I can give to enhancing your sidebar. Your sidebar is really well built.
Final Thoughts On Theme Design
Out of all the reviews that I’ve done, I must say this one of the best themes overall. Everything threw out the theme is really clean, blended and well presented.
As with tradition of the JeanCosta.com blog, Thursday’s is Review Thursdays. If you want me to review your website, then read the post on how you can get a free constructive website review.
Website Review of: Josh’s Unconventional Marketing Blog
Getting To Know the website.
What is the purpose of this website?
Dedicated to the unconventional marketing techniques displayed on and off line. Writings will be unique and full of passion. There are high goals and expectations for this blog and for the ideas being presented. Full participation and interaction is encouraged.
Who is the owner of the website?
Josh Whitford, a graduate of Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. He was an employee at a call center in Fargo, ND, however shortly after Christmas 2007 he quit his day job and is now working for himself online.
Recent Blog Posts
Backpacking Breakfast ND 2008 - A video from Josh’s backpacking trip.
Sunday’s Random Rants 3-30 - Just a quick update post on what Josh is doing, and then a link to a youtube video of some April Fool Jokes.
Nothing brings people back like FREE BEER. - A great lesson to be learned about hidden marketing influences.
Hi y’all, Sitehoppin delivers traffic and now 25% OFF - Seemed to be a good post, good effort was put forward towards it.
March stats on the Unconventional Marketing Blog - A good post that outlines the short success that Josh has achieved in a short period of time. In his first official full month of blogging, Josh has achieved a total of 51,489 unique visitors. My only question of curiosity would be, is that number “absolute” unique visitors? And I would definitely want to see perhaps a graph of where the percentage of his visitors are coming from. Whether they are from referrals, search engine traffic etc. The more
Final Thoughts on Getting to know the website
Overall pretty good content, you can tell that Josh keeps true to his words on trying to put out the best effort that he can. I hope he continues on the good content, and continues to improve.
Theme / Design Critique
Header
It is different, and definitely unconventional, fits the theme. One key link that is missing though is a link to an archive page. One would be very useful!
Sidebar
Taking a look at the side bar, there is nothing that screams out to me that shouldn’t be there. Theres is not an overload on the side bar, nor is there too little, it feels right. One thing that bothers me though, is that there is no border protection. A nice border to distinguish the sidebar from the main content, would go really well with the theme.
Final Thoughts On Theme Design
Border up the theme, it feels empty.
Website Review of: Duckeldannys Money Blog
Getting To Know the website.
What is the purpose of this website?
To teach other bloggers on how to make money online. Topics range from Affiliate, seo, money, blogging and others.
Who is the owner of the website?
I was not able to find any information on who the owner of the website is. All I can guess is that the owner’s name is Duckel Danny. Although after doing a small search on google, I was able to find out at that he is an 18 year old from Germany.
Honestly, there really needs to be an about page. Readers of the blog are very likely to want to know more about Duckel danny.
Recent Blog Posts
How to Hide your Affiliate Links
How to Hide your Affiliate Links - An excellent post that highlights some of the ways how users can hide affiliate links. Danny explains the methods of meta refresh, php 301, .htaccess 301, JavaScript redirect, and then he adds on his own personal method that he enjoys the most.
Entrecard Me! Plugin for Wordpress - A post that gives reference to a useful wordpress plugin, for bloggers who use entrecard.
SEO Elite Review - A review of the SEO Elite software, a software that helps you to submit your Website into Search Engines and Directories. Although to be honest, the post doesn’t really give a review on the software. An extensive and personal review by Duckeldanny would go a long way.
Useful Free eBooks by Chitika - Just a link to a free ebook. Some comments on Duckeldanny’s opinions on the ebook would be very beneficial to the post.
Make Money with BlgAds - A short post about a blog advertising network. The post needs more though. The post is about “make money with BlgAds”, however it does not really identify how to make money, or how other webmasters have made money with BlgAds.
Final Thoughts Comments on Getting to know the website
In the description meta tag for the blog, you say that you are a teacher, trying to help other bloggers learn how to make money online. However, to be perfectly honest, there is a lack of teaching. Perfect case in point is the ‘Make money with BlgAds’ post. You point to the website for the opportunity, however, you make no mention on how bloggers can make money with Blg Ads.
The ‘Seo Elite Review’ post. When I first clicked to read the post, I thought I would be getting a review. However, there isn’t a review. Just a generic message promoting your own affiliate link. If you want to have better sales rate, and conversation rates. You really need to do a serious personal review of the Seo Elite program.
Theme / Design Critique
Header
The header image is alright, but the biggest current problem that I see, is that it takes approximately 537 pixels in height to get to the content to read. The most common resolution users currently use on the web is 1024×764 pixels. So you have 764 pixels in height, then you have to reduce the pixel height for the browser header and information. So do you see how Users of 1024×764 might not even be able to see any content when they land on your page? Not good.
One note about the archive page. It is very hard to see the history of the posts. When you click the archive link, you can only view 5 at a time. Thats not good. As a reader, I want fast and easy access to be able to read the archive page. What I would recommend, is utilizing a similar archive page to mine.
Pictured below are the settings I am using for the archive plugin, in order to get a clean feel for the page, otherwise the default feels way too spammy.
Sidebar
It is way too busy. Information overload, and the other thing is that the more things you have in yourside bar, the more time the readers needs to wait for the website to finish loading. If the user is on dial-up you can forget about them staying and reading the website. Unless they are very patient on website loading.
An example of something you can eliminate, the Alexa rank tool bar, theres no real point to having it in the sidebar. Most readers reading the blog, don’t really care what your Alexa rank is. If they do care, they probably know how to check it themselves.
Final Comments
Considering that you just started your blog, about 2-3 months ago, it is just my personal opinion, that your blog is way too spammy, way too early. It almost feels like you are putting more emphasis on generative some quick money, over creating quality content that will make readers want to come back, again and again. Focus on creating rich, and original quality content, and the money will come later.
« Previous Entries
Subscribe to my RSS Feed
