Top 10 Firefox Plugins for Business

For those of you who don’t have the firefox browser installed yet, what rock have you been living under? With IE’s several security problems that have been coming up lately, Firefox is becoming the most used browser in the world. Download is here grampa, if you don’t have it installed already. Business people alike love to save time and make anything they can become an efficient process. Firefox not only provides a safe way to browse the internet but it also comes with a community of developers that are enhancing this open source beast to so much more than a browser. Firefox plugins are great for customizing the user experience and also promotes business efficiency, or efficieny in general.

Here are my top ten selections with a little help from my followers on Twitter…

1. IE Tab - Thanks to @Micah63 for the mention - IE Tab enables you to switch the rendering engine of the tab you are on in Firefox to display as it would in Internet Explorer. This is a great tool for web developers to test if the site they are building looks the same in both browsers without opening up another browser. It’s faster and much more convenient.
2. Stumbleupon Toolbar - IF you don’t know what Stumbleupon is, it’s basically a great way to review websites and find similar sites to your interests. With the stumpleupon toolbar all you have to do is click the stumble button and a random website will show up that is in a group that you select your interested in. Even more importantly is a feature Stumbleupon has for Google search results that you can turn on. It basically shows the ratings of the sites you search for in Google so you know which ones were helpful to others. Saves time and can help you find inpiration if  used wisely.
3. Firebug - For all you designers and web developers you most likely already have firebug installed. This is one powerful weapon and when teamed up with the IE Tab plugin its a great way to check how code changes will look once applied to your website. I recommend using Firebug for any content, CSS, or small photo changes. It’s not really meant for huge redesigns or anything overly complex.
4. SpeedDial - A very simple plugin that allows you to enter your most commonly visited websites into a splash page so to speak. It is one less click than going to your bookmarks to searching through your 10,000 sites you’ve referenced. I have set SpeedDial as my homepage and it saves me most likely an hour or two a year by having it installed.
5. AutoFill Forms - Don’t we all hate filling out forms? This plugin is a HUGE time saver. Fill in your address, email address, name, etc and with a keyboard shortcut you whip through most sign up’s in a flash. This is also a great tool for anyone doing any testing. I personally do a lot of Quality Assurance Testing and this plugin is my #1 choice.
6. Gmarks - I don’t know what I did without Gmarks about a year ago. I work on several different computers and I am like everyone else in wishing I had everything synced across all computers so I can access anything at my fingertips. Gmarks allows you to do this. You bookmark your favourite sites and its stored on Google’s servers. Sign into another computer with Gmarks installed and you have access to everything you bookmarked earlier.
7. Web Developer - Very self explanatory plugin, the Web Developer Toolbar is great for any Web Developer looking to test their work right in the browser. Whether its CSS, images, Validation, Resizing the window, or displaying form details, it has it all.
8. SenSEO - Great plugin for people who are serious about online business. SEO is so important to every business competing on the web. If you follow SenSEO’s guidelines its a good first step to optomizing your website for search engines.
9. Gmail Manager - For those of us who use Gmail as a online email provider, Gmail Manager provides a nifty way to keep up to date on your inbox while browsing. I like to keep the amount of open tabs to a minimun so Firefox can run as smoothly as it can, so this tool helps me keep everything organized without too much clutter. You don’t need an extra toolbar for this plugin either, which helps save some space.
10. FoxTab - For those of you who like the flash and sparkle FoxTab has a Mac-like appeal. Clicking Ctrl + Shift + Tab will bring up all the Tabs you have open and enable you to select one much faster than using the mouse to move to click on the desired Tab. After getting use to this plugin it will save you loads of time.

If you have any additions to this mix please leave some comments! I hope you all have a much richer and more efficient browsing experience!

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