The fact that most users still don’t take advantage of what is available to them to improve their WordPress productivity is alarming. As a result, tasks that can be completed in a couple of steps get stretched to more than what is needed. By taking advantage of the Firefox extensions, you can improve your overall productivity when you are working with WordPress.
We will cover the best Firefox extensions for WordPress that you can use to increase your productivity by a great margin. These will be useful for developers, designers, and also for bloggers.
What is an Extension
Firstly, an extension is a small software, an add-on that improves the features and functionality of another software. They need to be paired with another software for it to work. This means that they aren’t useful as a standalone application.
Browser extensions work the same way. Depending on the browser, each one of them has its own store where you can find a lot of extensions that can add various features than the ones that come out of the box. In order to search and install Firefox extensions, you can do it from their add-ons site. Apart from extensions, you can also try out various themes to enhance the look of your browser.
Are Extensions Safe to Use?
Yes and No. This applies to extensions that are available for all the browsers out there and not just for Firefox. Most third-party Firefox extension developers have no malicious intent and they do not leak data or go after your personal info. But then there are developers who view them as a way to gain users’ data.
There are certain safety checks you can take to make sure that you don’t end up falling prey to a malicious extension.
- Firstly, do a search on the developers. If you can’t find any information or a website, it’s better to skip the extension and find an alternative one.
- Make sure that you are installing them from the official extension library. There are other ways to install Firefox extensions, but installing them from the store is the way to go. You can install them from outside the store, as long as you trust the developer fully.
- Check the downloads and active installs of the extension. If these numbers are high, it’s trusted by a lot of users and is safe for the most part. Also, read the comments, as sometimes a lot of comments can be from bots. Comments from bots will always be identical and easy to spot.
- Take a close look at the permissions the extension requires. Does any of the permissions seem a bit worrying or unwanted? If an extension asks for more permissions than what is mentioned in the description, it’s a telltale sign that something is not right.
The Top Firefox Extensions for All Types Of WordPress Users
Now that we have gone over what an extension is, and how to install and remove one, it is time to look at the top Firefox extensions for WordPress users.
1. Web Developer
This is a must-have Firefox extension for all WordPress developers out there. The web developer add-on for Firefox gives you better control over the workflow. The features that this extension offers is vast and is divided into different section. The different sections are Cookies, CSS, Forms, Images, Information, Miscellaneous, Outline, Resize, and Tools. Some noteworthy features are the ability to clear domain cookies, disable browser style, and disable embed styles or all the styles on a web page with a single click.
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2. Wappalyzer
Wappalyzer allows you to uncover the hidden things beneath the surface or rather what lies beneath the front end of a website. With this, you can find out the CMS a website is using, the technologies, the page builder, the analytics plugins used, the code libraries used, the installed list of plugins on the target WordPress website, and more. The best part is that all of this is free. They also have paid plans, if you need to access the other features.
3. Colorzilla
Colorzilla is a must-have extension for WordPress website designers out there. Finding the right color hex code is a lot simpler with this add-on. All you need to do is to visit the target website and choose the color picker to view the hex code and you are done. There is also a color palette option for the entire page. This greatly reduces the time needed to find the perfect color combo for your next WordPress project.
4. Wave Accesibiltiy Extension
Wave Accessibility Extension is mandatory if you are a WordPress web developer and want to make sure that the website is friendly for people with disabilities. It will report accessibility issues on your website that will act as a hindrance to people with disabilities. The add-on does this by displaying icons and indicators on your webpage.
5. Clear Cache
The browser cache can interfere during the development stage and present you with an older version of the web page and not reflect the changes you have made. This add-on removes all the cache with the press of a button (F9). It clears both the DISK and RAM cache instantly so that your development will progress without any impediments.
6. Clippings
If you ever find yourself spending too much time writing the same piece of text, be it promotional material or anything else, then the Clippings add-on is a lifesaver for WordPress bloggers. This allows you to save pieces of text that you often use. You can copy a piece of text and save it to the add-on by giving it a title. The next time you need to use this piece of text, simply right-click and select it from there.
The only downside is that it only works with the classic editor and not with the Block editor.
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7. HTML Validator
HTML validation is important to make sure that the source code is up to the right standards. This is exactly what the extension does. This add-on will show you the number of HTML errors and warnings on your webpage. The best thing is that it also shows which line is throwing the error. This add-on, therefore, is a great time saver for developers.
8. WhatFont
Saw a font you love on a random website? If you want to find the fonts used without inspecting a webpage, WhatFont is for you. Once the add-on is activated, you only need to hover the mouse over a text to find out which font is being used. It can even show you the font size.
9. Copy Plain Text
An extension that all bloggers and content editors out there should have. This allows you to copy and paste a text selection from any website without copying the formatting elements. The text needs to be selected and then right-click the selection and click Copy Plain Text option.
10. User-Agent Switcher and Manager
What if you could view a website from a different browser, operating system, or device without actually leaving your original environment and not having the need to use multiple devices? Well, you can. This is exactly what this extension allows you to do.
The extension changes the user-agent string of your browser and allows you to view how a WordPress website will look and work in different browsers, devices, and operating systems. This is also great if you want to hide your browsing information and protect your privacy.
11. React developer tools
WordPress developers, especially those developers working with Block Development will love this add-on. This Firefox add-on allows you to take a look at the React tree. This is fully open-source and doesn’t transfer data to any external third parties.
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12. WordPress Theme Detector and Plugins Detector
There are a lot of benefits when you use WordPress as your CMS and one of them is the vast themes library. With this installed, when you are visiting a website and if it is powered by WordPress, you will be alerted by the WordPress icon on the right-hand side of the address bar. From there you can identify which theme the website is running. It does display information about custom WordPress themes developed from scratch, but since they are custom themes, you won’t be able to find them in any repository.
Once you find the theme, you can either use that theme as a base for your new client project or even use it on a personal project.
13. Grammarly
If you are a blogger and use WordPress as your CMS, then the Grammarly extension is a no-brainer. Be it a quick grammar check, or finding out a typo, Grammarly does it all. It works with both the Classic editor as well as the new Gutenberg editor.
14. LastPass
If you are a web developer or a blogger who maintains a lot of client websites, then remembering all the passwords can be tricky when you are traveling. This is where the LastPass extension is beneficial. You can store all your passwords and access them from anywhere around the world. All the passwords are encrypted with the latest protocols and also require two-factor authentication for login.
15. SEOQuake
Staying on top of your SEO game is vital and for that, you need constant stats and analytics. With the SEOQuake add-on, you can review your SEO efforts and take the appropriate steps. It also shows you information regarding the backlinks, the various search engine index reports, and so on. The plugin also shows the various keyword density and is excellent for analyzing your competitor’s blog posts to find the targeted keywords.
16. Daily.dev
Staying up to date on what’s happening around you is vital. Especially for a web developer, with all the frameworks and other things happening in the ecosystem. With daily.dev you can stay up to date on what is happening in the WordPress ecosystem by following the #wordpress tag.
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17. OneTab
Whether you are a WordPress web developer, designer, or blogger, one thing is for sure, the endless chain of multiple tabs and the chaos it causes. Well not anymore. With OneTab you can easily group all the opened tabs into a group and view them from one single tab and stay organized. Not only are you staying organized, but also reducing the memory taken up by the browser.
Wrapping Up
By making use of these above-mentioned extensions, you can increase your productivity by a good margin. The add-ons that we have mentioned are useful for all kinds of WordPress users, from developers to designers and bloggers.