If your year is already starting to look chaotic, why not add new organization to your life? You’d be amazed what the right Firefox browser add-on can accomplish when you’re on the clock – or past the deadline. So, (somewhat) in order of universal usefulness, here are the top productivity add-ons for Firefox, and why we think these features are awesome.
Interface improvements
StartHQ
The spare new tab page of Firefox isn’t that impressive, and certainly doesn’t add much in the way of productivity. StartHQ changes that, however, by giving the new tab page a useful makeover that’s designed with cloud services in mind. Once integrated, you can open a tab and you can choose from your top websites, as well as search across cloud services such as Gmail and Dropbox. It’s very nice when you’re looking for something and you have no idea where it might be.
Download now from:
Mozilla
UI Eraser
Do you find the Firefox menu to be too cluttered, especially when compared to more minimalist options like Google Chrome? UI Eraser can help you conquer these toolbar distractions. The convenient add-on allows you to strip bars, icons, and tools from the interface until you have only what you need.
Download now from:
Mozilla
Xmarks
Xmarks essentially makes all your bookmarks and tabs universal. You can save tab collections and website bookmarks across browsers and devices with this add-on, or use it to access content you saved in Firefox on a different browser or computer. When it comes to traveling or collaborative work, this add-on can really hit the spot.
Hover Hound
Hover Hound is a shopping add-on for a more particular kind of research — tech shopping. It works with Newegg and Amazon, providing instant comparison shopping with real-time prices, price history charts, and options for email alerts instead of price changes.
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Mozilla
Honey
The Honey add-on is a tremendous time saver for when you’re purchasing anything online. Want to make a purchase on a particular website? Honey will do a quick scan of all available coupons and promo codes, instantly try them all, and provide you with the ones that actually work. The list of websites Honey currently supports is also extensive and includes many major brands.
Download now from:
Mozilla
Diigo
If you don’t need screenshots but still do a lot of research and notetaking online, Diigo could make your life much, much easier. The add-on essentially functions as an advanced highlighting tool that allows you too highlight passages, create digital post-it notes, and save everything for quick access on mobile devices and desktops. It captures screenshots, too, just in case.
Download now from:
Mozilla
Readability
Readability is partly an accessibility add-on, but its primary features are all about organization. It comes with three major buttons, including one that allows you to immediately read something, one designed for later reading, and one that immediately send the content to your Kindle. It’s great for online research purposes!
Download now from:
Mozilla
Imagus
Do you find yourself frequently opening images in new tabs to get a closer look or nab a screenshot? Imagus can make your judgments much, much easier thanks to a welcome port from Chrome to Firefox. Once integrated, you can hover your mouse over any image to view a full-size version in a pop-up window. The latest version of the software is also fast compared to older versions.
Download now from:
Mozilla
Lazarus
Lazarus is here to save you from all your browser crash woes. If something suddenly fails, Lazarus will auto-save all your work and allow you to recover a form just as it was before the bad thing happened (this applies primarily to text). It’s great if you are blogging or just filling out a bunch of web forms – like resume sections – and don’t want to take any chances.
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Mozilla
Awesome Screenshot Plus
While computers — particularly Macs — offer various screenshot tricks, sometimes you don’t have all the options you need to capture the perfect screenshot. The Awesome Screenshot Plus tool allows you to capture entire webpages or specific sections, while letting you annotate screenshots and customize them in other ways. It’s ideal for creating guides, or just making something funny.
Download now from:
Mozilla
Organization, security, and privacy
Add to Wunderlist
Obviously, this add-on requires that you use Wunderlist, which is a lauded app manager and to-do list creator. If you have Wunderlist — and you should think about getting it — the add-on allows you to save any Web content to your to-do lists, just in case you’re in need of a reference, reminder, or idea.
RescueTime for Firefox
Do you have trouble with procrastination, especially when trapped in the office? Try using RescueTime to chart all the time you spend browsing the web. You can rate various sites as either good or bad, so the add-on can give you a score for the day based on how productive you were. Time for an honest look at your Web work!
Download now from:
Mozilla
LeechBlock
LeechBlock is an add-on that specializes in blocking websites and helping your productivity rating. If you just used RescueTime and found that you are wasting a lot of time browsing websites that aren’t pertinent to your work, you can use this add-on to make sure that your blocking said sites during work hours. It’s a great add-on for office workers who need to complete their tasks on time.
Download now from:
Mozilla
Tab Groups Helper
Here’s a tab manager that adds welcome features for keeping track of many, many different tabs. It allows you to create tab groups and compare them quickly, while letting you swap sites between groups as needed. You can also apply actions to an entire group instead of just one tab, and the add-on features a useful search function.
Download now from:
Mozilla
Evernote Web Clipper
Evernote, like Wunderlist, is a common and very useful productivity app. The full Evernote suite can do a little of everything, but the bulk of features focus on saving notes and online content for organizational purposes. The Web Clipper makes this particularly easy by giving you a way to save an entire Firefox website, with links and images, directly within your Evernote notebook.
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Mozilla
Download Plan
Do you manage a ton of downloads while on the job? Then Download Plan may prove particularly useful. The add-on allows you to set up a quick download schedule and organize your downloads in order, as well as specify where you want to save them. The add-on helps if you have other software to use and don’t want to slow your computer down.
Download now from:
Mozilla
Pocket allows you to save any article or video for later consumption. There are many services like Pocket, but this add-on features cool syncing properties that allow you to save content directly within another browser or the official Pocket app for iOS and Android devices. This lets you set aside interesting articles when you just can’t find the time to read them.
Download now from:
Mozilla
Adblock Plus
If you aren’t already using Adblock Plus… well, this is a really good time to start. This add-on looks for and blocks the scripts that run online advertisements. All those annoying ads, autoplay vidoes, and pop-up boxes instantly vanish, leaving you with just simple webpages. Exceptions do apply.
Download now from:
Mozilla
Disconnect
Disconnect is a nice add-on that can improve your browser experience behind the scenes. It blocks any site that attempts to track your search and browsing history, and though it may sound more like a privacy app than a productivity add-on, it allows webpages to load faster and use less bandwidth.
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Mozilla
Profilist
Profilist is a unique little feature that gives you the means to switch profiles within Firefox without switching browsers, a la Google Chrome. After all, when multiple people share a computer, moving between profiles with a few clicks is really convenient.
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Mozilla
Social networking and communication
Pushbullet
Pushbullet is for people who hate constantly bouncing between their phone and computer. The add-on essentially pushes notifications from your phone to your browser, thus letting you view texts, calls, and other notifications directly on your desktop. The full Pushbullet suite has a lot of other connectivity options as well, many of which keep you from glancing down with every buzz.
Download now from:
Mozilla
AddThis
AddThis is all about social networking. When used, it allows you to share Web content the way you want to, customized according to a sharing toolbar, a context menu, and other icons. You don’t have to navigate away from a page to post it either, and the add-on works with pretty much any social network in existence.
Download now from:
Mozilla
Buffer
Buffer is basically the professional version of AddThis. It allows you to schedule your tweets, Facebook posts, LinkedIn comments, and other content, which will then automatically post at certain times. While it might be nice for the socially obsessed, the add-on truly shines when it comes marketing.
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Mozilla
Hootsuite Hootlet
Does your job (or downtime) involve sharing a ton of articles, hilarious memes, cat videos, and news stories on social media? Well, the Hootlet add-on allows you to swiftly share anything you’re looking at with a couple clicks. The service works wonders with Hootsuite’s automatic analytics, too, if it’s all for marketing purposes.
Download now from:
Mozilla
Social Fixer
If you’re using those last few add-ons a lot, you may have noticed that certain Facebook features are starting to get on your nerves. Thankfully, Social Fixer allows you to completely customize your Facebook feed, providing you with an easy way to filter your news feed and hide the parts of Facebook you don’t want to see.
Download now from:
Mozilla
