If you’re among the 70% of people who uses Chrome, you most likely know about plugins. These are small programs you can download that add to the browsing experience. Today, I’ll be counting down the top 5!

5. Bit.ly

If you share links in social media posts, emails, blogs, and elsewhere often enough, you probably know about bit.ly. It is a site that takes long links and makes them shorter – making them consume less room on your post. This can be helpful, and extremely valuable on Twitter. The bit.ly plugin for Chrome makes this even easier! When installed, you just have to click the button (or set a keyboard shortcut) and the link of the site you’re on will be instantly shortened. This has become an essential part of my browser use, and I would recommend it to everyone!

4. Unsplash Instant

I don’t know about you, but personally I can’t stand the default new tab page in Chrome. It’s so bland, and it just needs something to spice it up. Introducing Unsplash Instant. This plugin, which is made by the popular free image site, displays a random image from the site each time you open a new tab. It always gives you more eye candy to look at, and I would definitely recommend checking it out!unsplashinstant

3. The Tracktor

For Amazon users, this plugin is essential. If you’ve paid attention to item prices on Amazon, you’ve probably noticed that prices will go up and down from day to day, but typically have a “high” and “low” that they fluctuate between. For example, an item’s “high” may be $7, and an item’s “low” may be $5. This is where the Tracktor comes in. It shows you the pricing history of an item, which can help you determine the low. If you have patience, you can keep watching the item and wait until it reaches the low to get the best price possible. Even if you don’t use it for that, it’s still cool to get to see the history of an item’s price. Check it out!

2. MightyText

This one is for Android users. If you want to text from your computer, I have a solution for you! It’s called MightyText. This app allows you to text from your computer.. it’s that simple! There’s not much to be said about it. It works almost all of the time, and it’s very reliable. The one downside is the free version is limited to sending 250 texts per month, and if you want unlimited, you have to cough up the cash.

1, AdBlock Plus

Yep, you probably saw this from a mile away. Yes, it’s controversial, and many people have their own take on the morals of this plugin (including myself), but there’s no denying that it’s the #1 plugin on this list. It’s popular, it gets the job done, and I think everyone should have it.

 

What is your favorite Chrome plugin? Be sure to drop a comment down below!

 

Kevin Nether