Top 8 Firefox Addons 2014

I’ve been using Firefox as my primary browser for several years now, having left Chrome back in 2011. There are reasons for this beyond functionality; for example, I love Firefox as an example of true open source software and for its emphasis on security and privacy. These are places where Chrome comes in “close but not quite” and, as always, Internet Explorer is way, way off the mark. But I’ve also come across a number of add-ons that have made my Firefox use more powerful and comfortable. As of 2014, here’s that list.

• All-in-one Sidebar. This addon consolidates various menus into a single, sleek, easy-to-use sidebar. It makes downloads, addons, booksmarks, and history easy to navigate and manage, and can be set for auto-popup when your mouse crosses to the sidebars location, or to popup only with a keystroke.
• Download Helper. This addon lets you download video content, whether you are at YouTube or Wimp.com. I use this when a video is so excellent it needs to be part of my collection and when I’m afraid it’s going to be removed frmo the site. Also, it lets you get around bad buffering times for long videos by downloading them first and watching them locally in one smooth sitting.
• DownThemAll! allows you to rapidly download all content of a certain type on a website. Whether you want image galleries, or all the syllabus items for a class, or all the mp3s from a conference website, this is your addon.
• F.B. Purity gets rid of annoying ads and gives you more control over your Facebook page. I installed it a few months ago and haven’t looked back; Facebook is much better with Purity installed.
• InstantFox. This must-have addon combines your search bar with your address bar and allows for powerful shortcuts. I’ve set mine up so default search is now Duck Duck Go, starting with “i” sends me to google images, “w” to wikipedia, “a” to Amazon, and “y” to Youtube. You can customize it your way.
• Location Bar Enhancer. Another must-have, this makes your location bar into an easily-readable breadcrumb-style display. You can click on these breadcrumbs to navigate up and down in a website’s structure.
• Profile Switcher. If there’s one thing Firefox normally does somewhat worse than Chrome, it’s profile management. This nifty addon lets you easily switch between profiles and have several different profiles running at the same time. I have half a dozen profiles, including my primary, linguistics, web development, and my wife’s profile.
• Themes. Not quite an add-on, but these are both fun and handy. It’s fun to customize your browser, and this is actually useful with profiles since you can tell at-a-glance which profile you’re looking at based on the theme you are using. They are easy to test and install and can be switched readily.

Honorable Mentions These are no for everyone, but are crucial additions to my work flow.

• Firebug. I’ve seen it written that Firebug alone is enough of a reason to use Firefox if you are a web developer. It lets you inspect and change page code and is crucial for Javascript debugging, CSS debugging, and Drupal theming. Chrome’s inspector is based on Firebug.

There are probably a few notable exclusions from the list, such as AdBlock Plus; the fact is, I’ve never really felt like I needed it.

Do you have other favorites or suggestions? Feel free to mention them in the comments below!