Now that I’m in the process of setting up my new laptop, I’m availing myself of the opportunity to examine what I have installed on my desktop and deciding if the plugins and various programs I have are useful enough (or just plain used enough) to bother installing on the laptop. (Note to self: Probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to go through the closet and do the same thing with clothes and shoes… seriously, when *was* the last time I even looked at that purple tweedy houndstooth suit?)

What Plugins Do I Have?
Here is what’s currently on the desktop. The desktop is the machine on which I am prone to installing all kinds of various crap, so the odds are I am stuff installed that I can’t even remember why I downloaded it. The plugins listed in bold not only made the cut and are being installed on the new baby, but would also make my list of “cannot live without”.

1. Colorzilla: I love this tool. When I’m working with picky designers who just MUST have a color exactly so, it completely takes the guess work out of finding the exact hex code.
2. DT Whois: Eh, I tend to use other tools or sites. This isn’t a bad plugin, I just don’t seem to ever use it.
3. Facebook Toolbar: I’m still on FB, just not as much lately — bitten by one too many werewolf-zombie-ninjas, you know?
4. Google Toolbar: There’s nothing this tells me that some of the other plugins don’t tell me.
5. Header Spy: Displays header info right at the bottom of the browser window as you’re meandering about the web. Very handy.
6. Live HTTP Headers: This is really helpful for seeing redirect codes.
7. Search Status: This one pops a little PageRank bar, an Alexa bar and a Compete bar onto the bottom of the browser window and automatically checks the domain/page you’re viewing. It’s cute. I like it.
8. SEO for Firefox: I feel lost and confused when I’m using machines that don’t have this installed. It highlights nofollowed links, collects all sorts of useful info about each SERP and displays it underneath the result right on the page. I could go on and on. Just go get it.
9. SEOpen: Similar to the SEO Book Plugin, so there is some redundancy, but I still like it and it’s going on the laptop.
10. Stumbleupon Toolbar: Makes my life easier. It stays. :)
11. Twitbin: I don’t even know why I installed this. I don’t think I ever used it.
12. Twitterfox: Keeps the busy-bodies at the office from noticing (and commenting about) how often I check Twitter :)
13. ViewRenderedSource: This is pretty neat if you like to view the source code. I don’t think words can do it justice, so go take a peek. It pretties up the code and just generally makes it easier to read.

If anyone has any other SEO or web development related plugins they can’t live without, please leave a comment and share!

This post is courtesy of CSHEL Chicago SEO
Firefox Plugins I Can’t Live Without (Updated)

Anyway, the whole process forced me to sit down and figure out exactly which plugins I’m using on Firefox that I cannot live without. Normally, I don’t think much about all the stuff I’ve got plugged into my browsers, but it was a useful exercise to see exactly how Spartan of a set-up I could have and still get my work done efficiently and effectively.

Here’s what I told IT I needed…

1. SEO for Firefox
   This does so much it’s just easier if you click on it and go read about it. If I could have only one thing off my list, this would be it.
   
2. Colorzilla
   
3. Header Spy
4. JSView

Here’s what I have installed on my personal machine that I like having, but didn’t feel I would die without…

1. DT Whois
2. Firebug
3. SEOpen
4. Web Developer

Also, I use Lynx a lot, but not the Firefox plugin variety (Yellowpipe Lynx Viewer Tool)… I have lynx available on my server, so I just ssh over to that with Penguinet and use lynx from my shell. (Trivia: While one might assume I’m partial to c shell, I actually use bash.)

By the way, if anyone knows of any other super useful tools I ought to be using or at least trying out, please let me know!

This post is courtesy of CSHEL Chicago SEO
Firefox plugins I can’t live without