Top 12 Mozilla Firefox add-ons for web designers
Mozilla Firefox is the most popular browser among techies(if you haven’t got it, go get it now). Its main advantages are that it is open-source(which means there is a large community to help), is standards-aware and renders all standard coding correctly(unlike Internet Explorer), and of course, has a plethora of extensions, themes and plugins.
Extensions is the biggest selling point of Firefox - they add in a lot of functionality. Adding those extensions by default would be disastrous - Firefox will be a large install, not to mention that most users will never use those extras. So, guys at Mozilla(developers of Firefox) have devoted a website to Firefox add-ons.
Here’s a list of 5 quality extensions for Firefox, aimed at web designers:
- Web Developer: A comprehensive tool for any designer, it includes several options to apply modifications to a page you are viewing, without actually saving the changes. Think of a preview tool! You can edit the CSS of any site, to view the changes instantly. Once you close the “Edit” dialog, the changes will be removed. Very handy for everyone from beginners to advanced users.
- FireFTP: FireFTP, as the name suggests, is an FTP client. It stays inside Firefox as a tab, and allows you to transfer files easily via FTP. It can be very handy, if you are on a friend’s computer, and need immediate FTP access. Weighing in at just over 100 KB, it is lighter than any other stand-alone FTP client. Of course, it may miss a few power-functions, but I have not missed them in my last 4 months of usage.
- Firebug: (No, it is not a bug
But it does help you to remove bugs in your code). Firebug is another tool for inspecting documents, finding out bugs/errors etc. It can measure the loading times of various elements of a site, like scripts, images and stylesheets. Very useful in optimizing your site. - JS View: It shows you the CSS and Javascript files loaded in a page. Similar to Firebug, you can quickly check to see if a extension has loaded on a given page without viewing the source code. It is a great tool for newbies, as you can see how others build their pages.
- EditCSS: Great for all CSS junkies. It lets you tweak CSS and see changes in real-time. It is helpful especially for positioning and structuring elements via CSS.
- View Formatted Source: Every now and then, I find myself scurrying to view the source code of a page, to find out that bit of magical code, which makes sites great and cool-looking. VFS shows you source code in a more readable way.
- Greasemonkey: Greasemonkey is my newfound love. I had to install it to see some Blogger.com hacks. Later, I found many other killer scripts like Comment Pre-fill, Google search focuser, and My Own Google logo. There are hundreds more at UserScripts.org
- Aardvark: Aardvark is a relatively simple add-on, which shows class/id name for any element that you place the cursor on.
- ColorZilla: It is a tiny utility for colour-picking , among other things like advanced page zoom. Until I found this, I had used GIMP’s colour-picking tool! Overkill
- IETab: As I said earlier, Internet Explorer is a pain in the … for every web developer. What works on Firefox, Opera and Safari will not work on IE. This handy add-on helps you test your site for IE compatibility, right inside Firefox!
- MeasureIt: As the name suggests, it is an add-on for measurements. This little Firefox extension stays at the bottom of status bar and allows easy measurement of any element of a site.
- W3 XHTML Validator: This is crucial, whether you are building a generic site design, or somthing particular, like a WordPress theme.
That rounds up my list of add-ons for Firefox. If you know of any other good add-ons, please let me know them through your comments. Additions to this list are always welcome 
Firefox Watch: The Past Wars, The Present, and The Future : Techbop said on June 12th, 2007
[...] released Top 12 Mozilla Firefox Add-ons for Web Designers, while MacOSXhints.com shows us how to tell Firefox to restore tabs and windows on launch. [...]
Linu said on June 19th, 2007
What happened to your site last week? I was not able to access it. I saw server error page every time I opened your blog?
Ashwini said on June 20th, 2007
Nice to have you back
Last week your blog wasn’t redirecting properly neither in IE nor Firefox.
Let me guess why?
Testing your new theme?
Uploading a new plug-in
or…
just a DNS error
Linu said on June 22nd, 2007
Sumesh, who is your host?
cottage said on July 4th, 2007
nice.. thanks for the info.. I’m not a ‘techie’ but still cool to be in the know..
Linu said on July 5th, 2007
What happened to this blog? no updates!
Faving Blogger’s Block?
MlS News said on July 5th, 2007
Linu, Blogger’s block happens to all of us.
I just hope he’ll be back soon
Ashwini said on July 5th, 2007
maybe he is not in his home
or recently he smashed his computer
or he is trying to connect a new broadband
or maybe he is studying
Post authorSumesh said on July 5th, 2007
Thanks for your concerns.
The last two of what u said are right. Infact, i am typing this from my mobile !
Ashwini, you’re a genius
Zia said on July 24th, 2007
Check out my essential Ffox addons:
http://zia.blogspot.com/2007/07/7-months-later-15-firefox-extensions-i.html
Post authorSumesh said on July 25th, 2007
Thanks for the link - I’ll update the post.
Michael said on August 4th, 2007
I love IEtab and used to use greasemonkey but have since gotten rid of it because for some reason Firefox isn’t very stable for me with extensions installed.
Post authorSumesh said on August 5th, 2007
@Michael: Sheesh, I found it hard to pass a week without Greasemonkey on my new PC. How do you manage without Greasemonkey? On a sidenote, Greasemonkey has plenty of security issues, so if you can make do without it, so much better.
Easy Tip: Reduce CPU usage of Firefox said on November 7th, 2007
[...] are many reasons for this hanging. Plugins and extensions, which are not part of the default Firefox install may cause this. Poorly optimized sites which [...]
Shortcuts, power tips and optimization tips for Firefox said on February 7th, 2008
[...] with Firefox’s superior collection of addons, most users (myself included) find it difficult to abandon Firefox and jump ship to an [...]
Easy Tip: Reduce CPU usage of Firefox | TechZilo said on February 23rd, 2008
[...] are many reasons for this hanging. Plugins and extensions, which are not part of the default Firefox install may cause this. Poorly optimized sites which [...]
23 Firefox optimization/power tips and shortcuts | TechZilo said on February 23rd, 2008
[...] with Firefox’s superior collection of addons, most users (myself included) find it difficult to abandon Firefox and jump ship to an [...]
Mike said on March 11th, 2008
Don’t you think that firebug should be on here? I use it all the time
Post authorSumesh said on March 11th, 2008
@Mike: Good point - I’ll add Firebug soon. But then, it’d eliminate the need for other extensions