The Browser for Blogging
About a week ago, for some reason firefox got messed up and stopped working. It was really frustrating as I tried to fix it because it was coming up with an error message I’d never seen before. For that week I was forced to use a really old version of Internet Explorer, I know… awful. Not only is Internet Explorer way worse then Firefox, but this was also an older version of it, and so it didn’t have tabs. Imagine trying to drop 300 entrecards without tabs, being forced to do it in “new windows.” After a week I was finally able to fix it, and then downloaded the new version as well, FireFox 3, which I would definitely recommend. Now, I have my nice browser back. You may be wondering, why I am even telling you this, well there’s a reason. But in case you were wondering, that’s why I stopped using pictures randomly right after I advertised screengrab.
Using the correct browser and plugins can be a HUGE timesaver, and convenience when your working on your blog, researching or just browsing… So the reason I am writing this post is to tell you about what I use for my browser currently, and all the “must haves” for any blogger. There are several add-ons, and plugins, that I use, that are really beneficial for me, and you should definitely add to your browser.
First, use Firefox Three. It’s the fastest, easiest to use browser, and it also has the best free download plugins, that are invaluable. These next three things I’m going to show you are all plugins for firefox, as well as internet explorer, but I’ve never used them for explorer so I can’t recommend them. They can all be downloaded from the mozilla website, but I provide links for download below.
Second, download the Screengrab Plugin. I wrote a post about screengrab here that you should read if you don’t know what it is. But it is an essential for any blogger trying to look professional, and yet also stay cheap, because of course it’s free!
Third, the Stumbleupon Plugin. This is an essential add-on simply because stumbleupon is essential for every blogger, and they require it for you to be of any use on the site. Using it you can click “I like it,” for sites, and send your posts to friends, and even add reviews on sites.
Finally fourth, add the Search Status plugin. This is also for firefox, this plugin is awesome because it shows you the alexa ranking, google page rank, as well as the compete rank. It also shows you a link report, meta tags, keyword density, you can even search for a keyword, and it will show you the cached version of your site that the search engines see, for a specific phrase. It’s so useful, and is so nice because it takes only a moment to update for any page your on. So any time your reading a blog, you can only look at the bottom of your browser, with out even leaving the page, and see the pr, alexa, compete, links, keywords… Anything you wanted to know about your competition in one add on. And then it’s free, and easy to install. Can you tell I really like this yet?
And fifth, if you are a big alexa user, here is another useful one. This gives you more then just the total alexa standings, but also a graph of how the site has preformed in the last couple weeks which is Really nice, when your researching.
And that’s it, those five plugins are incredibly useful, and things that I use. I highly encourage you to add them, as they are now invaluable to me. As the web continues to mature, I’m sure there will be more good plugins, so I will add them to this list as I find them.
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