Web designers are continually on the lookout for tools that improve their workflow and productivity. For that reason, we’re highlighting five essential Chrome extensions, covering various aspects such as website analysis, performance optimization, and accessibility. Let’s dive in.

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Wappalyzer

Wappalyzer is an indispensable extension that identifies the technologies used on any website. With just a click, you can get detailed insights into the frameworks, libraries, content management systems, and more, providing valuable context when troubleshooting or researching new projects.

Lighthouse

Developed by Google, Lighthouse is a powerful tool for checking a website’s performance, accessibility, and SEO. With this extension, you can quickly generate reports that provide actionable recommendations to improve your site’s overall quality and user experience, ensuring that your project adheres to best practices.

Web Developer

The Web Developer extension equips your browser with a plethora of web design-related tools. It offers various features including DOM manipulation and CSS inspection to form control and responsive design testing. While it may seem more oriented towards developers, as a designer, understanding and using these features can facilitate a healthy collaboration with the development team.

CSSViewer

CSSViewer is a simple yet handy Chrome extension that allows you to inspect the CSS properties of any page element. By hovering over the desired element, you can instantly view its dimensions, fonts, colors, and other CSS properties, making it easier to debug and refine your designs.

Axe

The Axe extension assists in auditing your website for accessibility issues and offers practical guidance on addressing them. This tool is designed to eliminate false positive results, saving you time by focusing on genuine issues.

Bonus Pro Tip

For an additional productivity boost, consider using a Chrome extension like Tab Wrangler to automatically manage and close inactive tabs, reducing clutter and freeing up valuable system resources during your development sessions.

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