15 add-ons that speed up the web

If pages are loading slowly and simple tasks are taking too long, there's bound to be an add-on that can help. We pick 15 of the best time-saving tools for Firefox and Chrome.

Turn off images in web pages 

Some websites go overboard with the size and number of photos displayed, which makes articles slow to load. Although you can set your browser not to show any images, this means you'll miss pictures you might want to see. A better option is to install an add-on that lets you quickly toggle images on and off. For Firefox, try Image Block (http://mzl.la/11FppSs), which does a great job of filtering images from pages so they don't slow you down. Just click the toolbar button to block or allow images. See a photo-free Mail Online in our screen grab, below.
For Chrome, you can install the equally effective Quick Block (http://bit.ly/Zxp3gG). To set up the add-on so you can block (and unblock) images with a single click, right-click the traffic-cone icon on the toolbar and choose Options. Select 'Enable one-click mode', choose 'Block images' and click Save.

Block trackers before they load 

We've recommended the brilliant privacy tool Disconnect (disconnect.me) before, as a way to stop social networks following you around the web. There's now a new version, Disconnect 2, which places more emphasis on speeding up your browsing. It does so by automatically blocking advertising, analytics and other tracking companies, as well as Facebook, Twitter and Google.
By disabling these elements before they load, Disconnect 2 claims it will speed up the web by up to 27 per cent, and usefully provides details of the time and bandwidth you've saved by using the add-on. it's free to install for Chrome, Firefox and Safari. but you can make a voluntary donation to support its development.

Preview links without clicking them 

Don't waste time loading pointless websites; use an add-on to preview the content first. Our favourite tool for this task is SwiftPreview for Chrome (www.swiftpreview.com), which shows you pages in pop-up windows when you hover your mouse over their links. You can also play YouTube videos. zoom Facebook photos and view the content behind shortened URLs on Twitter, without having to click anything or open a new tab. If you don't want to display previews on a particular site, just click the toolbar button to turn off SwiftPreview.
For Firefox, there's the similar CoolPreviews (www.coolpreviews.com), which also shows previews of pages, photos and videos. Usefully, you can decide whether these appear when you hover over links or click them, and keep the preview window open all the time so you can browse even more quickly .

Speed up repetitive online tasks 

The Firefox add-on FastestFox (http://mzl.la/18BacVr) speeds up your browsing by providing shortcuts and helpers for tasks you perform every day. For example, rather than clicking a link to view the next page of Google search results, go to Tools, FastestFox and turn on the Enable Endless Pages feature. This will load the next page automatically when you scroll to the bottom of the current one. Another useful feature lets you search for words and phrases on web pages simply by highlighting them and choosing from a wide range of search providers. These include Google, DuckDuckGo, YouTube, Wikipedia and many more. You can also copy and paste content just by clicking your middle mouse button.
If you use Chrome, you can install FastestFox's sister add-on, FastestChrome (http://bit.ly/Zi3L4w), which offers the same time-saving features.

Fool sites into loading their mobile versions 

Many websites perform a "user agent" check when you access them, which identifies your browser and device so content can be displayed accordingly. If the site detects you're using a tablet or phone, you may be taken to its slimmed-down mobile version, which uses a lot less bandwidth. Install Ultimate User Agent Switcher for Chrome (http://bit.ly/13osh3p) and you can get similar speeds in your Desktop browser by fooling websites into thinking you're using a mobile device. Just click the toolbar button, select Activate Now and choose Android, iPhone or even Kindle from the list. This will disguise your browser and load faster, streamlined versions of sites, albeit it with certain features removed. For Firefox, get User Agent Switcher (http://mzl.la/18BaQSM), which doesn't have as many options but still works well. The picture below shows how BBC News looks in Chrome when you pretend you're using an iPhone.

Tweak your network settings for speed 

As we explained in our 'Tweak Firefox settings more easily' Workshop in the last issue of Web User, there are a number of changes you can make to Firefox using its 'aboutconfig' tool. The add-on Tweak Network (http://mzl.la/19rKKRe) lets you instantly adjust settings that control the browser's page-loading speed, without needing to delve into about:config. Once installed, go to Tools. Tweak Network Settings and click the Power button. This will Increase the maximum number of "persistent connections per server" from 6 to 16 and activate a feature called pipelining, which allows for multiple connections. Theoretically, this means Firefox will now download content faster, although this will also depend on the website. which may limit the number of connections per user. In Chrome, you can't change the maximum number of server connections, which is six.

Get one-click access to browser features 

Chrome and Firefox both keep their interfaces simple by tucking away some of their most useful tools. This can really slow you down when you need to activate an add-on, delete your history or change specific settings. You can get around this problem in Chrome by installing Mega Button (http://bit.ly/11so3Vb), which lets you access all the browser's main features - including Downloads, Extensions and Bookmarks - by clicking its toolbar button. If you find its picture-based toolbar confusing, try ChromeAccess (http://bit.ly/19rKW2J) instead to view a list of options.
The closest equivalent for Firefox is probably All-in-One Sidebar (http://mzl.la/18BbW16), which places buttons for Bookmarks, History, Add-ons and More down the side of the browser.

Stop idle tabs wasting memory 

The more tabs you open, the more memory your browser uses, which doesn't just slow down your surfing but affects your whole system. Fortunately, there are lots of great add-ons that help to manage tabs, so they remain available while using as little memory as possible. One of our favourites is TooManyTabs for Firefox (http://mzl.la/ZxppnH) and Chrome (http://bit.ly/141YRtX), which lets you remove idle tabs from your memory until you need them again.
Even better is the recently-released OneTab for Chrome (www.one-tab.com), which claims to reduce your memory usage by up to 95 per cent by shrinking all open tabs down to a single list.

Toggle Flash off and on 

Despite the rise of HTML5. many sites still use Flash for videos, games and animations, which makes it unwise to remove the plug-in altogether. However, you can still disable it with a flash-blocking add-on to make pages load faster. Most people are familiar with Flashblock for Firefox (http://mzl.la/137eVtt) and FlashBlock for Chrome (http://bit.ly/11fgMwi) - not to mention the amazing Adblock Plus (adblockplus.org) - but if you want something really simple, install FlashOnOff for Firefox (http://mzl.la/11bj9gw). This tiny new tool lets you turn Flash on and off at the click of a button so you can speed up the web without missing any content you want to see.