Firefox is an Open-Source Internet browser that is fast, easy to use and my favorite extremely customizable. I am someone who loves being in control, being able to change my browsing experience to be faster, easier to use, more secure and giving control what other people can observe about your activities is something that really appeals to me.

After trying many different add-ons I have found that some can consume vast amounts of either processor or RAM, leading to an experience which is not fun.  Using a process of trial and error I have cut down the list of extensions that I use to 50, lightweight ones that deliver me an experience that I am very comfortable with.  There are other extensions that can perform the same things that these ones can, but these I know (as I use them for hours each day) will be fast and reliable.  Even running these on "sub-par" machines these will only enhance your browsing experience.

I have compiled this list from extensions I actually use and have tried to include the official plugin home page where possible, I am not affiliated with any of these products in any way.

If you have alternatives, suggestions or other excellent plugins, addons or extension - please let me know with a comment below.

Tab Mix Plus

Homepage: http://tmp.garyr.net/

A virtual Swiss army knife of options and functionality that should already be inside firefox.  Customize how tabs behave, how your browser looks and acts, an improved session manager, please install it to see its full benefits…

Adblock Plus: Save your time and traffic

Homepage: http://adblockplus.org/en/

Have you ever wanted to remove advertisements from an Internet page? If you have limited bandwidth or advertisements really bug you this plugin lets you remove them.  You can choose to block particular banners or subscribe to lists that will block ands that other users have experienced.  A great product, the only downside being that whoever is displaying the ads looses your custom.

The Alexa Toolbar for Firefox

 Homepage: http://www.alexa.com/site/download/

Alexa, a service owned by Amazon tracks trends on the Internet by looking at where people browse.  The toolbar shows how popular a page is and collates information.  If you are a webmaster, installing this toolbar may improve your ranking if you set your page to this homepage.  If you are not a webmaster, you can support your favorite pages by increasing their ranking whenever you visit their site.  You may also be able to guage trends by looking at what pages link to the page you are on and how many people are viewing it. 

All-in-One Gestures Extension

 Homepage: http://perso.orange.fr/marc.boullet/ext/extensions-en.html

Control your web experience by moving your mouse.  Program common activities so you can do them wherever you are on a page with the flick of your wrist.  This is easier for those who do not like using buttons and for those who do not want to look at what they are doing all of the time.  I am convinced my browsing is faster and more efficient with this simple but elegant extension..

CHM Reader

 Homepage: http://sourceforge.net/projects/chmreader/

This is a Firefox add-on that allows compiled HTML Files (*.CHM) to be viewed with Firefox directly.  Instead of using other products that ship with your operating system, take advantage of firefox (an environment you are very comfortable with) to read these files. One of those extensions that you do not use all the time, but when you need it, you will be well rewarded.

ColorZilla

 Homepage: http://www.iosart.com/firefox/colorzilla/

Have you ever seen a page and wanted to match colors with it? If you have any color needs from the web then this is the add-on for you.  ColorZilla is an advanced eyedropper, ColorPicker, Page Zoomer and contains other colorful goodies. Primarily for web developers, another tool that will save you time when you need it most.

Extension Manager

 Homepage: http://mozmonkey.com/

An extension that will work across multiple Mozilla products, this is one that will help you uninstall and manage your other plugins.  This gives you an interface to interrogate what you have installed in more detail and have more power over the whole add-on process.

Bandwith Tester

Homepage: http://mozmonkey.com/

Is your connection to the net going slowly or are you just going crazy? This addon will let you see if you are getting the download speeds that you are paying your ISP for.

Copy Plain Text

Homepage: http://mozmonkey.com/

If you want to copy things from the internet into documents, emails or a blog you do not necessarily want all formatting and links to be copied with it.  Instead of having to delete these tags manually, this simple addon lets you select the text you wish to copy and will only return that text when you paste it elsewhere.  You should be happy with an extension that will save you time, prevent frustration and will not get in the way from your normal activities.

SwitchProxy

Homepage: http://mozmonkey.com/

If you are using the same machine across multiple networks it may be handy to change proxy configurations, without messing around in the options menu.  SwitchProxy allows you to manage and switch between multiple proxy configurations quickly and easily. You can also use it as an anonymizer to protect yourself and computer from prying eyes.

TinyURL Creator

Homepage: http://mozmonkey.com/

If you have not used TinyURL this is a service that takes long URLs and convert them into something that is easily pasted or remembered.  This addon will convert a long URL into a much smaller, more manageable one which is easier to share through email and instant messenger. You are able to add this to the toolbar, or to the tools menu, depending on which you feel is easier and reduces clutter.

Digg This!

Homepage: http://j.domaindlx.com/diggthis/

Digg is an internet phenomenon that allows users to highlight what they have found and "digg" it to bring it to others attention.  If you are not a member of digg then you really should be.  If articles do not have a digg button then it can be annoying to try to digg any page that you find, this lets you simply select the article for submission through a link in a menu.   Any addon that can speed up the process of submitting stories to digg is a good addon.

Distrust

Homepage: http://www.gness.com/distrust/

Distrust is a tool that when activated will fill most of the privacy needs you may have.  If you do not want others snooping on what you have been done (for security or personal reasons) then this is the addon for you.  Distrust aims to create a silent browsing experience which means that the browser should leave the computer as it was when browsing began.

DOM Inspector

 Homepage: http://www.mozilla.org/projects/inspector/

Sometimes it can be very hard to work out where in HTML code you are.  The DOM Inspector add-on can be used to inspect and edit the live DOM of any web document or XUL application. The DOM hierarchy can be navigated using a two-paned window that allows for a variety of different views on the document and all nodes within. For those who are interested in coding for the web, this will help you diagnose and fix problems quickly and easily.

Download Manager Tweak extension

Homepage: http://dmextension.mozdev.org/

Firefox’s download manager is not necessarily as comprehensive as it should be.  This add-on streamlines the download manager, not only changing its appearance to make it more concise and intuitive but changes where and how it can be opened.

Download Statusbar

Homepage: http://downloadstatusbar.mozdev.org/

 Browsing can be more enjoyable if you continue while your downloads are going on in the background.  Instead of switching between download windows or panes this extension allows you to see and launch exactly what you have downloaded from the statusbar.

Extended - A Firefox extension for the extension manager

Homepage: http://extended.spanglerco.com/

Ever wanted to see how another extension works. Instead of looking up the id of the extension and then navigating all the way to the folder, just open the extension manager. Next to all of the version numbers, the id is listed. Right click the extension, and you can even open the extension’s folder right from Firefox.

FaviconizeTab

 Homepage: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3780

Regularly I have many tabs open in firefox.  Some of these I do not want to close, but will not be clicking on all of the time.   With The Faviconize tab add-on, when a tab is double clicked; the width of the tab becomes small up to the size of favicon. When a faviconized tab is clicked It returns to the former size when double clicked again.

FireForm

Homepage: http://fireform.free.fr/en/about.html

If you are filling in forms on a regular basis online then this will save you a lot of time.  FireForm will allow you to automatically fill in forms. You teach FireForm once, then it fills in forms with just one click.

FireFTP

Homepage: http://fireftp.mozdev.org/

There are many programs that can ftp files across the net.  FireFTP is one that is integrated into your browsing experience. I use this for uploading things onto my web page that I have just downloaded. A very handy tool.

Flashgot

Homepage: http://flashgot.net/

 This add-on is meant to handle single and massive ("all" and "selection") downloads with several external Download Managers. This means that you can save multiple things from the same page, resume, speed-up downloads with ease, all at the click of a button.  This is a quality extension - which I integrate with the flashget free download manager.

IE Tab

 Homepage: http://ietab.mozdev.org/

Windows users may find that some inconsiderate developers will only allow sites to function properly in Internet Explorer.  Whilst this is annoying it is also a fact of life…. or is it? IE Tab lets you open certain pages in internet explorer, completely within firefox.  Whilst this removes many of the benefits you get from your other add-ins you do not have to go elsewhere to get pages to work. The makers claim that they have even got windows updates to function through using it; I have not gone that far but it has got the job done when required of it.

Image Zoom

Homepage: http://imagezoom.yellowgorilla.net/

An easy to use extension that works as it name implies.  If you have ever had an image that was too large to fit on your screen or too small to see the finer detail in your browser or email, then image zoom can help. Image zoom gives you complete control of the size of most images displayed in mozilla based software. Both individual images or whole pages of images can be zoomed.

Menu Editor

 Homepage: http://menueditor.mozdev.org/

This addon speaks for itself; it changes what appears in what menu for firefox.  Remove things you never use and place things in a place that is logical for you to find.

Minimize To Tray

Homepage: http://minimizetotray.mozdev.org/

Send firefox to the system tray.  Do this to remove it from your desktop when busy, or to be able to easily find when in a rush.

Minimize To Tray Enhancer

Homepage: http://codefisher.org/projects/minimize_to_tray_enhancer

For this add-on to work you must have Minimize To Tray installed. This add-on adds a toolbar button to the Customize Toolbar window. It makes minimize to tray more user friendly.

NoScript!

 Homepage: http://noscript.net/

Are you aware of what javascript can send, change and let external developers have access to on your machine? This free, open source add-on allows JavaScript and Java execution only for trusted domains of your choice.  This can be very useful when going to places where you may expect malicious code, and those where you don’t.  I was using this for some time and unfortunately whilst making your browsing experience much more secure it also stops many pages from working because of their reliance on javascript. This is not a bug in the way this addon works, but can cause frustration.  If you spend the time and add your trusted domains to the list then it can work very well in securing your browsing.

RefSpoof

Homepage: http://refspoof.mozdev.org/

A simple toolbar that allows to load a page with a different referer. This can be useful for a number of purposes; a great piece of sotware when you need it.

Searchbar autosizer

 Homepage: http://searchbarautosizer.mozdev.org/

The main idea of Autosizer is to keep the interface minimal, which is especially useful if you’re on a notebook with a small display. If you’re not using the searchbar the URL bar can be maximized while still being able to read a reasonable long query when searching. The search query can be removed and the search engine be reseted right after submitting in order to keep your minimal screen estate.

SEO for Firefox

 Homepage: http://searchbarautosizer.mozdev.org/

To track how popular a page is there can be many tools.  This addon utilises many different ranking algorithms and sites that index pages and can give you a quick snapshot of where a page is succeeding and where it is not.

Server Spy

 Homepage: http://jacquetc.free.fr/mozilla/exts/ServerSpy/

Server Spy is a small Firefox extension that displays the brand of web servers (e.g. Apache, IIS, etc.) in the right-hand side of the browser window’s status bar. When a tab is selected, Server Spy shows the name of the server that has served up the corresponding page.

ShowIP

Homepage: http://l4x.org/frontpage/showip

ShowIP shows the IP Address of the current page in the browser’s status bar and allows queries to different databases about it when you right click on it. The IP is colored red for an IPv4 address and green for an IPv6 address (hence the name).

SmoothWheel

 Homepage: http://smoothwheel.mozdev.org/

Sick of Jerky mouse scrolling? The SmoothWheel extension will scroll the page smoothly with the mouse wheel. SmoothWheel utilizes several smart algorithms for smoothness and adaptive behaviour.

StumbleUpon

Homepage: http://www.stumbleupon.com/

StumbleUpon lets you surf the internet, choosing the category and type of page you want and it will deliver pages based upon your interests.  You are able to make recommendations and rate what you thought of each page.  This is good if you have a few minutes free and are sick of pressing random article on wikipedia.

TamperData

 Homepage: http://tamperdata.mozdev.org/

If you want to test the security of your own web applications, track or change how requests can be done or want to see what you can do by playing with forms online then, TamperData will suit your needs perfectly.  Essentially this is an add-on to track and modify http/https requests.

Unhide Passwords

 Homepage: http://www.contrex.ca/gecko/

Sometimes it is very hard to get the correct password.  If you are not using a key management utility (like keypass) and there is noone standing behind you then you have the capacity to reveal what you are typing in your password fields. If you use this add-on you can turn your password fields into regular text fields, and forget about those hassles.

URL Link

 Homepage: http://www.fnxweb.com/software-mozilla

I get frustrated when a link that I want to use is in text, and you have to copy and paste it to be able to follow it.  URL Link is an addon that allows you to select non-URLs in mail or news messages, and open it in a browser window.

VideoDownloader

Homepage: http://javimoya.com/blog/youtube_en.php

VideoDownloader Firefox Extension add a small icon on the status bar at the bottom of your firefox window, and a toolbar button.

Just click that and download the video you are watching !

Web Developer Extension

Homepage: http://chrispederick.com/work/web-developer/

The Web Developer extension adds a menu and a toolbar to the browser with various web developer tools. It is designed for Firefox, Flock, Mozilla and Seamonkey, and will run on any platform that these browsers support including Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. This is another must-have extension if you are interested in writing and analyzing pages that you or others have built.  The functionality this provides is amazing and you really should check it out.

Del.icio.us Toolbar

Homepage: http://del.icio.us

For a long time I was struggling to find somewhere where i could easily tag and search through my bookmarks.  I was loosing things that I had found online because there were too many and there was a disorganized mess.  Delicious lets you quickly and easily search through bookmarks, and has the added advantage that you can access them from other computers.

Greasemonkey

Homepage: http://www.greasespot.net/

Greasemonkey is a Firefox extension that allows you to customize the way webpages look and function. Hundreds of scripts are already available for free. And if you’re the tinkerer sort, you can also write your own. Very handy for repetitious tasks or interesting things that you want to do with others pages.

Mozex

 Homepage: http://mozex.mozdev.org/index.html

Face-it not always a web browser is going to be appropriate for what you want to do with a link, file or action.  If you want to change the way that you launch these external programs then Mozed will let you do it.  This has functionality that includes:

• edit content of textareas (possibly utilizing a spell-checker in the text editor)
• view page source
• handle mailto, news, telnet and FTP links
• download files
• … and many more

Mimulus

Homepage: http://inamidst.com/mimulus/

Mimulus is a lightweight XHTML editor implemented as a Firefox extension. It turns any tab into a WYSIWYG editor, enabling a cursor and letting you change existing content just by typing in the browser window, or add new elements such as headings and lists using simple key combinations. It saves to your hard drive, has an option to let you edit the source, and is as minimally invasive as possible. It’s great for taking quick HTML notes.

ChromaTabs

 Homepage: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3810

Identifying tabs can be tiresome to rely on the favicon and can also be boring.  This is an add-on that Tints browser tabs with a color specific to the website loaded. This helps you identify tab contents based on a distinct visual cue. Tints browser tabs with a color specific to the website loaded. It can pick a random color automatically (based on the site’s hostname), or it can pick a color based on the site’s tab icon.

Gmail Manager

 Homepage: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1320

Allows you to manage multiple Gmail accounts and receive new mail notifications. Displays your account details including unread messages, saved drafts, spam messages, labels with new mail, space used, and new mail snippets.

TrackMeNot

Homepage: http://mrl.nyu.edu/~dhowe/trackmenot/

TrackMeNot is a lightweight browser extension that helps protect web searchers from surveillance and data-profiling by search engines. It does so not by means of concealment or encryption (i.e. covering one’s tracks), but instead, paradoxically, by the opposite strategy: noise and obfuscation. With TrackMeNot, actual web searches, lost in a cloud of false leads, are essentially hidden in plain view.

FoxyTunes

Homepage: http://www.foxytunes.com/

Do you listen to Music while surfing the Web? FoxyTunes lets you control almost any media player and find lyrics, covers, videos, bios and much more with a click right from your browser.

ChatZilla

Homepage: http://www.mozilla.org/projects/rt-messaging/chatzilla/

 is an IRC client that is written entirely in JavaScript and XUL. You must be using a Mozilla based browser to run ChatZilla.

iMacros

Homepage: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3863

The Web browser is probably the most frequently used software today, and many tasks are highly repetitious. iMacros for Firefox relieves the repetition of checking on the same sites every day, remembering passwords and filling out web forms. Web professionals can use the software for functional testing and regression web testing of web applications. Another use is to automate web scraping, for example online stock quotes or web store prices.

Copy as HTML Link

Homepage: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2617

If you are trying to reference web pages, it can be time consuming to grab the link to each page.  This add-on creates an HTML link to the current page using the selected text and copies it (into the clipboard) for pasting into other applications.

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This is the end of the The Top 50 Lightweight Firefox Add-Ons. Powerful plugins and extensions that will not kill your computer; however; I would also recommend that you also download a dictionary.  These addons come for many different languages and dialects (including my favorite Australian English) and allow you to have spell checking in any text areas you choose.  When responding to posts online this can remove your embarrassment for your poor spelling. For the powerful functionality that dictionaries provide they do not seem to impact on performance at all.

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