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15+ Best Google Chrome Extensions for UI/UX Designers

Last Updated on Dec 12, 2023 by Nurul Afsar

In the dynamic field of UI/UX design, staying ahead of the curve requires not just creativity and a keen eye for aesthetics, but also the right tools that streamline the design process and enhance productivity. One of the easiest ways to bolster your design toolkit is through browser extensions. Specifically, Google Chrome offers a myriad of extensions tailored for UI/UX designers. These extensions can revolutionize your workflow, from color selection and typography inspection, to responsive design testing and usability feedback collection. This article delves into the best Chrome extensions that every UI/UX designer should consider adding to their arsenal. Let’s explore these digital companions that promise to make your design journey smoother, more efficient, and more inspired.



Axure RP

Axure RP is a popular tool used by UX designers to create wireframes, prototypes, and specifications for websites and applications. It’s often used in the planning phase of a project to create mockups and to define user interactions. The Axure RP Chrome extension enhances this experience by allowing you to preview your prototypes directly in the browser, as if they were the real website or application. It interprets the Axure RP file format and displays it as an interactive webpage.

Here are some tasks that the Axure RP Chrome extension can assist with:

  1. Prototype Testing: With the extension, you can test your prototypes interactively in the browser, simulating the end-user experience. This can be invaluable in identifying design flaws or usability issues.
  2. Collaborative Review: You can share your prototypes with colleagues or stakeholders to gather their feedback. Because they’re seeing it in the browser, it’s closer to the final product experience.
  3. User Testing: The extension can be used during user testing sessions. It will allow users to interact with your design as though it were a fully functional website or application. This gives more realistic feedback and insights.
  4. Demonstration of UX/UI Designs: The extension provides a realistic environment for demonstrating your designs to clients or stakeholders. It’s much more engaging to show an interactive prototype rather than static images.
  5. Iteration: The extension can speed up the process of iterating on your designs. You can make changes in Axure RP, and then quickly preview those changes in the browser.
  6. Dynamic Content: Axure RP and the corresponding extension support the creation and preview of dynamic content, such as drop-down menus, form validations, hover effects, and more. This helps in creating more engaging and realistic prototypes.

Wappalyzer

Wappalyzer is a technology proficiency tool that identifies the software, libraries, frameworks, and other technologies that are used on a website. This tool can be installed as a Chrome extension and provides instant insights into what technologies are used to build and maintain a specific website.

Here are some of the tasks Wappalyzer can help with:

  1. Competitor Analysis: Wappalyzer can help you see what technologies your competitors are using on their websites. Understanding this can offer insights into their capabilities and priorities.
  2. Technological Exploration: If you are exploring new technologies to use in your projects, you can utilize Wappalyzer to see what’s popular or trending by analyzing a number of websites.
  3. Learning from Other Sites: If there’s a particular feature or design on a website that you admire, you can use Wappalyzer to identify the technology behind it. This could help you implement a similar feature on your own site.
  4. Sales and Marketing Research: If you’re in a business development role, you can use Wappalyzer to identify potential leads or customers based on their technology stack. For example, if you provide services related to a specific CMS, you can find websites using that CMS and reach out to them.
  5. Security Analysis: By revealing the technologies used on a website, Wappalyzer can help you identify potential security vulnerabilities. For example, an outdated technology might have known security issues.
  6. Web Development: When building or maintaining a website, understanding the current technology stack can help in decision-making about what technologies to keep, replace, or add.

Remember that Wappalyzer can only detect technologies that are publicly exposed. It may not give a complete picture of all the technologies used, especially backend technologies or ones hidden behind content delivery networks (CDNs).


BrowserStack

BrowserStack is a cloud web and mobile testing platform that allows developers to test their websites and mobile applications across on-demand browsers, operating systems, and real mobile devices. Although not a Chrome extension, it is a service that can be accessed through any web browser. It’s essential for ensuring websites and applications function correctly across different platforms and devices.

Here’s how BrowserStack can assist you:

  1. Cross-Browser Testing: BrowserStack allows you to test your website across multiple browsers (including different versions) on various operating systems. This helps ensure your website functions and displays correctly for all users, regardless of their browser choice.
  2. Mobile Device Testing: BrowserStack offers testing on real mobile devices, not just emulators. This gives you a more accurate representation of how your website or application performs on mobile devices.
  3. Automated Testing: BrowserStack supports automated testing which can significantly speed up your testing process and ensure more consistent results.
  4. Local Testing: With BrowserStack, you can conduct tests on your local machine or internal server, making it easier to test and debug during development.
  5. Debugging Tools: BrowserStack provides integrated developer tools for debugging during testing.
  6. Collaboration: You can share your testing sessions with team members, improving communication and collaboration within the team.

WhatFont

WhatFont is a Chrome extension that simplifies the process of identifying the typefaces used on a webpage. When you hover over text with the tool activated, it displays the font being used.

Here’s how WhatFont can assist you in various tasks:

  1. Font Identification: The primary function of WhatFont is to identify fonts used on a webpage. It can detect and display the font family, size, line height, and color when you hover over a piece of text.
  2. Inspiration: If you’re searching for the perfect font for your design project, seeing how different fonts look and behave on various websites can provide inspiration.
  3. Competitor Analysis: By looking at the fonts used by competitors or websites that you admire, you can gain insights into current font trends in your industry or sector.
  4. Learning and Development: Understanding the different fonts used by professional designers can help improve your own design skills. You can learn about pairing fonts, choosing fonts for readability, and more.
  5. Troubleshooting: If you’re a web developer and the fonts on your site aren’t displaying as expected, you can use WhatFont to quickly check the font details.
  6. Efficiency: Instead of going through the website’s code to identify the font, you can use WhatFont to quickly and easily get this information.

Remember, while WhatFont can help you identify the font being used, it doesn’t provide access to the font files themselves. If you want to use a specific font in your own work, you’ll need to obtain it through appropriate legal channels, like purchasing it from the creator or a font distribution platform, or finding it on a free font website if it’s publicly available.


ColorZilla

ColorZilla is a versatile color tool for designers and developers that offers an array of features like an eye dropper, color picker, gradient generator, and more. It’s primarily used to identify, analyze, and replicate colors found on web pages.

Here’s a closer look at how ColorZilla can assist you:

  1. Color Identification: Using the eyedropper tool, you can click on any pixel in your browser to identify its exact color value in RGB or Hex format.
  2. Color Picking: ColorZilla includes a color picker where you can explore and select colors. This is useful when designing and choosing colors that aren’t already on the screen.
  3. Palette Viewer: ColorZilla can analyze a webpage and generate a palette of all colors present. This is helpful in understanding the color scheme of a website.
  4. Gradient Generation: The gradient generator feature allows you to create complex CSS gradients. This can be very useful in designing backgrounds and other elements.
  5. Color Comparison: By identifying the colors used on a webpage, you can compare them with the colors in your designs to ensure consistency or gather inspiration.
  6. Website Redesign or Branding: When you’re redesigning a website or working on branding, you can use ColorZilla to grab the brand colors from the existing site quickly.
  7. Education and Learning: ColorZilla can be a great learning tool for those new to web design or color theory, by providing hands-on experience with color selection and manipulation.

Remember, while ColorZilla is a very useful tool, it doesn’t replace the need for a good understanding of color theory and design principles. It’s a supplement to these skills, not a replacement for them.


Page Ruler

Page Ruler is a Chrome extension that lets designers and developers measure elements on any webpage. It displays the width, height, and position of the selected area, which can be beneficial for various design, development, and troubleshooting tasks.

Here’s a closer look at how Page Ruler can assist you:

  1. Element Measurement: With Page Ruler, you can measure the dimensions of any element on a webpage, whether it’s an image, a block of text, a form field, or a margin. This can be particularly useful when you’re trying to create a pixel-perfect design or troubleshoot layout issues.
  2. Layout Analysis: You can use Page Ruler to gain insight into the layout of a webpage, like the distribution of space, the alignment of elements, and the consistency of margins and padding.
  3. Design Validation: Page Ruler can be used to verify that a design has been implemented with the correct dimensions and positioning. This is especially helpful in responsive design, where dimensions might change at different screen sizes.
  4. Responsive Testing: You can use Page Ruler to check how the size of an element or layout changes across different screen sizes.
  5. Competitor Analysis: By measuring elements on competitors’ websites, you can gain insights into their design strategies.
  6. Learning: For those learning web design or development, Page Ruler can provide practical, hands-on experience with understanding the sizing and positioning of web elements.

Remember, while Page Ruler provides accurate measurements of elements as they’re rendered in your browser, the actual dimensions in the website’s code might be different, due to factors like CSS styling and responsive design.


Loom

Loom is a powerful tool that provides screen and video recording capabilities and audio recording. This makes it easy to communicate thoughts and feedback more clearly than through text alone. Loom can be installed as a Chrome extension, making it readily accessible for various tasks.

Here’s a closer look at how Loom can assist you:

  1. Usability Testing: Loom can be used to record usability testing sessions, capturing the user’s interactions with your design and their verbal feedback. This provides rich insights that can guide your design revisions.
  2. Feedback and Annotation: Loom is great for giving design feedback. By recording your screen and your voice, you can point out exactly what you’re referring to and explain your thoughts in detail.
  3. Collaboration and Communication: When working with a team, Loom can be used to communicate ideas, demonstrate features, or explain problems effectively. It’s often easier and more efficient than writing lengthy explanations.
  4. Bug Reporting: If you encounter a bug or issue in a design or prototype, you can use Loom to record a video demonstrating the issue. This can be invaluable for developers trying to replicate and fix the issue.
  5. Presentations and Demonstrations: Loom can be used to create presentations or demonstrations of a design, a new feature, or a workflow. This can be useful for stakeholder meetings, user guides, or promotional materials.
  6. Training and Education: If you’re teaching or learning about UX design, Loom can create educational videos demonstrating various concepts or techniques.

Remember, while Loom is a powerful tool for capturing video and audio, respecting privacy and consent is also important. Always make sure that your recording activities are ethical and legal, especially when conducting usability testing.


CSSViewer

CSSViewer is a simple Chrome extension that provides a quick and easy way to view the CSS properties of any element on a webpage. Hovering over an element displays a wide range of CSS properties like font details, text properties, color details, dimensions, and more.

Here’s a closer look at how CSSViewer can assist you:

  1. CSS Property Inspection: With CSSViewer, you can easily inspect and understand the CSS properties applied to any element on a webpage without digging into the source code.
  2. Debugging and Troubleshooting: CSSViewer can be a valuable tool for web developers when troubleshooting CSS issues on a website. It can help in quickly identifying misapplied styles or conflicting CSS rules.
  3. Learning and Education: If you’re learning web development or CSS, CSSViewer can provide real-world examples of how CSS is used to style elements on a page.
  4. Competitor Analysis: By inspecting the CSS properties used on competitors’ websites, you can gain insights into their design and development strategies.
  5. Design Consistency Checking: CSSViewer can be used to ensure design consistency across a website. For example, it can help ensure that the same font styles and sizes are used across different pages or sections.
  6. Responsive Design Testing: By allowing you to inspect CSS properties like width, height, and padding, CSSViewer can assist in testing and fine-tuning responsive designs.

Remember, while CSSViewer can provide useful insights into the CSS properties of a webpage, it may not always provide a complete picture, especially when CSS is applied dynamically using JavaScript or when styles are inherited from parent elements.


Muzli 2

Muzli 2 is a Chrome design inspiration and news extension that acts as a homepage replacement, providing a constantly updated feed of design news, trends, inspiration, and more every time you open a new tab.

Here’s a closer look at how Muzli 2 can assist you:

  1. Design Inspiration: Muzli 2 curates design content from across the internet, including design portfolios, concept designs, and more. It’s an easy way to stay inspired and discover new design ideas.
  2. Stay Up-to-Date: Muzli 2 keeps you updated with the latest design news, articles, and trends. This can help you stay informed about what’s happening in the design world and stimulate ideas for your work.
  3. Discovery of New Tools and Resources: Muzli 2 often features new tools, resources, and services for designers. This can help you discover new ways to enhance your design workflow.
  4. Competitor Analysis: By viewing the latest designs, you can keep an eye on what your competitors or other industry leaders are doing, which can provide insights into current design trends and preferences.
  5. Learning and Development: The regular exposure to a variety of design styles, trends, and news can foster learning and skill development, particularly for those new to the design field.
  6. Networking: Muzli 2 features work from a variety of designers and studios. This can lead to opportunities for networking and collaboration.

Remember, while Muzli 2 provides a wealth of design inspiration and information, it’s important to use it as a source of inspiration, not imitation. Always strive to create original designs tailored to your project’s unique needs and goals.


Responsive Tester

The Responsive Web Design Tester is a Chrome extension that helps web designers and developers test their designs on various device resolutions. It offers a quick and easy way to simulate how a website or web application will look on different screen sizes, mimicking devices like smartphones, tablets, and desktop monitors.

Here’s a closer look at how the Responsive Web Design Tester can assist you:

  1. Responsive Design Testing: The main function of the extension is to allow you to test the responsiveness of your web designs. You can see how your design adjusts to different screen sizes and make necessary changes.
  2. Device-Specific Testing: The extension includes presets for various popular devices, letting you quickly check how your design looks on specific smartphones, tablets, or desktop resolutions.
  3. Debugging and Troubleshooting: If your design isn’t displaying correctly at certain screen sizes, you can use the extension to identify and fix the problem quickly.
  4. User Experience Evaluation: By testing your design on different screen sizes, you can ensure a good user experience across all devices. This is crucial in modern web design, where users can access your site from various devices.
  5. Performance Testing: You can also use the extension to test your site’s load time and performance on different device resolutions.
  6. Learning and Education: If you’re learning web development or responsive design, the extension provides a practical tool for experimenting with different design strategies and seeing the results in real time.

Remember, while the Responsive Web Design Tester simulates how your design will look on different devices, it may not perfectly replicate the actual experience on those devices. For example, it doesn’t simulate specific devices’ performance capabilities or unique features. Therefore, testing your designs on actual devices is still important whenever possible.


Eye Dropper

Eye Dropper is a useful Chrome extension that allows users to pick colors directly from web pages, a color picker, or even their personal color history. This can be incredibly helpful for designers in a variety of ways.

Here’s how Eye Dropper can assist you:

  1. Color Selection: Eye Dropper enables you to select colors from any website, which can be a great source of inspiration for your design projects.
  2. Brand Consistency: If you need to maintain brand consistency across various designs, Eye Dropper can help you quickly pick and reuse the right colors.
  3. Color Comparison: By picking colors from different pages or elements, you can easily compare and analyze them for your design project.
  4. Color Palette Creation: With its color picker and personal color history features, Eye Dropper can assist you in creating and refining the color palette for your design.
  5. Accessibility Checks: By picking colors from webpages, Eye Dropper can help you ensure adequate color contrast for accessibility purposes.
  6. Learning Tool: If you’re learning about color theory or design, Eye Dropper is a practical tool for studying how colors are used on real webpages.

Remember, while Eye Dropper can help you pick and analyze colors, effectively using color in your designs also requires a good understanding of color theory and design principles.


Window Resizer

Window Resizer is a handy Chrome extension that lets users emulate various screen resolutions, which is particularly beneficial for web designers and developers testing their responsive designs.

Here’s how Window Resizer can assist you:

  1. Responsive Design Testing: Window Resizer allows you to test how your designs look and function on different screen sizes, which is vital in the era of varied device usage.
  2. Device-Specific Design Validation: With a comprehensive list of predefined screen sizes and the ability to add custom sizes, you can check how your design performs on specific devices—smartphones, tablets, laptops, or desktops.
  3. Quick Debugging: Window Resizer can help you quickly identify responsive design issues or bugs that may not be apparent on certain screen sizes.
  4. Improve User Experience: By ensuring your design is responsive and performs well across all devices, you can provide a better user experience.
  5. Development Efficiency: By providing an easy way to check your designs at various sizes, Window Resizer can improve efficiency during development.
  6. Presentation and Documentation: You can use Window Resizer to create screenshots of your webpages at various sizes for presentations or documentation purposes.

Remember, while Window Resizer provides a convenient way to check designs at various sizes, there’s no replacement for testing on actual devices when possible, as this extension can’t emulate device-specific features or performance characteristics.


BuiltWith Technology Profiler

BuiltWith Technology Profiler is a Chrome extension that allows you to identify the underlying technologies used on any website. This tool is invaluable for designers and developers who want to gain insights into the technologies driving websites.

Here’s how BuiltWith Technology Profiler can assist you:

  1. Technological Insight: BuiltWith provides insight into the technology stack of any website, including server setup, programming languages, frameworks, libraries, analytics tools, advertising networks, and more.
  2. Competitor Analysis: By examining the tech stack of competing or related websites, you can better understand industry standards and popular tools.
  3. Learning and Development: If you’re a beginner or learning new technologies, BuiltWith can provide real-world examples of how different technologies are used together.
  4. Planning: Knowing what technologies a site uses can help in planning your own projects, making decisions about which technologies to learn or use.
  5. Troubleshooting: BuiltWith can sometimes assist in troubleshooting website issues by giving you a clearer picture of the underlying technology.
  6. Sales and Marketing Research: If you’re in sales or marketing, you can use BuiltWith to identify what technologies potential leads or clients are using, helping you to better tailor your approach.

Remember, while BuiltWith provides useful insights, it’s not always 100% accurate or complete, and it may not identify technologies that are used behind the scenes or on specific pages only. It should be used as a guide and starting point for further research.


Check My Link

The Check My Links extension for Chrome is a powerful tool primarily used by web developers and SEO professionals but can be helpful for anyone managing a website or creating web content.

Here’s how Check My Links can assist you:

  1. Efficient Link Checking: Check My Links allows you to scan web pages for broken links quickly and efficiently, saving valuable time that could be spent on other tasks.
  2. User Experience Improvement: Broken links can significantly frustrate users and potentially drive them away from your site. By identifying and fixing these, you enhance the user experience on your website.
  3. SEO Optimization: Broken links can have a negative impact on your site’s search engine optimization (SEO). Regularly identifying and correcting them can help to improve your site’s SEO performance.
  4. Content Accuracy: For content creators, bloggers, and editors, this tool is useful for ensuring all outbound and internal links in your posts are functioning as intended.
  5. Ease of Use: The extension is straightforward to use, highlighting all checked links directly on the page: green for good and red for broken.
  6. Maintenance: It’s excellent for regular website maintenance, ensuring you keep your site free of broken links, which could be damaging over time.

Google Chrome extensions are invaluable tools that every UI/UX designer should consider incorporating into their workflow. They offer unique functionalities that can boost productivity, enhance creativity, simplify complex tasks, and contribute to creating visually appealing and user-friendly designs. Each extension mentioned in this article has its unique features that cater to different aspects of the design process, from inspiration and color selection to usability testing and responsive design checks. So, don’t hesitate to explore these tools and harness their potential to take your designs to the next level. After all, the right toolset is integral to the art of design, and these Chrome extensions are a testament to that. Remember, the best designs are not just about creativity and skill, but also about understanding and efficiently using the tools at your disposal.

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