If you use Internet Explorer regularly, please, please consider switching to Firefox. Why? There are lots of highly technical reasons related to open source technology, security, and speed. But one of the best reasons is you can customize it like crazy. Here’s a list of add-ons I use all the time. In fact, I don’t feel complete without them, which is probably a sign of something deeper…

Add-Ons For Everyone

Google Toolbar – Everything Google, in a toolbar!

Google Bookmarks – I like the fact that this plugin works exactly like the regular bookmarking (favorites) functionality of the browser itself, except that your bookmarks are stored by Google, so they’re accessible anywhere.

Delicious Bookmarks – I use Google Bookmarks for the sites I visit most and Delicious to mark articles or other dynamic content – items that are usually subpages of a site.

Gmail Checker – If you use Gmail, this keeps you signed in and updates you on incoming mail. Clicking it opens Gmail.

Download Statusbar – If you’re going to use Firefox’s built-in downloading, which is pretty good, then this is a nice feature – it adds a bar above your status bar to track progress and chart your most recent downloads.

PDF Download - This just makes downloading pdf’s nicer. I receive a certain magazine as a pdf email, so from Gmail, I can click “download.” PDF Download sees that it’s a pdf and offers to render it as html in Firefox, so I can read a lite version (no images) that loads fast without storing it on my hard drive.

Dummy Lipsum – Ever need some fake words? I do all the time, while mocking up a design or a document. This spits it out in a hurry.

Download Them All – After trying about a dozen different download managers, this is my favorite. It integrates well with Firefox’s existing download capabilities, giving you a choice.

ScribeFire – I operate multiple sites that are powered by either WordPress or some other blogging platform, and I can add content to all of them from within Firefox using ScribeFire. And, it will even insert ads from which I can earn a passive income – but that’s optional.

Add-Ons for Developers

Developer Toolbar – The Grandaddy of all Firefox development tools. Examine code of all kinds, see how css-based sites are laid out, disable javascript to test the effects, validate pages, remove images, etc.

MeasureIt – You can, um, measure it. Clicking it allows you to measure things on the screen in pixels.

ColorZilla – Check to see the makeup of any color on the screen.

FireFTP – Transfer files without leaving Firefox. It’s very easy and simple to use – not as fast as using some external ftp protocols, but great for transferring files on the fly.

FireShot – There are other screen capturing addons, but I like that you can set this one to do something with a capture automatically. For me, I click the button, it takes an image of the entire page (not just the viewable area) and opens it instantly in Fireworks.

IE NetRenderer – This plugin uses an external service to show you a screenshot of a site in IE6, IE7, and even IE8, but it won’t allow you browse – just renders your code as a satic page and shows you an image.

IE Tab – Surf the net in Firefox using Internet Explorer’s rendering engine. Why? For me, I need to test the functionality of menus and other things, but there are a few sites that just won’t work well with Firefox, so rather than opening IE (which I try never to do), I surf through Firefox with IE’s engine.

SEO for Firefox – This offers you tons of information about pageranks, inbound links, etc. and it’s easily turned off when you don’t care about such things.

I’m sure there are others. Feel free to name them in the comments below. These are just the plugins I use almost daily (if not hourly).