5 things that make default Firefox better than standard Chrome

Or Schiro
Or Schiro
Jul 21, 2017 · 2 min read

I have been using Firefox for a few days now while attempting to switch from Chrome back to open software and hence supporting Mozilla. In this process I found some things where Chrome is just better (like spellcheck support for multiple languages simultaneously) but also some things where Firefox outperforms Chrome. Here are some features I found brilliant that are build directly into Firefox and thus don’t require any additional add-ons or extensions.

Bookmarks sidebar

Take a look at the left side of my Firefox. This sidebar has all my bookmarks quickly accessible. You click on a bookmark and it conveniently loads directly in the open tab.

Live Bookmarks

Using RSS feeds? I, too. With live bookmarks I can directly subscribe to my favorite blogs and podcasts. Each individual RSS feed becomes a bookmark and new episodes or blog posts are added to the streams.

Switch between most recent tabs using Ctrl + Tab

This is how tab switching should behave in my opinion. Obviously, I want to switch between my recently used tabs when switching tabs and not move between tabs in sequential order.

Reader View

Reader View allows you to transform a long article from an ugly and overloaded website into a beautifully simple view. Transform any kind of website into a book view to help you focus on the content rather than the website design.

Old tabs load when you first open them

I never found any use in loading tabs when I start the browser. This is what Chrome does and it takes a lot of resources. Firefox only loads the tab when I actually access it and hence need it. This allows me to close the browser with dozens of tabs open because upon restart of Firefox, none of those tabs load unless I need them.

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