When it comes to browsers, Google Chrome is running the show right now. From the month July to August 2023, the Google Chrome browser was used by a huge 63.6% of internet lovers across the world! In this article, we bring you some of the best Google Chrome features we think you'll love.
I am sure you are eager, so let's get into it.
1. How to Clear Website Cache on Google Chrome
- At the top right corner of your Chrome browser, click on the three dotted icon, followed by Settings.
- Then click on Privacy and Security on the left hand side, followed by Delete Browsing Data.
- Adjust the time range using the drop down option.
- Then, tick the boxes for Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files if they are not ticked already.
- Lastly, click on Delete data.
2. How to Clear Cookies for a Specific Website on Google Chrome
- At the top right corner of your Chrome browser, click on the three dotted icon, followed by Settings.
- Click on Privacy and Security on the left hand side, followed by Third-Party Cookies.
- Then click on, See All Site Data and Permissions to display a list of the sites you have visted.
- Find the website data you wish to delete and click on the dustbin icon beside it.
3. Mute a Single Browser Tab
Right click a tab at the top of your browser, and from the drop down options, select the Mute Site option.
4. Stop Javascript on a Single Website Temporarily
Press the Command, Option and letter J buttons together on Mac Machines or the CTRL, Shift, and letter J buttons together on Windows devices to open the developer tools.
Then press the Shift, Command and letter P buttons together on a Mac or CTRL, Shift and letter P buttons together on Windows to bring up the developer tools search bar. Type in Javascript to find the option Disable Javascript and click this.
To re-enable Javascript, follow the same steps as above, the search option will list the option to Enable Javascript as an option instead of Disable Javascript. Simply select Enable Javascript.
5. Pin Website Tabs
At the top of your browser, tabs are open for each website, simply right click one of the open tabs and from the drop down list, select the Pin option.
Pinned tabs will neatly tuck away to the side and on every new launch of your browser, the pinned tabs will load automatically so you never have to search for the site, you simply click on the tab and it loads straight away.
6. Open a Browser Window in Incognito Mode
Method 1:
On a Mac Machine press the Command, Shift and letter N buttons together. On a Windows press the CTRL, Shift and N buttons together.
Method 2:
On the top right corner of Chrome, find and click on the 3 dotted icon, and from the list of options select New Incognito Window.
7. Media Player
When watching a video or listening to a podcast, a music symbol will appear on the top right corner of Chrome. Click on this to see your media player options. Within it you have the pause, rewind and forward buttons, so, if you've jumped to another tab but still want to control the playback, you can do so here without having to go back to the browser tab the video is playing on.
There is also a button for picture in picture, which allows the video to minimize into the corner and then follow you around tabs.
As well as the above options, there is another option for live captions allowing for the video's captions to be displayed on screen, even if you are on another website tab.
8. Cycle Between Tabs
On a Mac machine, press and hold the Control button and while holding that, press the Tab button, this is the large button located above the caps lock button on the left hand side of your keyboard.
On a Windows device, press and hold the CTRL button and while holding that, press the Tab button.
9. Turn a Website Into Desktop App
Click on the 3 dotted icon on the top right corner of the browser and from the drop down list, hover your mouse arrow over the Save and Share option to reveal a second drop down menu, here click on the Create Shortcut Icon.
A popup will appear prompting your approval to create the shorcut, click on the Open as Window checkbox and then click Create.
On a Mac machine the Chrome apps folder will open and display the icon created, simply drag and drop this to the desktop or any other preferred location. If you want you can also pin this to your dock on a Mac or taskbar on Windows, to give it a proper desktop app feel.
10. Set Home Page
Access any website your want as your home page and copy the website's URL from the top. Then click on the 3 dotted icon on the top right of the browser followed by Settings from the list of options.
On the settings page click on the option to the left called On Start Up or search for it using the search bar. Choose the option Open a Specific Page or Set of Pages, then click on Add a New Page and paste in the copied URL from earlier, finally click add.
When you next open the browser, it will automatically launch with the website you've set.
11. Create Multiple Chrome Profiles
Click on the Profile icon on the top right of the browser and then click on add. Follow the on screen steps to create your browser profile.
Multiple profiles can be created for different puposes such as a work profile or leisure profile, and you can switch between the profiles easily by clicking on the profile icon and selecting the preferred profile of choice from the list of options.
12. Adjust zoom level
On a Mac machine, press and hold the Command button and then press the plus or minus icons to zoom up or down. On a Windows mahine press and hold the CTRL button and then press the plus or minus icons to zoom up or down.
The zoom level is remembered, so on your return to using Chrome the zoom level will be at the level you set previously. A magnifying glass will also appear on the right hand side of the URL search bar, indicating the zoom level change.
13. Translate Page Text
Google Chrome will automatically present a popup prompting you to translate the site's language as soon as you access a website using a foreign language to your region.
You can also click on the three dotted icon on the top right corner and then select Translate from the list of options to display the language translate popup, from which you can select the original site language or your local language option if available.
14. Add Chrome Extensions
Extensions are great little additions to get more out of your browsing experience. To add new extensions, click on the 3 dotted icon on the top right corner and then select Extensions followed by Visit Chrome Web Store.
Inside of the store, click on Extensions at the top. Find and click on an extension of your choice to take you through to the extension's page. Click on Add to Chrome and that's it.
At the top right of your browser there is jigsaw icon, click this to display a list of your installed extensions, from here you can pin and unpin the extensions for easier access.
15. Tab Groups
Right click a website tab across the top of your browser and select Add Tab to New Group.
Fill in the details for your new group and press Enter.
Now that you have a tab group setup, you can add more tabs to it. To do this, right click on another tab and select Add Tab to Group, and select the new group you've made.
This allows us to neatly group together related tabs for better organisation.
