Google Chrome is undoubtedly one of the most popular web browsers out there. Google Chrome’s popularity means it is the browser of choice for 66.1% of desktop users. This is not a coincidence. It goes without saying that most people would not be caught dead using Internet Explorer, and while Firefox, Edge, and Safari are also popular choices, Chrome is a clear winner in terms of simplicity, customization, integration with Google accounts. This doesn’t mean that it is a perfect browser, and if you are experiencing bad loading times, lags, and “Aw, snap!” messages, we teach you seven simple ways to speed up Google Chrome.
When you read: “Aw, Snap!”, it means you need to speed up your Chrome Browser
Tessa Davis shares amazing tips on technology, and in one particularly useful Twitter thread, she has summarized 7 simple ways to speed up your Google Chrome browser. We highly recommend that you follow her on Twitter and subscribe to her newsletter to never miss her fantastic tips and knowledge, but also summarize the steps to follow here:
Before we start, ensure you’re using the latest version of Chrome. • Click the 3 dots (Options) • Choose ‘help’ • Click ‘about Google Chrome’ It’ll tell you if yours is up-to-date. If it’s not, update it now:
Now on to the 7 steps:
1) Speed up Google Chrome: Clear your browsing data
As you visit more + more websites, data accumulates in Chrome. This slows the browser down.
• Choose the ‘Chrome’ tab
• Click ‘clear browsing data’
• Choose ‘All time’
Now select which elements you want to clear. Then clear your data.
2) Speed up Google Chrome: Set up auto-delete
Clearing data ONCE isn’t enough – do it regularly
Click:
• Options
• Settings
• Manage Google account
• Manage data + personalization
• Manage data + privacy
• Web + app activity
Turn auto-delete on + delete your old activity automatically:
3) Speed up Google Chrome: Disable extensions you aren’t using
Extensions are wonderful, but they slow down your computer. Remove the ones you don’t need:
• Options
• More tools
• Extensions
Then disable and remove the ones you no longer use:
4) Speed up Google Chrome: Remove web apps
Chrome apps suck memory so if you don’t need them, remove them. Go to chrome://apps then:
• Right click on any you don’t use
• Remove them. It’s time for a clear out:
5) Speed up Google Chrome: Make webpages open faster with prefetch
Prefetch anticipates where you might go next. Turn prefetch on:
• Go to chrome://settings/cookies
• Turn on ‘preload pages for faster browsing’
It loads your next page in the background for faster access:
6) Speed up Google Chrome: Suspend your tabs.
I often have a gazillion tabs open at once which slows my browser. The Great Suspender app solves this:
• Suspends tabs I’ve not used for a while.
• But keeps them open for when I need them.
This saves on memory while tabs are dormant.
7) Speed up Google Chrome: Use experimental features.
Go to chrome://flags
Here, try features that haven’t been fully released. Consider these 3:
• ‘Parallel downloading’ improves download speed
• ‘Back-forward cache’ stores sites for quick use
• ‘Override software rendering list’ uses GPU acceleration
These seven tips should speed up your Google Chrome browser and enhance your browsing experience! Thanks again to Tessa Davis for compiling these tips and creating these useful videos to show you the steps in an easy-to-follow way.
Google Chrome is particularly preferred by Freelancers. Apart from not following this guide, you may want to read about other mistakes freelancers make and how to avoid them?
Cover image: Radek Grzybowski on Unsplash