How To: Optimize Firefox

In the march toward a better browsing experience, you’ve ditched Internet Explorer and joined the legions of Firefox faithful. We have too, but chances are, our browsers look and function much differently from the one on your desktop. Sure, it’s possible to simply install Firefox and be done with it, but you’d be missing out on the browser’s core appeal, the thing that sets it apart from the competition. We are, of course, talking about Firefox’s outstanding degree of customizability.

Nearly every facet of Mozilla’s Firefox can be tweaked, making this the tabula rasa of browsers. Release your inner Van Gogh and spice things up with themes or become a modern-day Michelangelo and sculpt a browsing masterpiece with the seemingly endless array of extensions at your disposal. If that still feels like paint by numbers, you can get your hands dirty in Firefox’s hidden configuration menu. And when you’re finished tinkering, back up your profile to quickly transfer your settings from PC to PC!

Add a Theme

You don’t need to be proficient at programming to alter Firefox’s appearance; you just need an Internet connection. From the Tools menu, select Add-ons, choose Themes, and then click the Get Themes link. It takes some digging, but we found some themes we really like, including Aluminum Alloy and Doodle Plastik. After you have installed one, restart Firefox, and then go back to Add-ons to activate the new theme. Many themes are works in progress, so periodically check for updates.