Google Chrome is great, but not perfect. Despite the efforts of the Internet giant, spammy websites and content farms sneak into search results. That is not just distracting, but could be potentially harmful as well. If you want to have a better browsing experience on Chrome, and stay productive while you’re at it, you can block sites from showing up in your search results or set the time limits for how long you can browse each site. And you can do this using the Chrome extensions outlined in this article.
How to Block Sites on Chrome Using Extensions
You can block sites on Chrome using extensions that are available on the Chrome Web App Store.
Block Site Extension
The Block Site extension in Chrome lets you block websites using its contextual menu. Once you visit a website that you don’t ever want to see again, right click and select Block site. That’s it. The site will be automatically blocked and should you try and access the link again, you will find yourself redirected to a default website. You can set up another redirect page for each website, if you want to.
Block site also lets you block specific words from showing up in the URL and features an Adult Related list with predefined words and a profanity filter. You can configure this if you are concerned about your kids using the internet. Finally, there are options to choose the days and time intervals when you want the extension to be active and you can set up a password to prevent anyone from uninstalling this extension.
Download Block Site Chrome Extension
Block Site Plus is a sister plugin that extends the functionality to set the maximum amount of time you want to spend on websites. You can also set yourself an alarm to notify you on the time left to visit a website.
Download Block Site Plus Chrome Extension
StayFocusd
Stayfocused is another cool Chrome extension that lets you set specific times for using certain websites. This way you know that you won’t be wasting too much time on unwanted or unproductive tasks. Once installed, you can click the Stayfocused button next to the address bar to block a particular site or its sub domain after the allotted time. If necessary, you can choose to block only specific pages on the site or custom URLs.
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One point to note is that once you allot a time for viewing a website, you won’t be able to go back to that site again for the rest of the day. And should you still push your luck you will be redirected to the Stayfocused page, which will chide you for attempting to waste your time on unproductive tasks. Ouch!
Download Stayfocused Chrome Extension
WasteNoTime
WasteNoTime is another extension that works along similar lines as Stayfocused by limiting the amount of time you spend on websites during your work hours. You can customize the time quota and website settings to suit your work times and export your settings to share it across multiple browsers and PCs. Finally, the reports in the Time Tracker lets you view how much time you spent on various websites for different time periods (day, week, and month).
Download WasteNoTime for Chrome
Nanny for Google Chrome
Our next selection to block sites on Chrome is Nanny for Google Chrome, which has been around since 2010. It allows you to block URLs at specific times of the day or for a certain time period during the day. You can also group URLs by tags to block them in one shot or use regular keywords to block sites. The Statistics page displays a chart of how much time you spend on various websites that you have not blocked.
Download Nanny for Google Chrome
If you need the help of plugins to get into the habit of spending specific times on unproductive activities or you simply need to block sites on Chrome for the sake of your kids, you can use these Chrome extensions as one method to get the job done.
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