Michael Gearon

Fixing the web one plugin at a time

Michael Gearon

I have to say I’m not a particular fan of web browser plugins. When I think of them I’m often reminded of the “golden age” of plugins where you had to install RealPlayer, Windows Media Player or QuickTime to watch a video. Or installing Flash or Shockwave for some sort clunky interactive graphic, or installing Java Applets to run a game such as Runescape, which admittedly, is where I’ll make an exception as Runescape was the place to be in the early 2000s. Most depressingly was installing Adobe Acrobat Reader to read some PDF.

Since then I haven’t bothered much with plugins, the only common plugins I’ve installed is adblocker and some developer tools to inspect cookies, run a basic accessibility check or a website performance checker. I haven’t really had the need to bother with plugins.

However I’m finding that need changing rapidly, not because I’ve suddenly discovered a new love for the world of browser add-ons, but because I’m finding the web is feeling broken.

The constant barrage of cookie consent messages, pop-up adverts, non-skippable video adverts, a mismatch of website experiences, poorly designed UI’s like video players are all getting a bit too much.

Even Apple has slowly but surely realised how broken the web is, they introduced iCloud Private Relay to try and prevent cross-site tracking. Before that they introduced a reader experience to remove all of the gunk around the article and make it actually possible to read the web page as intended. This year they introduced a “hide distracting items” option to remove annoying elements from the website for good.

The question is, are we entering a new “golden age” of plugins and browser add-ons that enhance, or let’s reframe it as fixing, our web experiences because it is no longer possible to have a nice web experience?

If you’re curious about what plugin-ins I’ve installed here is the list, and if you’ve installed a plugin recently let me know on Bluesky what you’ve installed:

  • Cosent-O-Matic: handling the cookie permissions
  • Noir: creates a dark mode experience for websites that don’t have a dark mode theme
  • Baking Soda and Vinegar: replacing custom video player UIs with plain old native HTML video UI
Michael Gearon

Written by

Michael Gearon

Senior Interaction Designer and Co-Author to Tiny CSS Projects