Frankly speaking, as Internet speeds continue to increase, the loading times of webpages are becoming increasingly less of an issue.  The time saved simply by having a better, more user friendly and clear interface outweighs most gains garnered from a browser which simply loads faster.

Here are 5 excellent tips to make browsing even smoother and faster on Firefox.

1. How to save time by automatically loading the next page

Autopager is a Firefox extension which automatically loads up the next page of a series of web pages and displays it at the bottom of the screen, when you scroll to the end of the page.

For example, if you were to load up a Google Search, and you were unhappy with the page one results, you previously had to click on a link to take you to page 2 of the results.  With Autopager, all you do is scroll down ““ saving you the extra click.  Google’s page 2 results would now be appended at the bottom of the page 1 results.  Keep scrolling downwards and you’d see page 3, 4 and so on.

By default AutoPager works with a ton of sites, including the New York Times, Digg, and, of course, Google. If you want to add your own custom autopaging to unsupported sites, the site wizard feature makes it easy to so.  This extension is a true time saver.

2. How to use keyboard shortcuts to get instant results

Firefox comes with a whole range of keyboard shortcuts so you can really speed things up if you’re a power user. Mozilla lots of different shortcuts on their support page, and here are 5 cool keyboard tricks which would come in handy for all Firefox keyboard newbies:

• Back/Forward Navigation: Alt Left Arrow / Alt Right Arrow
• Complete .com Address : Ctrl+Enter (When you’re in the URL bar)
• Zoom In / Out: Ctrl + / Ctrl -
• Bookmark all tabs: Ctrl Shift D
• Undo closed tab: Ctrl Shift  T

MakeUseOf now gives away a printable Firefox chet sheet nicely summarizing the “need to know” shortcuts. Apart from Firefox, there are cheat sheets for Gmail, Windows, Mac OS X and several other.

3. How to NOT get bogged down by 404s

Your favorite website down? Rather than visiting it later, or hitting the refresh button incessantly, you can try installing ErrorZilla, a firefox extension which will add Try Again, Google Cache, Coralize, Wayback, Ping, Trace, and Whois buttons, when a website isn’t found or a web server is down.

Think of it as a much more useful 404 error page where rather than just telling you the page doesn’t exist ““ it allows you to search and visit cached versions of the page.

4. How to load up web pages faster

Fasterfox is an extension which dips under the hood to tweak many network and rendering settings such as simultaneous connections, pipelining, cache, DNS cache, and initial paint delay.

Previously, these were tweaks which you had to manually adjust ““ but now they work right out of the box once you use this handy extension.

5. How to download files faster

Originally skeptical when I first tried this out, I have been completely blown away by how effective this software is. DownloadThemAll is a free extension which acts as a download manager (meaning you can pause and resume downloads), and download files faster by having them simultaneously download.  This is quite possibly my favorite extension out of all five.

So there you have it, 5 speedy tips which will helpfully make your browsing on Firefox an even faster, more powerful experience.

What time saving browsing tips for Firefox do you have?  I’d love to hear about them in the comments!

Photo credit: LaiHiu

The problem is that apparently a room 404 never existed at CERN. I have never been there so I wouldn’t know. But there is a much more logical explanation for why a “Not Found” is a 404 error. The HTTP status code knows five different classes and there are up to 100 possible status messages in each class. Class 4xx reports client errors and two more digits specify the type of error. There are 18 different cases defined in class 4xx and error 404 represents a case in which the request (e.g. the requested file) was “Not Found”.

Why should I Make a 404 Page

Chances are your website visitors will see your 404 page. Hopefully not many of them, but certainly a few. Now if it’s a generic white page with big black lettering telling them “404 Page Not Found”, how happy do you think they are going to be?

The thing is that the default 404 error message is not very helpful when someone runs into a dead link. Instead, a 404 page should provide some resources, so the stood up surfer doesn’t simply leave the website, but tries another path. Below are what in my oinion the best practices for 404 page design.

1. Matching Design

That’s a no brainer. A 404 page should nicely blend in with the look and feel of the rest of the site.

2. An adequate error message

This one’s logical as well. Anyone encountering an error should notice this at once. Spare the details, but give the surfer some…

3. Options

Add some resources and links, so your guest can return to a specific area on your website quickly.

10 Great Examples

1. AboveTopSecret

What makes it good?

It provides some links back at the top, a search box for the site at the bottom, and some entertaining informational bits in the middle. It’s unique, creative and helpful.

2. Rainfall Daffinson

What makes it good?

It contains information about what may have gone wrong and how to fix or report it. It contains kind of a sitemap from which the visitor can pick a new target, which also includes outside links, e.g. search engines.

3. CssLeak

What makes it good?

It blends in perfectly with the rest of the site design, it contains a sidebar with links as well as the 6 last viewed sites on CssLeak. Apart from that it’s original in providing drink recipes.

4. Video Management Systems

What makes it good?

The subject of the main page is digital video surveillance solutions. The header of the 404 page is 198404 and the quote is, you guessed it, from George Orwell’s novel 1984. A very ironic 404 page for this type of company.

5. Inspiration Bit

What makes it good?

It blends in very well with the overall site design and provides a selection of alternative links and bits.

6. Web Design Greenville SC

What makes it good?

Apart from matching visually with the rest of the website, it’s very original in that it provides a chart that may find an explanation for the encountered error. Very good and funny approach.

7. acorn creative

What makes it good?

This one is simply hilarious.

8. GOG.com

What makes it good?

Very beautiful design, top and bottom menu bar with helpful links, resources and a search bar.

9. From the mind of Jamie Huskisson

What makes it good?

It’s funny, provides the necessary information, a search box and a link to the blog’s archive. Very valuable.

10. BlueDaniel

What makes it good?

It’s very basic, doesn’t provide a lot of resources other than a link back to the main site (Exit). But just from seeing this screenshot, don’t you already think it’s ingenious? And it’s even better than that because it’s interactive. There is a train coming in, stopping and leaving the station. It’s worth exploring the rest of the site because it’s just as good.

404 Research Lab

More information and resources regarding 404 pages can be found at the 404 Research Lab. The site features a 404 of the week, a collection of great 404 error pages and a lot more.

What is your advice for 404 pages? Have you found another awesome and/or terribly useful 404 error page that isn’t listed above? Any quick tips on how to make a 404 page with a minimal effort? Please share it with us!

Picture credits willem velthoven