It’s a given that, as you surf the web, you’ll visit some websites more than others. Some you only access once every few days, while others are regularly opened even multiple times a day. Regardless of the websites and your use cases, being able to quickly access any domains that are of particular interest to you is great for convenience.
In essence, that is what Speed Dial [FVD] aims to accomplish. It’s a Chrome extension that seeks to facilitate access to your favorite websites, acting very much like a speed dial: simply add in your websites, and they’ll all be nicely displayed each time you open a new tab.
A New Tab page for your favorite domains
Operating the extension feels quite natural, even after spending just a few minutes with it. It replaces your New Tab page with the FVD Speed Dial interface, displaying your pinned domains, as well as those you visit most often.
Entries are referred to as “dials” and are easy to set up: enter the URL to your website, assign it to a group, and decide on its Preview image.
Auto Previews are especially interesting, as the extension can take a snapshot of a certain page every X number of days, so that the preview reflects the actual state of the respective domain. Alternatively, you can opt to add a manual preview, or add a custom photo, which can be anything you want.
Appearance is key
Acclimating to a New Tab page may feel somewhat awkward at first, especially if you don’t happen to get along too well with its design. Thankfully, the extension gives you numerous options to modify how dials are laid out, the fonts used, as well the background that’s displayed. I wasn’t a fan of the Standard design, so I opted for the Fancy style and raised the dial size quite a bit.
Speed Dial [FVD] is a speed dial for your browser not just in form, but also in function. It works well as a New Tab page, especially as you have plenty of ways to cutomize it to your liking.