Chrome Extension For Reading Articles

Your favorite blog has just launched a new Chrome extension! It lets you read articles on the site without opening a browser.

For example, if you’re on a desktop computer, you can open an article by clicking “read” in your feed, and the article will open right up.

If you have a phone, however, it’s also possible to open articles by clicking “read” in your feed and opening it in the app.

Chrome Extension For Reading Articles

If you have a habit of reading articles online, you must have felt the frustration that arises from the presence of distracting elements present on the webpage. But we can get rid of annoying ads, pop-ups, or videos on online content by using reader mode.

While there is a secret reading mode in Chrome, it is a rather simple one. You can also choose from some of the best Chrome reader extensions to enhance the reading experience.

Ad
Before you move ahead, check out our other Chrome extension-related articles that will help you improve your browsing experience. We’ve listed the best Chrome extensions for productivity, the best Chrome extensions for reading news, and a neat way to manage Chrome extensions.

5 Best Chrome Reader Mode Extension

1. EasyReader
2. DOM Distiller Reading Mode
3. Mercury Reader
4. Reader View
5. Just Read
6. EasyReader
   EasyReader – Best Chrome Reader Extension for reading articles online
   Easy Reader is the best Chrome reader extension that customizes and improves the readability of long web articles. It is the easiest one to use as well. Once you activate this text reader in Chrome, you just have to click on the text you’d like to read.

Ad
It will open up a new interface where there are no distracting elements and annoying popups. This reader mode creates an index on the left side of the screen which you can use to skim through the content, especially longer articles.

Pros And Cons of EasyReader
Pros Cons
– Easy-to-use, clean, and minimalistic interface
– Doesn’t remove JavaScript-based content – Crops or resizes images

2. DOM Distiller Reading Mode
   DOM Distiller Extension
   This reader mode for Chrome focuses on the important content to provide you with a more focused reading experience. DOM Distiller reading mode removes the unimportant sidebars, share buttons and displays the content in a new interface.

The best part about this Chrome reader extension is its speed. It takes just a single click to filter out all the distracting elements from the text instantly.

Pros And Cons of DOM Distiller Reading Mode
Pros Cons
– Process text quickly
– Clean and minimal interface
– Keeps embedded photos and videos intact – No themes or font scalability
– Cannot run JavaScript-based content

3. Mercury Reader
   Mercury Reader extension for Google Chrome
   Mercury Reader instantly clears away the clutter from all of your articles. It is my favorite Chrome reader extension to read long articles, especially those that do not have supporting images and figures because Mercury Reader cannot retain images or videos in the reader mode.

Ad
Another good thing about this text reader is that it comes with support for Kindle. It lets you send articles to your Kindle device once you set up your account. Besides, it offers dark and light themes, which are usually not present in most of the reader extensions for Chrome.

Pros And Cons of Mercury Reader
Pros Cons
– Impressive user interface
– Additional options for changing text size, font, and themes
– Kindle integration – Cannot run JavaScript-based content

4. Reader View
   Online reading extension
   With Reader View, you can strip away clutter from your articles such as buttons and background images. This Chrome reader extension also lets you change the text size, contrast, and layout for better readability.

You can toggle between normal view and reader view by clicking the page-action button. Reader View works best for web pages that have a lot of content. To personalize the reader mode, use the tools on the left side. It will let you change the text color, background color, font size, and type.

Pros And Cons of Reader View
Pros Cons
– Best for reading long articles and novels online
– Sepia color themes that are relaxing for the eyes
– Options to change the font size and type – Removes attached pictures
– Cannot run JavaScript-based content

5. Just Read
   Read webpages online using Just Read
   This customizable reader extension for Chrome presents online articles in a simplified format to help you focus on the content. It offers default white and dark themes but you can always modify them using a graphical editor or CSS.

Ad
Just Read even lets you print a custom-styled version of the article. The best part about this Chrome reader extension is that it doesn’t collect personal data from users and it is completely open-source software.

Pros And Cons of Just Read
Pros Cons
– Minimalistic interface
– Blocks pop-ups effectively
– Some parts of the content (like bullet points) may appear in a jumbled form.
Which Is The Best Chrome reader extension?
Among all the text readers mentioned above, Easy Reader is my favorite Chrome extension for reading articles online. However, I’d suggest that you try all of them before settling on the best one.

If you find this list helpful, you should also check our list of best Netflix Chrome extensions and our list of best free VPN extensions for Chrome.

Ad
Do let us know which reader mode you like more. In case you’ve come across some other Chrome reader extensions that I have missed in this article, drop the comments below.

best reading extension for chrome

The Internet is a simultaneously informative and distracting place, replete with information but also with a thousand panes, links, sidebars and banners that try to pull you away from what you’re reading at a given moment. A reader extension helps keep you focused by removing all the extraneous bits and just leaving you with the stuff you’re reading.

These extensions also let you change font sizes, styles, and backgrounds for optimized reading. They’re handy, so we’ve decided to test four of the best reader extensions for Google Chrome and tell you just how good they really are.

Also read:
12 Chrome Flags to Boost Your Browsing
12 Chrome Flags to Boost Your Browsing

1. Reader View
   Rating:(4.5 / 5)

Starting out our list of best reader extensions for Chrome is Reader View, an elegant Chrome extension that converts web pages into formal newspaper-style format. All banners disappear, replaced with an ambery background, small images, and a pane of options on the right side.

Chrome Reader Extensions Reader View
I found the default font size to be a bit on the small side, but that can quickly be fixed using the text size icon in the sidebar. You can also view the page in full-screen to really get rid of those distractions, seamlessly edit, and get rid of images altogether.

There are several preset light and dark themes and a pretty granular level of control that few other apps offer.

2. Mercury Reader
   Rating:(3 / 5)

Mercury Reader keeps things very simple, which is both its strength and its undoing. Again, it’s just a case of one click to convert a webpage to the “Reader” format.

Chrome Reader Extensions Mercury Reader
The problem is that the default Reader format here is a little inconsistent. While Make Tech Easier articles look great in Mercury Reader, the same can’t be said of Wikipedia, where the formatting goes a little bit crazy.

There are some options you can twiddle by clicking the Settings cog at the top-right corner of a page, but there are only three of them. You can change between three font sizes, two typefaces, and enable a dark mode (which is the standout feature here). The option to send articles to Kindle is cool, too, if a little niche.

3. Just Read
   Rating:(4 / 5)
   From the simplest reader extension to the most complex and malleable. Just Read offers yet another twist on how best to read websites. The default formats look good enough on MakeTechEasier and Wikipedia (if a little messy on the latter), but the real magic is in the level of customization.

Chrome Reader Extensions Just Read

In the Just Read Settings you can switch the theme to dark easily enough, but you also have complete control over font size and the width of the reading pane, as well as the colors of just about every on-screen element.

So if, like me, you want to change the default white background to a gentler yellow-ish tint (or any other tint), you can. Then, when you’re done, you can save your bespoke Reader style for next time.

4. Distil/Chrome’s Secret Reader Mode
   Rating:(4 / 5)

Chrome actually has a built-in reader mode, which you can access by going to chrome://flags, then typing “reader mode” into the Flags search box. Relaunch Chrome after enabling it, and it’ll be right there! Alternatively, you can get the Distil Reader extension which is based off that same Reader Mode.

Chrome Reader Extensions Chrome Flags Reader
It’s a very good reader mode, with its default format being arguably the best of the bunch. Admittedly, on Wikipedia, it simply omits the side-pane information instead of trying to convert it, which means it’s not perfect, but it still looks very good.

In the options, you can switch to an off-white or fully-dark mode, as well as pick from several font types and sizes. It’s very good, and the fact that it’s integrated into Chrome is a nice bonus.

Did you know that you can now seamlessly use Chrome extensions in Microsoft Edge? We have the guide to show you how. Also, check out our more general list of the best Chrome extensions out there today.

Conclusion

Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

Check out other publications to gain access to more digital resources if you are just starting out with Flux Resource.
Also contact us today to optimize your business(s)/Brand(s) for Search Engines