Firefox Slow? Check Your Add-Ons, Says Mozilla

Published on 04-04-2011 06:45 PM

5 Comments

A common complaint about Firefox is that it's just too slow, particularly upon launching. And after touting the speed and enhanced performance in the browser's most recent release, Mozilla wants to make it clear to users: if Firefox is slow, it's probably your add-ons.

Of course, the wide variety of add-ons and the ability to customize your browser to your liking is one of the things that has long made Firefox an appealing choice. But in a post on its blog, Mozilla reveals some stats from performance-testing. It found that for every add-on you install, you're adding about 10% to the amount of time it takes for Firefox to start-up.

According to its automated performance testing, Mozilla has found that in fact some of the most popular add-ons are among the worst culprits. Firebug, for example, ranks #2, slowing launch speed by 74%. Adblock Plus makes the browser launch 21% slower, and the StumbleUpon add-on, 19%.

Firefox says it's going to start labeling add-ons that are drags on performance, displaying warnings on those that slow start-up time by more than 25%. In an upcoming version of Firefox, these warnings will be displayed in the Add-ons Manager as well. It also says that in this new version, third party add-ons will not be installed unless the user explicitly allows the installation in Firefox. This will likely cut back on the unwanted toolbars and bundled add-ons that people inadvertently install.

Firefox says it's also reaching out to developers, to help them make sure their code is optimized and that they are building add-ons with best practices in mind.
For users, it's always a good idea to disable - or better yet uninstall - add-ons that you aren't using.

Source: ReadWriteWeb

Categories:
Software

5 Comments

Tv Controls you - 04-04-2011, 08:13 PM
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It's pretty ironic how "fastest fox" is number 8 on making firefox slow lol. Over the past few years I have acquired alot of add-ons and it takes around 7-10 seconds for firefox to start for me...

Although once it's started once after a reboot it usually starts within 3 seconds, and the browsing in generally the fastest compared to other browsers(ie, chrome, msn[lol]).
I haven't bothered getting the new firefox 4 yet as I'm so satisfied with the old version, i see no reason to upgrade lol.

usr - 04-04-2011, 08:36 PM
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The addons are worth the extra load time to me. Without the addons I would NOT use firefox, I would use Chrome or Opera. Without Adblock plus surfing the internet on many sites is not tolerable to me anymore. After reading this I might disable FlashGot for a while, the other few addons I use will be staying.

Actually My load time is only about 2-3 seconds anyway. My memory usage can get somewhat high, but it is manageable. (core2duo E6600 4gb ram, SSD)

mjmacky - 04-05-2011, 12:01 AM
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I agree with one above comments, if I need a quick browser window without plugins, I pop open a Chrome window. Otherwise Firefox with plugins runs without delay. The one slowdown I did experience though was using the Lavahot theme (I think that was the name), damn, the entire browser was so friggin' laggy with that theme

mr. nails - 04-05-2011, 05:12 AM
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lol, i've looked through these forums and i've noticed that MOST of u ppl install way too many undesirable addons. i currently have 2 addons installed in firefox and prob had MAYBE up to 5 total at one time back in the ff2 days.

tbh, ff runs just about as fast as chrome imo minus graphx processing for certain things that chrome does a lot better, but then again most of that junk gets filtered out with firefoxes adblocker because i don't care to see that junk.

my advice? delete all ur crap u've acquired from ff over the years and start a fresh.