Google Chrome is definitely the most used browser platform out there due to its highly efficient way of processing tabs — and popularity of course!
Multiple Processes
The browser creates a separate system process for each opened tab, as well as its various plugins and extensions, depending on how its multiprocess infrastructure is implemented. This prevents complete browser crashes from happening since Google Chrome isolates each individual activity; basically, if one part malfunctions, the other tabs will not be affected and Chrome will keep running.
If you've been around for quite some time now, you'd know that earlier browsers would crash completely when one tab or internal part encountered an error. Google Chrome ushered in a new era of handling processes by creating multiple instances instead of just the one which also, inadvertently, means that a system will have to make up for it.
And we all just love opening one more tab each time, don't we?
In turn, systems will have to exert extra effort to run these tasks individually, and if you'd open that Task Manager, or the like, you'd notice a number of Chrome processes eating up your precious RAM. While Chrome won't suffer accidental crashes anymore, PCs, on the other hand, inevitably run slower due to the amount of tasks it has to handle. This negatively impacts Chrome's performance, and browsing may slowly stutter to a stop.
Thus, here are a number of tips users can activate on their own to keep those systems running optimally and browsing workflows smoothly.
10 Google Chrome Performance-Boosting Tips
First and foremost, keep tabs to a minimum. If you don't necessarily need that one extra tab, terminate it. Please.
If you really do need it open, at the very least, suspend the tab while it's not in use. Extensions like the Great Suspender automatically suspend tabs to save on RAM. Be warned, though, that tabs won't be recoverable once the site updates or users go offline. A whitelist feature that comes with the extension is handy for these scenarios.
An alternative option to suspending tabs is creating saved browser sessions. Session Buddy and TabCloud+ are some of the extensions that save all browsing sessions in one window. Users may then close this group of tabs with just one click and open them simultaneously the next time. Like mentioned above, this carries the same downsides as well.
On that same note, disable extensions you don't normally use or, if possible, remove them completely. These can be toggled under Chrome settings, More Tools and then Extensions. Removing extensions are safe, in case you're wondering.
In addition, removing plug-ins is safe too. These, like extensions, eat up your RAM as well. The plug-ins list can be accessed by typing in chrome://plugins on the address bar. Users can then either delete or disable each plug-in manually.
For important plug-ins that normally pop up on sites you frequently visit, that is, Flash player, users can specify when these plug-ins run by toggling the "Let me choose when to run plug-in content" option. This is accessible through the Settings menu, under Show Advanced Settings, Privacy, and then Content. Once enabled, users will be notified whenever a specific plug-in needs to run to display a web page correctly.
Under advanced settings, users may also choose to clear out web caches once they notice a slight delay in loading. While stored web caches generally boost loading times, there comes a point when it has stored too much data. In effect, Google Chrome has to work harder to find related caches to load on web pages.
An alternative to deleting web caches completely is enabling Simple Cache for HTTP. This reallocates how caches are handled by the system, which should improve Chrome's speed. To access the feature, enter chrome://flags/#enable-simple-cache-backend into the address bar. Hit Enable to change it from its default settings.
For systems that really do suffer persistent sluggishness, turning off background prefetching may be your last call; located under Privacy settings. This handy feature loads web pages proactively before the user even thinks about accessing it, making loading times much faster. This also means it bites away at your RAM in the background and may not always predict the right content to load, meaning wasted memory allocation. Again, we only recommend it for painstakingly slower(-est) systems.
Lastly, if a system and Chrome actually perform according to standards, it may be the user's internet connection itself that affects performance. Using Google's Data Saver extension might be of help as it compresses non-encrypted data through the company's servers, meaning fewer data to transfer and faster loading speeds. Be warned that connections not on a secure line (HTTPS or incognito) will be discovered by Google.
Were these tips helpful to you? Tell us in the comments section below. We'll be glad to hear some awesome feedback and perhaps learn of other effective ways to improve Google Chrome's performance.
