guides for shipping better extensions
Practical write-ups on Chrome extension analytics, Manifest V3 survival, retention math, and the small details that separate hobby extensions from real products.
Chrome Extension Permission Warnings That Kill Install Rate
The 'read and change all your data on all websites' warning is the single biggest CVR drop in a Chrome extension's install funnel. Here's how to migrate from broad host_permissions to activeTab + optional, with code and measurable before/after.
Chrome Extension A/B Testing Without a Backend or Remote Code
MV3 forbids remote code. Most extensions can't run a backend. Here's how to ship feature flags and A/B tests with chrome.storage, deterministic hashing, and your event stream — full code and per-variant analysis SQL.
Chrome Web Store SEO: How to Rank Your Extension Higher
CWS search is the #1 acquisition channel for most Chrome extensions. Here's what we know about the Chrome Web Store ranking algorithm, the signals that actually move position, and how to track your rank over time without Google's help.
Chrome Extension Onboarding: First 60 Seconds Decide Retention
Roughly half of all Chrome extension installers never use the extension once. The fix isn't a fancier welcome page — it's a specific MV3 pattern for the first 60 seconds after install, with code and SQL for drop-off measurement.
How to Get More Chrome Extension Users (Data-Backed Playbook)
Reviews compound, activation feeds reviews, rank compounds installs. A statistics-based playbook for growing a Chrome extension — prompt timing, expected response rates, the 90-day flywheel, and SQL to track every lever.
Chrome Extension Benchmarks 2026: Retention, Activation, Churn
Aggregate benchmarks from real Chrome extensions: activation rate, D7/D30 retention, time-to-uninstall, and review rate — split by category. What's normal, what's good, what's the moat.
Chrome Web Store Statistics 2026: Ratings, Reviews, Permissions
Aggregated statistics across 100,000+ Chrome extensions: rating distribution, review-count curves, permission frequency, update cadence, and bundle size. The actual numbers behind every CWS growth conversation.
Why Users Uninstall Your Chrome Extension (And How to Actually Find Out)
The Chrome Web Store gives you a weekly uninstall count and nothing else — no reason, no segment, no signal. Here are the four real uninstall patterns, how to detect each from your event stream, and how to ask the users who left without breaking trust.
Why Chrome Web Store Analytics Are Inaccurate (And What to Use Instead)
The Chrome Web Store dashboard lags by days, defines 'weekly users' without telling you how, hides version splits, and double-counts profiles. Here are the six accuracy problems extension devs hit, what numbers should diverge from your own SDK, and what CWS is still good for.
How to Measure DAU and MAU for a Chrome Extension (Without Pretending It's a Website)
DAU and MAU are the standard product-health numbers everyone reports — but the way they're defined for websites breaks in a Manifest V3 extension. The service worker dies, there is no continuous session, and the Web Store gives you nothing. Here's how to count active users correctly, with code that survives MV3.
Chrome Web Store Conversion Rate: Benchmarks, Levers, and What to Actually Measure
The conversion rate from Chrome Web Store listing view to install is the most important number you can't see in your Web Store dashboard. Here are the benchmarks, the four levers that actually move it, and how to measure the full funnel from impression to retained user without losing data at the Web Store gap.
Chrome Extension Install Attribution: How to Know Where Your Users Came From
The Chrome Web Store gives you install counts and nothing else — no UTM, no referrer, no campaign source. Here's the technique extension teams use to attribute installs back to the landing page, ad, or content that drove them, without breaking Chrome Web Store policy.
Chrome Extension Error Tracking in Manifest V3 (the Complete Guide)
Most error trackers built for websites quietly miss half the errors in a Chrome extension — service-worker exceptions, runtime.lastError, async rejections in detached contexts. Here's how to capture errors reliably in Manifest V3, and what to do with them once you have them.
Privacy-First Extension Analytics: What It Actually Means in 2026
Most analytics tools were built for websites — they leak browsing history, fingerprint users, and quietly put your Chrome extension at risk in the Web Store review. Here's what privacy-first extension analytics looks like, and how to evaluate it.
The Best Chrome Extension Analytics Tools in 2026 (Honest Comparison)
We tested every analytics tool people actually use for Chrome extensions — GA4, Mixpanel, Amplitude, Plausible, Aptabase, PostHog, and Crxlytics — against the things that matter for MV3: bundled SDK, install/uninstall, retention, privacy, and surviving service-worker termination. Here's how they stack up.
Chrome Extension Service Worker Keeps Stopping? Here's the Fix
Your Manifest V3 service worker goes inactive, alarms stop firing, and listeners seem dead. Here's why Chrome does it, the fixes that actually work, and the keep-alive hacks to avoid.
Google Analytics for Chrome Extensions: Why It Breaks (and What to Use Instead)
Adding GA4 to a Chrome extension looks simple — until the numbers come back wrong or empty. Here's why Google Analytics breaks in Manifest V3 extensions, and what actually works.
How to Track Chrome Extension Metrics: A 2026 Developer Guide
A practical guide to tracking installs, retention, feature usage, errors, and uninstalls in a Manifest V3 Chrome extension — with code, MV3 gotchas, and privacy notes.