Tools

The sites worth keeping open in a browser tab.

6 lists120 entries100 with their own page

What gets in

No site is listed twice. A listing means we used it for a month first, and a free tier only counts as free if it survives the trial period.

Start here

Top four from Everyday websites

Google

A fast starting point for finding information, news, definitions, and everyday answers.

Tools

YouTube

A practical place for tutorials, courses, music, entertainment, and everyday video searches.

Tools

Wikipedia

A useful first stop for learning about people, places, history, and unfamiliar terms.

Tools

ChatGPT

Helpful for organizing ideas, explaining complex topics, improving writing, and turning questions into steps.

Tools

Everyday

1 list · the list itself

Ordered by how often we actually open them.

11 Oct

Everyday websites

Ordered by how often we actually open them, not by an absolute ranking. Each entry links to the site itself.

Tools / Everyday20 entries

Search engines

1 list · split by use-case

Where to type a question.

12 Oct

Search engines worth your defaults

Where to type a question. Ranked on the quality of the first page and on what the company does with your queries, which is the second half of the decision most people skip.

Tools / Search engines20 entries

Resource sites

1 list · split by topic

Files, references and archives.

12 Oct

Resource sites that stay useful

Places to get files, references and archives without a subscription or a legal question mark. Ranked on how long they have been reliable rather than on how much they hold.

Tools / Resource sites20 entries

News

1 list · split by topic

Judged on corrections policy and ownership, not tone.

12 Oct

News you can check

Ranked on corrections policy, ownership and whether a claim can be traced back to a document or a named source. Not on which way the editorial page leans.

Tools / News20 entries

Developer

1 list · split by use-case

Where code lives, runs and gets reviewed.

12 Oct

Where code lives and runs

Hosting, registries and the references you keep open all day. Ranked on how quickly you can leave, because the tools that are hardest to leave are usually the ones worth being careful about.

Tools / Developer20 entries

Communities

1 list · split by topic

Places where the answer comes from a person.

12 Oct

Where the answer comes from a person

Forums and networks ranked on the ratio of useful answers to noise. Every one of them is only as good as the moderation, which is why the small ones often win.

Tools / Communities20 entries