How to Create Your Own Google Chrome Themes
Customizing our computers is a cool way to personalize the machine we work on. Working on a computer that we have personalized and are comfortable with increases our productivity. There are various methods in which you can customize your computer; one of these methods is to customize the look of your favorite web browser.
Personally, I prefer Google Chrome over all other web browsers. I like the quick response time and security it offers. The browser also offers a gallery of themes that can be used to customize its look. But instead of selecting something from a list, I like to create my own themes.
Below you will find the tools that I use to create my browser themes for Google Chrome. I hope they will help you personalize your Chrome experience as they helped me.
1. ChromeThemeMaker
ChromeThemeMaker is the first entry in my list because it is the easiest one to use. The application is basically an online tool. It lets you modify numerous factors that contribute to the look of Google Chrome. You can edit the frame, toolbar, tab, and background of your Chrome window.
You can select from a list of available options for each modifiable control.
Alternatively you can upload your own options to give your theme a truly personal touch. The site provides some samples for inspiration.
When you are done editing your theme, you can either download it or directly apply it to your Chrome.
ChromeThemeMaker can be visited here.
2. CRX Theme Creator
CRX Theme Creator is a freeware application for Windows operating systems. The slight delay in response time experienced in ChromeThemeMaker is absent in CRX because it is a desktop application. The app comes as an EXE download sized at 256 KB. To run CRX you simply double-click its EXE file – no installation is required. This is what the programs looks like when running.
Through a single window you are able to control almost all aspects of Chrome’s look. To name a few, you can set colors for the toolbar, bookmark text, and the browser’s frame.
You can also set images for the tab background, frame, and toolbar.
After completing your modifications you can name your theme and create it to be loaded to Chrome or shared on ChromeTheme.net.
3. Chromium Theme Builder
Chromium Theme Builder is another desktop application for creating Google Chrome themes. This one has comes as a ZIP archive sized at 816 KB. You have to decompress the archive and run the extracted EXE file to run the program. Just like CRX, Chromium Theme Builder does not require an installation. This is how the program looks like while running.
Usage of the application is very simple. A mini-view of Google Chrome is presented in the app’s interface. You click on the Chrome element that you wish to modify. Doing so will open the images folder of that element. All you have to do is edit the PNG images contained within this folder.
Repeating this step for all Chrome elements will give you a fully customized Google Chrome theme that you can later build and test using the application.
