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Comment by mtm7 | Hacker News Reader

Firefox keeps getting better. I really want to switch. The only thing that’s holding me back is the design. It just doesn’t look as modern as Chrome or Brave. The back button is a different height than the search bar; the tab container doesn’t line up with the search from the left side of the window. And it has a weird mix of slightly-square and rounded buttons, which makes it feel like a second-class browser.

I know that the average person isn’t concerned with these things, but I spend almost all of my day in a browser, and I want it to look as good (or better) than the competition.

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You like what you like, but I just want to point out that as a Firefox-first user, when I switch to Chrome to check that whatever I'm working on is cross-browser functional, I am struck with how bad Chrome looks. So I think some of what you perceive as "modern" is just what you're used to, and a short time after switching it will not bother you.

But, of course, you like whatever you like.

i think the problem is that firefox looks out of place when compared to chrome, safari, brave, vivaldi etc

> The back button is a different height than the search bar

If you right click the top bar, click Customize, click the "Density" menu on the bottom, and use "Compact", the back button is the same height.

Also note that a large Back button is a result of usability research, as the Back button is the most clicked item in the browser.

If you really wanted to switch, as you say, you would've done so regardless of aesthetic imperfections.

That’s a strange take.

If you’re interested in having Chrome’s look in Firefox, check out MaterialFox.

https://github.com/muckSponge/MaterialFox

This is actually amazing! Completely changes the feel of the browser. It makes much more of a difference than I imagined it would. It feels so so much better on Mac.

Wow, I didn't even realize this was possible. It looks really nice. Thanks!

Unfortunately userchrome.css breaks frequently with firefox updates and is a pain to maintain since it is outside of the extension ecosystem.

There used to be a great addon called ClassicThemeRestorer that got killed during firefox's terrible web extension debacle. It lives on in https://github.com/Aris-t2/CustomCSSforFx but different parts break everytime the fickle designers at mozilla change their mind on what a tab should look like.

I also don't like the UI, but it's only a default. After installing, right click anywhere on the top UI to pull up "Customize...", then in the tab that appears, select "Density" and change it from Normal to "Compact".

The compact UI has back/forward buttons being the same size. The UI also takes up less space and is generally nicer IMO

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