Top 200 Most Useful Websites of 2012 [Part One]

AS part of our PC Tech Awards series, we’ve compiled the 200 most useful websites on the Internet. Most of these sites fall under the Utilities category, so we looked out for websites that solve at least one problem really well and they all have simple web addresses (URLs) that you can memorize thus saving you a trip to Google.

But the 200 will be published in four parts. Here’s Part One of PC Tech’s 200 Most Useful Websites online.

1. whatsmyip.net – Displays your IP address.
2. hidemy.info – Allows you to surf the web anonymously. Also helps you bypass your own/server cache. Works in the same way as anonymouse.org.
3. screenr.com – Record movies of your desktop and send them straight to YouTube.
4. isup.me – Check if the website you’re trying to visit is actually down, or if the problem is local (only you). The longer URL is downforeveryoneorjustme.com
5. ctrlq.org/screenshots – For capturing screenshots of web pages on mobile and desktops.
6. goo.gl – Shorten long URLs and convert URLs into QR codes.
7. unfurlr.come – Find the original URL that’s hiding behind a short URL.
8. qClock – Find the local time of a city using a Google Map.
9. copypastecharacter.com – Copy special characters that aren’t on your keyboard.
10. postpost.com – A better search engine for twitter.
11. lovelycharts.com – Create flowcharts, network diagrams, sitemaps, etc.
12. iconfinder.com – The best place to find icons of all sizes.
13. office.com – Download templates, clipart and images for your Office documents.
14. epayafrica.com – Helps you buy online with Mobile Money
15. followupthen.com – The easiest way to setup email reminders.
16. jotti.org – Scan any suspicious file or email attachment for viruses.
17. wolframalpha.com – Gets answers directly without searching.
18. printwhatyoulike.com – Print web pages without the clutter.
19. joliprint.com – Reformats news articles and blog content as a newspaper.
20. ctrql.org/rss – A search engine for RSS feeds.
21. e.ggtimer.com – A simple online timer for your daily needs.
22. coralcdn.org – If a site is down due to heavy traffic, try accessing it through coral CDN.
23. random.org – Pick random numbers, flip coins, and more.
24. pdfescape.com – Lets you can quickly edit PDFs in the browser itself.
25. viewer.zoho.com – Preview PDFs and Presentations directly in the browser.
26. tubemogul.com – Simultaneously upload videos to YouTube and other video sites.
27. ctrlq.org/dictation – Online voice recognition in the browser itself.
28. scr.im – Share you email address online without worrying about spam.
29. spypig.com – Now get read receipts for your email.
30. sizeasy.com – Visualize and compare the size of any product.
31. myfonts.com/WhatTheFont – Quickly determine the font name from an image.
32. google.com/webfonts – A good collection of open source fonts.
33. paper.li – Create a newspaper out of the links shared by your followers on Twitter.
34. regex.info – Helps you find data hidden in your photographs.
35. livestream.com – Broadcast events live over the web, including your desktop screen.
36. iwantmyname.com – Helps you search domains across all TLDs.
37. who.is – Helps you check if a domain name is available, and if so, gives you information about it.
38. homestyler.com – Design from scratch or re-model your home in 3D.
39. join.me – Share you screen with anyone over the web.
40. onlineocr.net – Recognize text from scanned PDFs.
41. flightstats.com – Track flight status at airports worldwide.
42. lmgtfy.com – Let Me Google That For You. Help your lazy/slow friends perform a quick Google Search.
43. wetransfer.com – For sharing really big files online.
44. hundredzeros.com – The site lets you download free Kindle books.
45. polishmywriting.com – Check your writing for spelling or grammatical errors.
46. marker.to – Easily highlight the important parts of a web page for sharing.
47. typewith.me – Work on the same document with multiple people.
48. psdgraphics.com – Download professionally designed Photoshop (PSD) and JPeg graphics for free. Includes buttons, backgrounds, e.t.c
49. newone.org – Formerly BoyGJ.com helps your find and try out CMS-based website templates. And offers lots other free stuff too.
50. AllAfrica.com – Read news from all of Africa’s leading newspapers. Well, almost all of them.

Still to come: 51-200 Most Useful Websites online.

Information from Digital Inspiration was used in this compilation.