When browsing the internet, you can save a lot of time by using various shortcuts. These shortcuts can be within a specific browser or tied to a search engine. All of them are very helpful in saving you time and making you more efficient, overall.

Here are some shortcuts you should start using right now.

Opening and Closing Tabs

Keyboard shortcuts for opening and closing tabs are among the most essential ones for faster browsing. You cannot browse around quickly if you have to use the mouse to click the plus sign every time you want to open a tab. Opening a tab requires you to press CTRL+T while closing a tab requires you to press CTRL+W. These two are universal across browsers.

Changing Tabs Quickly

Every browser has the options for you to change tabs quickly. Depending on the browser, the shortcuts can differ, but once you get accustomed to them, you can move back and forth without ever turning to the mouse unless absolutely necessary. Since people usually use only one browser, you should learn the shortcuts for only one, depending on your default browser.

Using the CTRL key plus any number will select the tab which is under that number, left to right. You can select up to 9 tabs easily, this way.

Going Back and Forth Within a Tab

Let’s say you checked a link out and want to go back to the previous one but you do not want to press that left arrow button with your mouse. You can press ALT plus the LEFT ARROW KEY to move back to a previous link. If you want to move forward, you can press ALT and the RIGHT ARROW KEY. These two shortcuts are essential when operating within one tab.

Operating a Single Tab

Once you’re at a page, and you want to scroll down or up, you can use the arrow keys to move within a tab, or page up and page down. Both can get you around. You can use the TAB key to move within certain clickable areas of a page, let’s say a link or search bar. This is handy when there’s not that many clickable things on a page.

These shortcuts are universal and should help you increase your browsing speed and productivity. All of these can be done with just a keyboard, using the mouse only as a last resort tool.