When Google does something they do it really well and Gmail is a really good example of that in action. Google has taken the idea of a free email service and turned it into so much more. But there’s always room for improvement and sometimes people need that extra bit of functionality from something that can only come from an add-on – which Google refers to as “gadgets” – for their Gmail client.

The really neat thing about Gmail gadgets is that most people don’t even know they exist. Even better there are some of them that add that extra bit of functionality to Gmail that you’ll wind up loving. And if you break your Gmail….don’t worry….Google have a reset function built in for you.

Here are a few examples to get you started…

1. Add Any Gadget by URL

This is one of the first gadgets you need to install on Gmail. Most of the gadgets are hosted internally within Google and they’re accessed from the “Labs” section in Gmail settings. But some other gadgets are only available on their own and separate URL so this add-on is something you’re going to need if you really want to experiment.

2. Canned Responses

If you’re feeling particularly lazy, this add-on allows you to reply to emails with canned responses that you put together yourself – it appears as a button next to the compose form for when you’re replying. All you need to do is click on the drop-down box and choose your canned response and on a serious note this could seriously help streamline those mundane replies you have to make on a regular basis.

3. Message Translations

This add-on ties in with Google translator, so you can receive and read massages in other languages now too! OK you might not need to do this very often but it’s a really nice feature to have built into your Gmail account if you deal with non-English writing people every now and then.

4. Facebook

Want to keep an eye on your friends status updates on Facebook but from inside your Gmail inbox? This neat little gadget takes care of that need for you and fits itself down the left-hand side of your inbox so you can see what people are up to while you’re working.

5. Send And Archive

Now this is a really useful add-on that’s up there with the enterprise level email functions that some of us get to enjoy. This add-on sends your email and archives it at the same time – simple genius and saves you a lot of time archiving stuff later on. This is a real timesaver and a great way to reduce clutter.

6. Undo Send

How many times have you sent an email and a split second later thought “oh no…oh no no no!”? Yup me too and the Undo Send add-on gives you a few seconds to stop that email from being sent – it’s like having a time machine with very limited capabilities really.

7. Remember The Milk

Are you always forgetting things unless somebody gives you a reminder? You write down a to-do list and then forget where you put that too? Remember The Milk is an excellent gadget for Gmail that can also sync up with your Smartphone if you want reminders there too – it literally makes sure you never forget anything ever again.

So there’s a list of 7 useful Gmail add-ons or gadgets that you can get started with straight away and there’s plenty more in there for you to experiment with too. Plus, as we said earlier, if you manage to break your Gmail there’s a reset function built into the “Labs” section of Gmail that allows you to put everything back to how it was before.

This guest post is written by Lior Levin, a marketing consultant for an online company that provides applications such as a to-do list app, and who also advises for a custom neon signs store.