Your browser’s home page plays an important role in how you start searching the web. Taking the time to set it up with the right site or page can go a long way in minimizing distractions and improving focus. Find out how to change the home page in Chrome and any web browser
All major desktop browsers allow you to change the home page to display something other than the default new tab (or vice versa).
How to change the home page in Chrome and any web browser
Here’s how to change the home page in Google Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari.
How to change the home page in Google Chrome
Google Chrome allows you to set the home page as a new tab page, pages from your last browsing session, or a custom page or set of pages.
1. Open the menu of Chrome (select the icon with three dots at the top left of the screen) and select Setting .
2. Select At the beginning in the sidebar.
3. In the section At the beginning you should find the following options:
- Open the New Tab page
- pick up where you left off
- Open a specific page or a set of pages
Open the New Tab page
Chrome opens with a new tab, so this is the default startup option. Select this if you (or a third-party extension or program) made any changes to the home page in Chrome that you want to revert.
pick up where you left off
Select this option if you want Chrome to pick up where you left off during the previous browsing session. If you have multiple tabs open, the browser will reopen each one automatically.
Open a specific page or a set of pages
Allows you to open a specific page or a set of pages at startup in Chrome. After selecting the option, select Add a new page repeatedly to enter the addresses of the pages you want the browser to open.
Alternatively, you can select Use current pages to add all sites within any open Chrome window as your home page(s).
How to change the home page in MozillaFirefox
Mozilla Firefox has several ways to change the default home page. For example, you can choose between a new tab (what Mozilla likes to call firefox-home ), a custom page(s), or a blank page. You can also set the browser to restore your previous browsing session at startup.
1. Open the menu of firefox and select Setting .
2. Switch to tab Start .
3. Use the dropdown menu next to Page of start and new windows to switch between the three options as follows:
- Firefox startup (default)
- custom urls
- blank page
Note: All three options also apply to the Firefox home page and new windows.
Firefox startup (default)
Firefox Home (default) is the default new tab page you see at startup and in new windows. Select it if you want to revert a previous change on the home page.
custom urls
You can set a custom page or set of pages to load at startup. If you choose to set up multiple pages, you must separate each URL with a vertical bar.
You can also use the button Use current pages to insert the addresses of all open pages in Firefox. Or you can select use bookmark to add pages from your bookmark library.
blank page
Select this option if you want to set a blank tab as the default home page. That’s ideal if you prefer zero distractions at the start.
Restore previous session
To access this option, you must switch to the tab General in the sidebar. Then check the box next to Restore previous session if you want Firefox to load your last browsing session every time you restart the browser.
How to change the home page in Microsoft Edge
Being a Chromium-based browser, Microsoft Edge features a set of startup options similar to Google Chrome. You can choose between the default new tab page, open tabs from the previous session, or various custom pages.
1. Open the menu Edge and select Setting .
2. Select Home, Home and new tabs in the sidebar of Setting .
3. In the section When Edge starts switch between the following options:
- Open the New Tab page
- Open tabs from previous session
- open these pages
Open the New Tab page
The default new tab page opens when you start Microsoft Edge. Select it to undo previous changes to the home page.
Open tabs from previous session
Automatically opens all tabs from your previous browsing session.
open these pages
Allows you to set a web page or multiple pages to load at startup. Use the button Add a new page to add new pages manually.
Or select Use all open tabs to add the addresses in all open tabs and windows automatically.
How to change the home page in Apple Safari
On Mac, Safari presents multiple options that can help you determine how the browser’s home page works.
1. Open Safari.
2. Select Safari > preferences in the menu bar.
3. On the tab General use the dropdown menus next to Safari opens with Y New windows open with options to modify the home page:
Safari opens with
Open the drop-down menu and select between a new window (default), a new private window, all windows from the last session, or all non-private windows from the previous session.
New windows open with
Use this option only if you configure Safari opens with in a new window .
- Home page: the page of default new tab in Safari.
- Homepage: opens a specific page at startup. Enter a custom page in the field next to the homepage if you select the option.
- Empty page: launch Safari with a blank tab.
- Same page: launch Safari with the last page you visited.
- Tabs for favorites: start Safari by loading items in your Favorites folder.
- Choose tab folder: choose a bookmarks folder to load Safari.
Don’t forget to learn more ways to customize Safari in macOS 11.0 Big Sur and later.
Mobile browsers always stay open in the background (unless you take the time to forcefully close them). So they don’t include options to change the home page. But you can modify how the home page or tabs behave on select browsers and platforms.
Google Chrome (Android only)
If you’re using Chrome on Android, you can set a default home page with a custom URL. Then you can touch the icon Start to start with a specific page instead of the default Chrome tab.
1. Open the menu of Chrome (select the icon with three dots) and select Setting .
2. Touch Homepage .
3. Turn on the switch next to Activated . Follow that by entering a custom web address in the field Enter custom web address .
Mozilla Firefox (iOS only)
Mozilla Firefox on iOS allows you to determine how new tabs start by default.
1. Open the menu of firefox and select Setting .
2. Select New tab .
3. Switch between the following options:
- Firefox Home : Firefox’s default new tab page.
- blank page : a default blank page.
- custom url : set up a specific site or page.
Microsoft Edge (Android and iOS)
If you use Microsoft Edge on your Android or iOS device, you can set Microsoft Edge to continue with your previous page or just a new page every time you reopen the browser after exiting to the device’s home screen.
1. Open the menu Edge and select Setting .
2. Touch Advanced configuration .
3. Select Continue browsing where I left off (default) or Open a new tab .
Setting your home page correctly the way you want can positively affect your experience with Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari. Don’t forget to experiment with each available startup configuration to find out what works best for you.
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