How to Change Home Page and Startup Behavior in Windows

Google Chrome

1. Select the main menu button, represented by three dots in the upper right-hand corner of the browser window. When the drop-down menu appears, select Settings.

   

2. Chrome's Settings interface should now be visible in a new tab. Scroll down to the On startup section near the top, containing the following options:

   • Open the New Tab page: Chrome's New Tab page contains shortcuts and thumbnail images for your most frequently visited pages as well as a Google search bar.
   • Continue where you left off: Restores your previous browsing session, loading all tabs and windows that were open the last time you used Chrome.
   • Open a specific page or set of pages: Renders whatever page or pages are currently set as Chrome's home page (see below).

   

3. Scroll back up to the Appearance section. Select the box accompanying the Show Home button option if it does not already contain a checkmark.

   

4. Right below this option should be the Web address of the current home page. and the following two options.

Internet Explorer 11

1. Select the Gear icon, also known as the Action menu and located in the upper right-hand corner of your browser window.

2. When the drop-down menu appears, select Internet options.

   

3. IE11's Internet Options interface should now be visible, overlaying your browser window. Select the General tab, if it is not already selected.

4. Locate the Home Page section, found at the top of the window. The first part of this section is an editable field containing addresses of the current home page(s). To change this, enter the URL that you wish to set as your homepage or pages.

   Multiple home pages, also known as home page tabs, should each be entered on a separate line.

   

5. Directly below are three buttons, each which modify the URLs in this edit field. They are as follows:

   • Use current: Sets the value to the URL of the page you are currently viewing.
     
   • Use default: Sets the home page value to Microsoft's default landing page.
     
   • Use new tab: Sets the home page value to about:Tabs, which displays thumbnails of your most frequently visited pages as well as links that can reopen your last session or discover other interesting sites.

6. Below the Home page section is Startup, containing the following two options accompanied by radio buttons.

Microsoft Edge

1. Select the More actions menu, represented by three horizontally-placed dots and located in the upper right-hand corner of your browser window.

2. When the drop-down menu appears, select the option labeled Settings.

   

3. Edge's Settings interface should now be visible, overlaying the main browser window. Locate the Open with the section, highlighted in the screenshot to the left, which contains the following options each accompanied by a radio button.

   • Start page: Edge's customizable Start page contains a Bing search bar, a graphical MSN news feed, the latest weather in your area, and stock quotes.
   • New tab page: The New tab page is similar to the Start page, with one major exception which are icons to the Web's top sites (also customizable).
   • Previous pages: Loads the Web pages that were open at the end of your most recent browsing session.
     A specific page or pages Allow you to select from Bing or MSN as well as enter your own URLs.

   

4. You can also control what page Edge displays whenever a new tab is open via the Open new tabs with the drop-down menu. The available options are as follows:

   • Top sites and suggested content: Loads the content described above in the New tab page section.
   • Top sites: Loads a new tab containing the aforementioned top sites as well as the Bing search bar.
   • A blank page: Opens a new tab containing the Bing search bar and nothing else. There are links featured at the bottom of the page, however, to toggle the top sites and news feed display.

   

5. Once you are satisfied with your changes, select anywhere outside of the Settings interface to return to your browsing session.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Select the browser's main menu button, represented by three horizontal lines and located in the upper right-hand corner of the window. When the drop-down menu appears, select Options.

   You can also enter the following command shortcut in Firefox's address bar instead of selecting this menu option: about:preferences.​

   

2. Select Home in the left menu pane. Locate the New Windows and Tabs section, found towards the top of the page. The options in this section allow you to choose what you see when you open your homepage, new windows, or new tabs.

3. The first two options are:

   • Homepage and new windows: Select Firefox home (which is the default), a custom URL, or a blank page as the start page.
   • New tabs: Select Firefox home or a blank page when new tabs are opened.

   

4. Directly below is the Firefox Home Content section, which allows you to select the content shown on your Firefox Home screen. The options are as follows:

Opera

1. Select Opera's Menu button, located in the upper left-hand corner of the browser window. When the drop-down menu appears, select Settings. You can also utilize the following keyboard shortcut instead of selecting this menu option: ALT + P.

2. Opera's Settings interface should now be displayed in a new tab. Select Basic in the left menu pane, if it is not already selected.

3. Locate the On startup section, found at the top of the page containing the following three options accompanied by radio buttons: