How to Change Home Page and Startup Behavior in Windows

Most web browsers for Windows provide the option to designate any website as your home page. Here's how to change the home page and startup behavior for several popular Windows browsers.

Instructions in this article apply to Google Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Edge, and Internet Explorer 11 for Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 7.

How to Change the Google Chrome Home Page

In Google Chrome, you can choose one or multiple pages to launch at startup:

Select the three dots in the top-right corner of Chrome and choose Settings from the drop-down menu.
Scroll down to the Appearance section and select the Show home button toggle to enable it (if it's not already enabled).
Select Enter custom web address and enter the URL for your desired home page.
Alternatively, scroll down to the On startup section and select Open a specific page or set of pages to designate which page(s) you want to open when you launch Chrome.

Select Continue where you left off to restore your previous browsing session, loading all tabs and windows that were open the last time you used Chrome.

How to Change the IE 11 Startup Page

The final version of Internet Explorer allows you to set a custom home page.

Select the Settings gear in the top-right corner of IE 11 and choose Internet options from the drop-down menu.
Select the General tab (if it is not already selected) and enter the URL that you wish to set as your home page under the Home Page section.

To open multiple pages in separate tabs, enter each URL on a separate line.
Make sure Start with home page is selected under the Startup section.

How to Change the Home Page for Microsoft Edge

The default browser for Windows 10, Microsoft Edge makes it easy to control what page or pages load at startup.

Select the three dots in the top-right corner of Edge, then choose Settings from the drop-down menu.
Select On startup under Settings.
Select Open a specific page or pages, then select Add a new page.
Enter the URL for your desired home page, then select Add.

Select New tab page under Settings to control what page Edge displays whenever a new tab is opened.

How to Change the Firefox Startup Page

Mozilla Firefox's startup behavior is controlled through the browser's preferences.

Select the hamburger menu in the top-right corner of Firefox and choose Options from the drop-down menu.

You can also enter about:preferences in the address bar to access Firefox's settings.
Select Home on the left side.
Select the Homepage and new windows drop-down menu and choose Custom URLs.

Scroll down to the Firefox Home Content section to customize the default Firefox home page.
Type the URL for your desired home page. Changes are saved automatically, so you can just close the Firefox settings.

How to Set the Homepage for the Opera Browser

Opera offers you the choice to display its Speed Dial interface or a page of your choosing each time the application starts up.

Select the O in the top-left corner of the browser, then choose Settings from the drop-down menu.

You can also get to Opera's settings by using the keyboard shortcut ALT + P.
Select Basic on the left side.
Scroll down to the On startup section and select Open a specific page or set of pages.
Select Add a new page.
Enter the desired URL, then select Add.