Set Up a Google Personalized Homepage

This article teaches you how to set up your Google Chrome homepage by editing your browser's settings. After doing that, you can add things to your homepage like apps, a new background, and more.

Steps

Choosing Your Home Page

  1. Open the Google Chrome browser. If you aren't already signed into your Google account in your Chrome browser, sign in now by clicking the person-shaped icon (it's to the left of the minimize button in the top right corner of your webpage) and entering your Google account email address and password.
  2. Click ⋮. This is in the top right corner of the Chrome window.
  3. Click Settings. It's toward the bottom of the drop-down menu here.
  4. Find the "On Startup" heading. It should be near the top of the settings page.
  5. Make sure Open the New Tab page is checked. While this is optional, the New Tab page will become your homepage due to its customizability. Therefore, having Google Chrome open to the New Tab page means your browser will always open to your homepage.
  6. Find the "Appearance" heading. It's below the "On Startup" section.
  7. Make sure Show Home Button is checked. Your Home button is in the top left corner of your Chrome window, and clicking it will take you to your homepage.
  8. Click Change. This is a link to the right of the site listed below Show Home Button.
  9. Click New Tab Page. The New Tab page is the most easily customized page in Google Chrome, so it will be your personalized page.
  10. Find the "Search" heading. It's immediately below the "Appearance" area.
  11. Click the box with your current search service listed. For example, if you use Google search, you'd click the box that says Google.
  12. Select a search engine. You have quite a few options available to you here:
    • Google Search
    • Babylon Search
    • AVG Secure Search
    • Delta Search
    • Live Search
    • SweetIM Search
    • YouTube Video Search
    • Yahoo!
    • Bing
    • AOL
    • Ask
  13. Review any other settings you might want to change. Once you've finished looking over your changes, you can move on to changing the homepage background.

Choosing Your Background

  1. Open the Chrome Webstore. From here, you can install anything from new backgrounds to task managers to video downloaders.
  2. Think about the items you want on your homepage. The following are a few easy-to-install types of personalization items:
    • Dashboards - A New Tab page makeover that drastically changes the background, bookmarks bar, search engine appearance, and more. Most dashboards allow you to swap back and forth between their interface and the New Tab interface with the click of a button.
    • Backgrounds - Changes the white New Tab background to a different theme.
    • Speed Dial - A customizable page with links to your favorite pages that replaces you New Tab page.
  3. Type a search term into the store search bar. The search bar is on the left side of the screen. For example:
    • Type dashboard in if you want to change the appearance of your homepage.
    • Type new tab background in if you want to change the background your homepage uses.
    • Type weather app to view an add-on program. Note that apps themselves don't display on your homepage.
  4. Press ↵ Enter. You may need to wait for a few seconds for your search results to load.
  5. Review the search results. Depending on what you searched, your results will vary; however, you'll likely see three headings: "Extensions", "Themes", and "Apps".
    • You can narrow down your search to display only one of these categories.
  6. Click the radio button that applies to your search. These are on the left side of the screen. For example, if you you were searching for a background, you'd check the Theme box.
    • You'd click Extension for a dashboard or weather widget.
    • You'd click App for an add-on program (e.g., a video downloader).
  7. Click Add to Chrome next to anything you wish to add. This blue button will be either to the right of your selected item or directly below it.
  8. Click Add when prompted. This will likely say Add Extension or Add App.
  9. Wait for your item to finish applying to your homepage. This may take a few minutes. If you're adding a new theme or a dashboard, you may need to restart your Chrome browser to view the changes.
  10. Click the home button. It's in the top left side of your Chrome window, directly to the right of the refresh button. Doing so will take you to your personalized homepage.
    • You can also access your apps from the homepage by clicking the Apps button below the Back arrow in the top left side of the window.

Tips

  • You can remove the pesky "recently viewed" thumbnails that show up below your search bar on the New Tab page by clicking the top right corner of each one. Note that they will refill after a browsing session.
  • If you miss the "iGoogle" service and you want to recapture its feeling, you can use services like iGoogle Portal or igHome.
  • You can change your profile image by clicking your current profile image in the top right corner of the New Tab page and then clicking Change on the enlarged image.

Warnings

  • Using a dashboard interface on your New Tab screen may limit your ability to use certain Chrome features (e.g., the recently-used section).

Related Articles

  • Use iGoogle
  • Get Your Article on the First Page of Google
  • Add a Gmail Button to Chrome
  • Set Ad Settings on Google
  • Personalize Your Google Chrome
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