Over time, your Google Chrome bookmark bar can become a chaotic, unreadable mess. If you have bookmarked fifty different websites—ranging from work portals and financial spreadsheets to recipes and travel blogs—finding the specific link you need becomes a frustrating chore.
Instead of deleting your old bookmarks or letting them spill over into the hidden drop-down menu, you can organize them hierarchically by creating Bookmark Folders. This allows you to group related websites together under a single, clickable icon on your bookmark bar.
How to Create a Folder on the Bookmark Bar
The fastest way to organize your bookmarks is to create a folder directly on the horizontal Bookmark Bar that sits just below the address bar.
- Ensure your Bookmark Bar is visible. (If you cannot see it, press Ctrl + Shift + B on Windows or Cmd + Shift + B on a Mac).
- Find an empty, blank space on the Bookmark Bar and Right-click on it.
- A drop-down menu will appear. Click on Add folder.
- A small pop-up window will appear. Type a descriptive name for your new folder into the Name box (for example, “Work Projects” or “Recipes”).
- Click the blue Save button.
Your new folder will instantly appear on the Bookmark Bar. It will look like a tiny grey file folder icon next to your text.
How to Add Websites to the Folder
Once the folder exists, getting your bookmarks into it is incredibly simple.
Method 1: Drag and Drop (Existing Bookmarks)
If you already have a chaotic row of bookmarks sitting on your bar, simply click and hold a bookmark icon, drag it over until your mouse hovers directly on top of the new folder, and let go. The bookmark will drop inside.
Method 2: Saving Directly (New Bookmarks)
When you are visiting a brand-new website that you want to save:
- Click the Star icon on the far right side of the address bar.
- In the pop-up menu that appears, look for the drop-down menu labelled Folder.
- Click the drop-down and select your newly created folder (e.g., “Recipes”).
- Click Done.
How to Manage and Reorder Folders
To view the contents of a folder, simply click on it once. A drop-down menu will appear displaying all the bookmarks hidden inside.
If you want to reorder the websites inside the folder to prioritize the most important ones at the top, just click the folder to open it, then click and drag the individual bookmarks up or down the list.
You can even nest folders inside of other folders. If you open the Chrome Bookmark Manager (Three Dots Menu > Bookmarks and lists > Bookmark Manager), you can right-click anywhere to create a new folder, allowing you to build complex organizational trees like Recipes > Desserts > Chocolate.