How to Change the Homepage in Google Chrome

When you open Google Chrome, you might want it to automatically load your favourite daily news site, your company’s intranet portal, your email inbox, or a specific search engine. In Chrome, what most people colloquially call a “homepage” is actually referred to as the “On Startup” page. Customising this setting allows you to dictate exactly what loads the second you launch your browser, saving you time and streamlining your daily workflow.

The Difference Between the Startup Page and the Home Button

Before making changes, it is important to understand Google Chrome’s terminology, as it can be slightly confusing:

• Startup Page: This is the website (or set of websites) that automatically opens when you first launch the Chrome application on your computer.
• Homepage: This is the website you are taken to when you click the physical “Home” button (the little house icon) located next to the address bar.

Most users want to change the Startup Page, but we will cover how to customise both features.

How to Change the Startup Page on a Computer

This method works for Google Chrome on Windows, macOS, and Linux desktop computers.

1. Open Google Chrome on your computer.
2. Look at the top-right corner of the browser window and click the three vertical dots (⋮) to open the main menu.
3. Click on Settings from the drop-down list.
4. On the left-hand sidebar menu, click on On startup.
5. You will see three distinct options for how Chrome behaves when launched. Select the third option: Open a specific page or set of pages.
6. Click the Add a new page button.
7. A dialog box will appear. Type or paste the exact URL of the website you want (e.g., https://www.google.co.uk or https://www.bbc.co.uk/news) and click Add.

Pro Tip for Multiple Tabs: If you rely on several websites every day (like your email, calendar, and task manager), open all of them in separate tabs right now. Then, go to the “On startup” settings menu and click the Use current pages button. Chrome will save all your open tabs and automatically launch them together every time you start the browser.

How to Enable and Change the Home Button

If you want a quick shortcut to return to a specific site while browsing, you need to enable the Home button.

1. Go back to the Settings menu (the three vertical dots > Settings).
2. Click on Appearance in the left-hand sidebar.
3. Find the toggle for Show Home button and turn it ON.
4. A small house icon will instantly appear next to your address bar. Just beneath the toggle, you can choose what happens when you click it. Select the second option and type in your desired custom web address.

How to Change the Homepage on Android

Unlike the desktop version, the mobile version of Chrome for Android has a dedicated “Homepage” button that you can tap to instantly return to your favourite site.

1. Open the Chrome app on your Android smartphone or tablet.
2. Tap the three dots (⋮) in the top-right corner of the screen.
3. Tap Settings.
4. Scroll down to the “Advanced” section and tap on Homepage.
5. Ensure the toggle switch at the top is turned On.
6. Select Enter custom web address and type in the exact website URL you want the home button to link to.

Important Note for iOS Users: If you use an iPhone or iPad, Apple heavily restricts certain browser customisations on the operating system level. Because of these restrictions, the Google Chrome app on iOS does not feature a customisable Homepage button or Startup Page option.