How to Zoom In and Out on a Webpage in Google Chrome

The Discomfort of Tiny Text

Modern high-resolution computer monitors are fantastic for watching 4K movies and editing massive spreadsheets. However, they introduce a significant problem when browsing the internet: because the screen packs so many pixels into a small physical space, the text on older websites often appears microscopic.

Straining your eyes to read tiny grey font on a bright white background is uncomfortable and can cause severe headaches. While you could move your face closer to the screen, a much better solution is to simply force the web browser to magnify the page.

Google Chrome includes several built-in tools that allow you to instantly zoom in on a specific webpage, or permanently increase the default zoom level for the entire internet.

Method 1: The Quick Keyboard Shortcuts

If you only need to magnify a single website (like a specific news article or a forum post), using keyboard shortcuts is the fastest method. This method works perfectly on Windows, Mac, and Chromebooks.

• To Zoom In (Make everything bigger): Press and hold the Ctrl key (or Command key on a Mac) and press the Plus (+) key at the top of your keyboard. Every time you press the Plus key, the page will magnify by an additional 10%.
• To Zoom Out (Make everything smaller): Press and hold the Ctrl key (or Command key) and press the Minus (-) key.
• To Reset to Default: If you zoomed in too far and the page looks broken, press Ctrl + 0 (the number zero). This instantly resets the page to the standard 100% zoom level.

Method 2: Using the Mouse Wheel

If you prefer using your mouse, you can achieve the exact same effect without touching the plus or minus keys.

1. Open Google Chrome and navigate to the webpage you want to read.
2. Press and hold the Ctrl key (or Command key on a Mac).
3. While holding the key down, roll the scroll wheel on your mouse upward to zoom in.
4. Roll the scroll wheel downward to zoom out.

Note: If you are using a laptop trackpad, you can simply place two fingers on the trackpad and spread them apart (the “pinch-to-zoom” gesture) just like you would on a smartphone screen.

Method 3: Using the Chrome Menu

If you do not want to use keyboard shortcuts or a mouse wheel, you can use the graphical interface built into the browser.

1. Click the three vertical dots (⋮) in the extreme top right corner of the Google Chrome window.
2. Look halfway down the menu for the section labeled Zoom.
3. Click the Plus (+) icon to magnify the page, or the Minus (-) icon to shrink it.
4. Click the small square icon in the middle to enter Full Screen mode (which hides all tabs and menus). You can press the F11 key to exit Full Screen mode later.

How to Permanently Increase the Default Zoom

The methods above are temporary. Chrome will remember the zoom level for that specific website, but if you visit a brand new website tomorrow, it will load at the default 100% size.

If you have bad eyesight or use a massive 4K monitor, you might want every website on the internet to automatically load at 125% or 150% magnification so you never have to squint again.

1. Click the three vertical dots (⋮) in the top right corner of Chrome.
2. Click on Settings near the bottom of the list.
3. Click on Appearance in the left-hand sidebar menu.
4. Look for the Page zoom dropdown menu on the right side of the screen.
5. Click the dropdown and change it from 100% to a larger number, such as 125% or 150%.

The change is permanent and applies immediately. From now on, every single website you visit will automatically scale up to your preferred comfortable reading size.