How to Add Shortcuts on Google Chrome (Desktop, Mobile & New Tab)

Google Chrome gives you several ways to create shortcuts — for websites, web apps, and even specific pages you visit constantly. The method that works best depends on what kind of shortcut you're creating, what device you're using, and how you want to access it later.

Here's a clear breakdown of every approach.

What "Shortcuts" Actually Means in Chrome

The word shortcut covers a few different things in Chrome:

• New Tab page shortcuts — the website tiles that appear when you open a new tab
• Desktop shortcuts — icons on your Windows or macOS desktop that open a site directly in Chrome
• Bookmarks — saved links accessible from the bookmarks bar or menu
• Home button shortcuts — setting a specific URL as your homepage

Each serves a different purpose, and Chrome handles them differently depending on your operating system.

How to Add Shortcuts to the Chrome New Tab Page 🔖

Every time you open a new tab in Chrome, you'll see a grid of shortcut tiles below the search bar. You can customize these manually.

To add a shortcut:

1. Open a new tab in Chrome
2. Scroll to the bottom-right of the shortcut grid and click "Add shortcut"
3. Enter the name you want displayed and the full URL (e.g., https://example.com)
4. Click Done

The shortcut tile will appear in your grid immediately.

To edit or remove a shortcut:

• Hover over the tile until three dots appear
• Click the dots and select Edit shortcut or Remove

Chrome also automatically suggests shortcuts based on your browsing history under "Most visited" mode. You can toggle between manually chosen shortcuts and auto-suggested ones by clicking the pencil icon in the bottom-right corner of the new tab page and adjusting the shortcut setting there.

How to Create a Desktop Shortcut from Chrome (Windows & macOS)

If you want a site or web app to behave more like a standalone application — with its own icon on your desktop — Chrome can generate that for you.

On Windows:

1. Navigate to the website in Chrome
2. Click the three-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner
3. Go to Save and share → Create shortcut
4. Name the shortcut
5. Check "Open as window" if you want it to open without Chrome's address bar (useful for web apps)
6. Click Create

The shortcut will appear on your desktop and in your Start menu as a Chrome App entry.

On macOS:

The desktop shortcut feature behaves slightly differently on macOS. Chrome can create app shortcuts that appear in your Applications folder and Dock, but macOS may restrict how these are handled depending on your system version and security settings. The same Save and share → Create shortcut path applies.

How to Add a Bookmark (and Use the Bookmarks Bar)

Bookmarks are the most flexible type of shortcut in Chrome — they're synced across devices when you're signed into your Google account.

To bookmark a page quickly:

• Click the star icon in the address bar, or press Ctrl+D (Windows/Linux) / Cmd+D (macOS)
• Choose where to save it — the Bookmarks bar puts it one click away under the address bar

To show the Bookmarks bar permanently:

• Press Ctrl+Shift+B (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+B (macOS)
• Or go to Menu → Bookmarks and lists → Show bookmarks bar

Organizing bookmarks into folders keeps things manageable if you're saving frequently.

Adding Shortcuts on Chrome for Android and iOS 📱

On mobile, Chrome shortcuts work differently because there's no desktop in the traditional sense.

Android:

1. Open the website in Chrome
2. Tap the three-dot menu
3. Select Add to Home screen
4. Name the shortcut and tap Add

The icon appears on your Android home screen and launches the site directly in Chrome (or as a standalone window for Progressive Web Apps).

iPhone/iPad (iOS):

Chrome on iOS doesn't natively support "Add to Home screen" the way Safari does — that feature is tied to Safari's engine on Apple's platform. To add a website shortcut to your iOS home screen from Chrome, you'd typically need to open the page in Safari and use Safari's share menu instead.

This is a meaningful platform limitation worth knowing before you troubleshoot what seems like a missing feature.

Factors That Affect Which Method Works for You

The Difference Between a Shortcut and a Bookmark

These two are often confused but serve distinct purposes:

• A bookmark lives inside Chrome and requires the browser to be open to access it
• A desktop or home screen shortcut launches directly from outside the browser, skipping a few steps

For heavy users of specific web tools — dashboards, project management apps, email clients — desktop shortcuts that open as windows can feel closer to native apps. For occasional reference sites, bookmarks are usually sufficient.

How useful each method is depends heavily on your workflow, the devices you use most, and whether you value quick access over organized storage. Someone managing dozens of client sites will prioritize differently than someone who just wants their banking site one click away.