Set a new homepage in Chrome in three steps
Your Chrome homepage is the page that loads when you open a new tab or click the home button. By default, Chrome shows a blank page with a search box. You can change this to any website — Google, your email, a news site, or anything else you use regularly.
The process takes less than a minute and happens entirely in Chrome's settings. You do not need to install anything or restart your browser.
Key Takeaways
- Chrome's default homepage is a blank page with a search box, but you can change it to any website you visit often.
- The homepage setting is separate from the new tab page — changing one does not change the other.
- You can set a homepage by pasting any web address into Chrome's settings under Appearance.
- If you want the home button to show, you must turn it on in the same settings menu, since it is hidden by default.
- Your homepage choice syncs across devices if you are signed into Chrome with a Google account.
Turn on the home button and set your homepage
Start by opening Chrome and clicking the three vertical dots in the top right corner. Select Settings from the menu that appears.
On the left side of the Settings page, click Appearance. Look for the section labeled "Home button" near the top. Toggle the switch next to "Show home button" to turn it on. A home icon will now appear in your toolbar next to the address bar.
Just below that toggle, you will see two radio button options: "New Tab page" and "Open a specific page or set of pages". Click the second option, "Open a specific page or set of pages". A text field will appear below it.
Click inside that text field and paste or type the web address of the site you want as your homepage. For example, type www.google.com, www.bbc.com, mail.google.com, or any other URL. Press Enter when you are done. Chrome saves this automatically — you do not need to click a Save button.
Test your new homepage
Click the home button (the house icon) in your toolbar to see your new homepage load. It should display the website you just entered.
If the page does not load, go back to Settings > Appearance and check that you typed the web address correctly. Common mistakes include forgetting www. at the start or leaving out the .com at the end. Most sites work with or without the www, but if one does not load, try adding it.
Set multiple pages to open at once
Chrome lets you open more than one page when you click the home button. This is useful if you want your email, calendar, and news site to all load together.
In the same "Open a specific page or set of pages" section, click the Add a new page button. A new text field appears. Type or paste the address of a second website and press Enter. Repeat this for as many sites as you want.
Now when you click the home button, all of those pages will open in separate tabs at once. You can delete any page from this list by clicking the X button next to its address.
Understand the difference between homepage and new tab page
Chrome has two separate settings that people often confuse. The homepage is what loads when you click the home button in your toolbar. The new tab page is what loads when you press Ctrl+T (or Cmd+T on Mac) or click the plus sign to open a new tab.
By default, both show a blank page with a search box. You can change them independently. If you want your new tab page to show something different from your homepage, go back to Settings > Appearance and look for the "New tab page" section. You can customize it there, though your options are more limited — you can only choose from Google, Bing, Yahoo, or a blank page.
Fix a homepage that will not load
If you set a homepage but it does not load when you click the home button, the most common cause is a typo in the web address. Go back to Settings > Appearance and check the URL character by character.
Another reason a page might not load is if your internet connection is down. Click the home button again once your connection is back.
If you entered a page that requires you to log in — like your email or a work portal — Chrome will load the login page, not your inbox. You will need to sign in each time, or use your browser's password manager to save your login so it fills in automatically.
Sync your homepage across devices
If you are signed into Chrome with a Google account, your homepage setting syncs to all devices where you use that account. Change your homepage on your laptop, and it will appear on your phone or tablet the next time you open Chrome.
To check if you are signed in, look at the top right corner of Chrome. If you see your name or a profile picture, you are signed in and syncing is on. If you see a "Sign in to Chrome" button, you are not signed in, and your settings will not sync to other devices.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between the home button and the back button?
The back button (arrow pointing left) takes you to the previous page you were viewing. The home button (house icon) takes you to the homepage you set in settings. They do different things and are located next to each other in your toolbar.
Can I set a blank page as my homepage?
Yes. In Settings > Appearance, select "New Tab page" instead of "Open a specific page or set of pages". This will show a blank page with a search box when you click the home button, just like the default.
Will changing my homepage affect my search history or bookmarks?
No. Your homepage setting only controls what page loads when you click the home button. It does not change your search history, bookmarks, or any other Chrome data.
Can I set a local file on my computer as my homepage?
Yes, but it requires typing a file path instead of a web address. In the homepage field, type file:///C:/Users/YourName/Documents/filename.html on Windows, or file:///Users/YourName/Documents/filename.html on Mac. Replace the path with the actual location of your file.
What happens if I delete the website I set as my homepage?
If the website goes offline or is removed from the internet, clicking the home button will show an error page. Go back to Settings > Appearance and enter a different web address.