Set a new home page in three steps
Chrome's home page is the page that loads when you click the home button or open a new window. By default, it shows your most visited sites and search bar. You can change it to any website you want — Google, your email, a news site, or a blank page.
Open Chrome and click the three vertical dots in the top right corner. Select Settings from the menu. On the left side, click Appearance.
Under the "Home button" section, turn on the toggle next to Show home button if it is not already on. Then click in the text field below it and type the full web address of the page you want — for example, https://www.google.com or https://mail.google.com. Chrome saves your choice automatically.
Key Takeaways
- The home button appears in Chrome's toolbar only after you turn it on in Settings under Appearance.
- You can set your home page to any website by entering its full web address in the home button field.
- Chrome also lets you choose what appears when you open a new tab, which is a separate setting from the home page.
- If you do not want a home button at all, you can leave the toggle off and use keyboard shortcuts or bookmarks instead.
The difference between home page and new tab page
Chrome treats these as two separate things. Your home page is what loads when you click the home button in the toolbar. Your new tab page is what appears when you press Ctrl+T (or Cmd+T on Mac) or click the plus sign to open a fresh tab.
Most people never see their home page because they open new tabs instead. If you want to change what appears when you open a new tab, go to Settings, click Appearance, and look for the "On startup" section. You can choose to show your home page, your most visited sites, or a blank page.
Using a blank page as your home page
If you prefer to start with nothing, you can set your home page to a blank page. In the home button field under Settings > Appearance, type about:blank instead of a web address. This loads an empty page with no content or suggestions.
A blank page loads faster than a page full of tiles and recommendations, and it gives you a clean slate to navigate wherever you want next. Some people use this when they find themselves clicking the home button out of habit and want to be more intentional about where they go.
Changing what appears when Chrome starts up
The "On startup" setting controls what Chrome shows when you first open the browser, which is different from what the home button does. Go to Settings, click Appearance, and scroll to the "On startup" section.
You have three options: open the home page you set above, open the tabs from your last session, or open a blank page. If you choose "Open the home page," Chrome will load whatever website you entered in the home button field. If you choose "Open the tabs from your last session," Chrome remembers which pages you had open and reopens them.
Setting multiple pages to open at startup
If you want more than one page to load when Chrome starts, go to Settings and click Appearance. Under "On startup," select Open a specific page or set of pages. Click Add a new page and type the web address of each page you want to open.
Chrome will open all of these pages in separate tabs the next time you start the browser. This is useful if you always start your day by checking email, a calendar, and a news site — you can have all three load at once instead of navigating to each one manually.
Resetting your home page to Chrome's default
If you want to go back to Chrome's original home page, go to Settings and click Appearance. Under the "Home button" section, click Use default. Chrome will reset your home page to show your most visited sites and the search bar.
You can also turn off the home button entirely by clicking the toggle next to "Show home button." This removes the button from your toolbar, though you can always turn it back on later using the same setting.
Troubleshooting home page changes that do not stick
If you change your home page but Chrome keeps reverting to a different page, a browser extension may be overriding your setting. Go to Settings, click Extensions on the left side, and look for any extension you do not recognize or did not install yourself. Click the trash icon to remove it.
If you have a lot of extensions, disable them one at a time and check whether your home page setting stays. Once you find the culprit, you can decide whether to remove it or adjust its settings. Some extensions ask for permission to change your home page when you install them — if you see that prompt, you can click "Cancel" to prevent the change.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I set a different home page on different devices?
Yes. Each device has its own Chrome settings. If you sign into your Google account on multiple devices, Chrome can sync your settings across them, but you can also turn off sync for individual settings. Go to Settings, click Sync and Google services, and toggle off Sync everything to choose which settings to sync.
What if the home button does not appear after I turn it on?
Restart Chrome completely — close all windows and reopen the browser. If it still does not appear, check that you actually clicked the toggle to turn it on. The toggle should be blue and switched to the right when it is active. If you are still not seeing it, try clearing your browser cache by going to Settings > Privacy and security > Clear browsing data.
Can I use a local file as my home page?
Yes, but you need the full file path. On Windows, type file:///C:/Users/YourName/Documents/mypage.html. On Mac, type file:///Users/YourName/Documents/mypage.html. Replace the path with wherever your file actually is. This is useful if you want a personal dashboard or notes page that is not hosted online.
Does changing my home page affect my privacy or security?
No. Your home page is just a website that loads when you click a button. Changing it does not affect your privacy settings, security, or how Chrome handles your data. The only exception is if a malicious website tricks you into setting it as your home page — in that case, the site itself may be unsafe, not the act of setting it.