What a default page is and why you might want to change it

Your default page (also called your home page) is the webpage Chrome opens when you click the home button or start a new window. By default, Chrome opens to a blank page with a search box. You can change this to any website you visit regularly — your email inbox, a news site, a work dashboard, or anything else.

The home button does not appear in Chrome by default, so you may need to turn it on first. Once you do, clicking it will take you straight to whatever page you choose, saving you a step each time you start browsing.

Key Takeaways

  • The home button must be turned on in Chrome settings before it will appear in your toolbar.
  • You can set your default page to any URL, or choose to open a specific set of tabs every time you start Chrome.
  • Chrome's default behavior is to open a blank page with a search box, but you can change this in three different ways.
  • Your default page setting applies to the home button only — it does not affect what happens when you open a new tab.

Turn on the home button in your toolbar

The home button is hidden by default in Chrome. To make it visible, open Chrome and click the three vertical dots in the top right corner. Select Settings from the menu.

On the left side, click Appearance. Look for the option labeled Show home button and toggle it on. A home icon will now appear in your toolbar to the left of the address bar. You can click this button at any time to return to your default page.

Set a single website as your default page

Once the home button is visible, go back to Settings and click Appearance again. Under the home button toggle, you will see two radio button options: Open the home page and Open the new tab page. Select Open the home page.

A text field will appear below that option. Type the full web address of the page you want to open — for example, https://www.gmail.com or https://www.bbc.com. Chrome will save this automatically. The next time you click the home button, it will load that page.

Open multiple tabs automatically when you start Chrome

Instead of a single default page, you can tell Chrome to open a specific set of tabs every time you launch the browser. Go to Settings and click On startup on the left side.

Select the option Open a specific page or set of pages. Click Add a new page and type each URL you want to open. You can add as many as you need. When you restart Chrome, all of those pages will load in separate tabs automatically. This is useful if you always check the same handful of sites first thing — email, calendar, news, and a work tool, for example.

The difference between your default page and your new tab page

Your default page (set via the home button) is separate from your new tab page. When you press Ctrl+T (Windows) or Command+T (Mac) to open a new tab, Chrome shows the new tab page by default — a blank screen with a search box, shortcuts to your most visited sites, and sometimes news headlines.

You cannot change what appears on the new tab page itself, but you can install extensions from the Chrome Web Store that replace it with a custom design. If you want a specific page to open every time you create a new tab, the startup setting described above is a better approach — set Chrome to open that page automatically when you launch the browser, and you will see it right away.

Troubleshooting: your default page is not loading

If you set a default page but it does not appear when you click the home button, first check that you entered the full URL correctly, including https:// at the start. Chrome sometimes has trouble with incomplete addresses.

If the URL is correct but the page still will not load, the website itself may be down, or your internet connection may be temporarily unavailable. Try typing the address directly into the address bar to confirm the site is reachable. If it loads that way, restart Chrome and try the home button again. If the page never loads, remove it from your settings and choose a different one.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I set a different default page for each profile in Chrome?

Yes. Chrome allows multiple user profiles, and each one has its own settings. If you have set up more than one profile, you can log into each one separately and set a different default page for each. Click your profile icon in the top right corner to switch between profiles.

What happens if I delete the website I set as my default page?

If the website shuts down or changes its address, clicking the home button will show an error. Go back to Settings, click Appearance, and enter a new URL. You can change your default page at any time without losing any other settings.

Does setting a default page affect what my family members see?

No. Each user profile in Chrome has separate settings. If you share a computer with others, make sure each person has their own profile so their default page and browsing history remain private.

Can I set a local file on my computer as my default page?

Yes, but the process is different. You need to type the file path in the format file:///C:/Users/YourName/Documents/filename.html (Windows) or file:///Users/YourName/Documents/filename.html (Mac). This works only for HTML files stored on your computer.