What a default page is and why you might want to change it
When you open Chrome, it shows you a blank page with a search box, or it opens to whatever page you set as your home page. That opening page is your default page — the one Chrome loads automatically when you start the browser or click the home button. By default, Chrome shows a blank page, but you can change it to any website you want: your email, a news site, a work dashboard, or anything else you visit first thing.
Changing your default page takes about 30 seconds and requires only a few clicks in Chrome's settings. You have three options: keep the blank page, set a specific website, or open a group of tabs every time you start Chrome.
Key Takeaways
- Chrome's default page is blank unless you change it — you can set it to any website you want.
- The home button (the house icon in your toolbar) opens your default page, but it does not appear by default in Chrome.
- You can set a single page, multiple pages, or the pages you had open when you last closed Chrome.
- The setting lives in Chrome's Settings menu under "On startup" and "Home button" — two separate controls that do different things.
Turn on the home button if you do not see it
Chrome does not show a home button in the toolbar by default, so you may need to add it first. Look at the top left of your browser window, just to the right of the address bar. If you see a house icon, you already have the home button. If you do not, follow these steps to add it.
Click the three vertical dots in the top right corner of Chrome (the menu button). Select Settings from the dropdown. On the left side, click Appearance. Look for the toggle next to "Show home button" and click it to turn it on. A house icon will appear in your toolbar immediately. You can now click that icon anytime to jump to your default page.
Set a single website as your default page
Open Chrome and go to the website you want to set as your default page. For example, if you want Gmail to open every time you click the home button, navigate to Gmail first. Once you are on the page, click the three vertical dots in the top right corner and select Settings.
On the left side of the Settings page, click Appearance. Scroll down until you see the "Home button" section. Click the radio button next to "Custom URL" and paste the web address of the page you want in the box that appears. The address should start with https:// — for example, https://mail.google.com for Gmail or https://www.bbc.com for BBC News. Close the Settings tab, and your home button will now open that page.
Set multiple pages to open at once
If you want Chrome to open several pages every time you click the home button, you can set multiple URLs. Open Chrome and click the three vertical dots, then select Settings. On the left, click Appearance. Under the "Home button" section, click the radio button next to "Custom URL".
In the text box, enter each web address on a separate line. For example, you might enter:
https://mail.google.com https://www.weather.com https://www.reddit.com
When you click the home button, Chrome will open all three pages in separate tabs. This is useful if you have a set of sites you check every morning.
Open the pages you had open when you last closed Chrome
Chrome has a separate setting that controls what happens when you start the browser (not when you click the home button). If you want Chrome to reopen all the tabs you had open last time, you can set that too. Click the three vertical dots and select Settings. On the left side, click On startup.
You will see three options: "Open the New Tab page" (the blank page with a search box), "Continue where you left off" (reopen your last tabs), or "Open a specific page or set of pages" (similar to the home button setting). Select Continue where you left off. The next time you open Chrome, it will restore all the tabs you had open before you closed it.
The difference between the home button and the startup setting
These two settings control different things, and it is easy to mix them up. The home button is the house icon in your toolbar — it opens your default page whenever you click it. The On startup setting controls what Chrome shows when you first open the browser application itself.
You can set them independently. For example, you might want your home button to open Gmail, but you want Chrome to reopen your last tabs when you start the browser. Both settings live in Chrome's Settings menu, but in different places: "Appearance" for the home button, and "On startup" for the startup behavior. Check both if you want to control what opens and when.
Troubleshooting: Your default page is not opening
If you set a default page but it is not opening when you click the home button, first check that the home button is actually visible in your toolbar. If you do not see the house icon, go back to Settings > Appearance and turn on "Show home button".
If the home button is visible but nothing happens when you click it, the URL you entered may be incorrect. Go back to Settings > Appearance > Home button and check the web address. Make sure it starts with https:// and that there are no extra spaces. If you are unsure of the correct address, open the website in a new tab, copy the full address from the address bar, and paste it into the home button setting. If you are still having trouble, try clearing your browser cache: go to Settings > Privacy and security > Clear browsing data, select "All time", and click "Clear data".
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I set different default pages for different profiles in Chrome?
Yes. Chrome allows you to create multiple user profiles, and each profile has its own settings. If you have set up more than one profile, each one can have a different home page and startup behavior. Switch between profiles by clicking your profile icon in the top right corner of Chrome.
What if the website I want as my default page requires me to log in?
You can still set it as your default page. When you click the home button, Chrome will open the page, and you can log in as usual. Chrome will not automatically log you in — you will need to enter your credentials each time, unless you have saved your password in Chrome.
Can I set a blank page as my default instead of a website?
Yes. Go to Settings > Appearance > Home button and click the radio button next to "New Tab page". This will make your home button open a blank search page, which is Chrome's default behavior.
Does changing my default page affect my search engine?
No. Your default page and your search engine are separate settings. You can set Google as your search engine but have your home button open a different website. To change your search engine, go to Settings > Search engine and select from the list.
Will my default page setting sync across devices?
Yes, if you are signed into the same Google account on multiple devices and have sync turned on. Your home page setting will appear on all your devices. To check if sync is on, go to Settings > Sync and personalization and look for the toggle next to "Sync is on".