How to Change the New Tab Page in Chrome

To change the new tab page in Chrome, you mostly don't need the Settings page at all. Google moved almost every new tab setting into a side panel that opens from the new tab page itself. This guide walks through every option: background and theme, shortcuts, cards and the footer, then the related settings people usually mean when they search for "Chrome new tab settings": startup pages, the home page, and what to do when an extension has taken over.

Note: The Customize Chrome panel only appears when you're signed in to Chrome with Google as your default search engine. With another search engine, Chrome shows a simpler new tab page without it. Why that happens.

Open the Customize Chrome panel

1. 1
   Open a new tab with Ctrl + T ( Cmd + T on a Mac).
2. 2
   Click Customize Chrome (the pencil button) in the lower-right corner of the page.
3. 3
   A side panel opens on the right. Every change you make shows up on the page straight away.

Change the background and theme

1. 1
   In the Customize Chrome panel, under Appearance, click Change theme.
2. 2
   Pick a collection and an image, or click Upload an image to use a photo from your computer.
3. 3
   Want something new every day? Open a collection and turn on Refresh daily.
4. 4
   Back under Appearance, choose a browser color. Chrome suggests one that matches your background, but you can pick any.
5. 5
   Choose Light, Dark or Device to set Chrome's color mode.

The theme you choose here colors the whole browser window, not just the new tab page.

Change the shortcuts

The tiles under the search box are Chrome's shortcuts. You can let Chrome pick them or curate them yourself.

1. 1
   In the Customize Chrome panel, find Shortcuts.
2. 2
   Choose My shortcuts to decide which sites appear, or Most visited sites to let Chrome fill the tiles from your browsing history.
3. 3
   With My shortcuts selected, click Add shortcut on the new tab page, type a name and the web address, and click Done.
4. 4
   To change a tile, point at it, click the three-dot More button and choose Edit shortcut or Remove.
5. 5
   To hide the tiles completely, turn off Show shortcuts.

Pro Tip: Choose My shortcuts if your tiles keep changing. With Most visited sites, a site you visited once by accident can push out one you rely on.

Chrome only shows a small, fixed number of shortcut tiles, with no folders or groups. When the tiles are full, the Add shortcut button disappears. If you need more room, see more shortcuts below.

Turn cards on or off

Below the shortcuts, Chrome can show cards such as "Resume browsing" (recent searches and pages) and tabs from your other devices.

1. 1
   In the Customize Chrome panel, open Cards.
2. 2
   Switch off the cards you don't want, or turn them all off.
3. 3
   To hide one item on a card, click the card's More menu and choose to hide it.

Show or hide the footer

The footer at the bottom of the new tab page shows things like the name of an extension that controls the page. To hide it, turn off Show footer on New Tab page in the Customize Chrome panel, or right-click the footer and choose Hide footer on New Tab page. On work computers, your administrator may decide this for you.

Reset the Chrome new tab page to default

To undo your background and color changes, open the Customize Chrome panel and click Reset to Default Chrome at the bottom. Shortcuts and cards are separate: switch back to Most visited sites and turn cards back on if you want the original look.

Change what opens when Chrome starts

Startup pages are often confused with the new tab page. They decide what you see when Chrome launches.

1. 1
   Click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner of Chrome and choose Settings.
2. 2
   Click On startup.
3. 3
   Choose Open the New Tab page, Continue where you left off, or Open a specific page or set of pages.
4. 4
   For specific pages, click Add a new page and enter the address, or click Use current pages to save the tabs you have open now.

Change your home page in Chrome

The home page is what opens when you click the house icon next to the address bar. Chrome hides that button by default.

1. 1
   Open Settings from the three-dot menu.
2. 2
   Click Appearance and turn on Show Home button.
3. 3
   Choose New Tab page, or enter the web address you want the button to open.

Not sure which of these you need? New tab page vs home page vs startup pages explains the difference.

Can you set a website as the new tab page in Chrome?

Not in settings. Chrome lets you choose a website for your home page and startup pages, but every new tab always opens either Chrome's own page or the page of a new tab extension. If you want a specific site on every new tab, you need an extension. How to set any website as your new tab page covers the options.

"An extension is controlling this setting"

Chrome lets one extension replace the new tab page. When you install one, Chrome asks whether you want to keep the change; if you agree, the extension's page appears on every new tab, and Chrome's settings show a message that an extension is controlling the setting.

If you didn't mean to install it, or you want Chrome's page back:

1. 1
   Type chrome://extensions into the address bar and press Enter.
2. 2
   Find the extension that changed your new tab page. The new tab page footer and the message in Settings usually name it.
3. 3
   Turn it off with its switch, or click Remove to uninstall it.
4. 4
   Open a new tab. Chrome's own page is back.

If new tabs suddenly show an unfamiliar search page and you can't find the cause, follow New tab page changed? How to get yours back.

What Chrome's new tab page can't do

Chrome's built-in options are fine for a background and a few favorite sites. They stop there:

• Only a handful of shortcut tiles, with no folders, groups or second page.
• Small icons rather than big, recognizable tiles.
• No way to keep work sites and personal sites apart.
• No clock, to-do list or notes on the page.
• The full page only works with Google as your search engine.

A new tab extension removes these limits. Speed Dial 2 replaces Chrome's new tab page with visual bookmarks you organize into groups, as many as you need, with search that understands phrases like "most visited" or "saved this week". You can add a clock, tasks and notes next to your bookmarks and block distracting sites with Focus Mode, all for free. It works the same way in Edge, Firefox and Brave. Setting it up in Chrome takes about a minute.

Outgrown Chrome's shortcuts?

Speed Dial 2 gives you visual bookmarks in groups, search and widgets on every new tab. Free for Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Brave.

Get Speed Dial 2  –  it's free