One of the most overlooked and widely used aspects of the Internet is your browser’s start page. What is a browser start page? This is the page that is set as your home page every time you launch your Internet browser, whether you are using Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, or Opera, they all have them. Most users that surf the Internet use the default browser home page that is set from when they purchased their computer or they use their Internet provider’s home page – that’s no fun.
Just like a business’s Intranet web page that is personalized with their logo and links to most used resources, your browser start page should cater to your needs and be personalized to your liking. Most users that surf the web either do not know of the different options that are out there for them or they do not know that they can even change their start page!
To answer most Internet users first question, “How do I change my browser start page?” let’s take a look at your Internet browsers settings. Most Internet browsers store their settings to change your home page in the same area. For this article, we will look at the settings for the most popular Internet browser used, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. To change your browser home page, open your browser and click on the ‘Tools’ button and select ‘Internet Options’. A new dialog box will open and the ‘General’ tab will be selected at the top. At the top of the page you will now see a section with the title ‘Home page’. This is where you type or paste your desired browser start or home page that you want to open every time you launch your browser. Click ‘Apply’ and you’re done, it’s as easy as that!
Your next big decision will now be what to set your start page to. There are millions of websites on the Internet now, so this can be a daunting task. My recommendation is to set your home page to a website that enhances your online experience and makes browsing the web fun! Above I mentioned that your browser home page should be a page that you can easily personalize with your own background and have links to all your favorite websites. Unfortunately, there aren’t many websites out there that offer this type of service.