How to change your browsers start page

by Ross McKillop on July 2, 2006

Firefox Internet Explorer

Before you laugh your head off at the “simplicity” of this tutorial, please consider this.

For instructions on how to set your browsers start page (the page that opens by default when you launch your web browser) using any one of the following web browsers - Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Safari or Camino, please continue reading..

Select your web browser from the list below:

Internet Explorer
Firefox
Opera
Safari
Camino

Setting your home page in Internet Explorer

  1. To change your default home page in Internet Explorer, start by selecting Tools and then Internet Options…
  2. IE Tools Options

  3. Make sure the General tab is selected, enter the web site address you wish to have as your home page in the Address: field, and then click OK. Now each time you open IE, or click the Home button, you’ll be taken to the page you specified.

  4. Click to enlarge

Setting your home page in Firefox 1.5

  1. To change your default home page in Firefox, start by selecting Tools and then Options…
  2. Firefox Prefs

  3. Make sure the General tab is selected, enter the web site address you wish to have as your home page in the Location(s): field, and then click OK. Now each time you open Firefox, or click the Home button, you’ll be taken to the page you specified.

  4. Click to enlarge

Setting your home page in Opera 9

  1. To change your default home page in Opera, start by selecting Tools and then Preferences…
  2. Opera options

  3. Make sure the General tab is selected and choose Start with home page from the Startup list. Enter the web site address you wish to have as your home page in the Home page field, and then click OK. Now each time you open Opera you’ll be taken to the page you specified.

  4. Click to enlarge

Setting your home page in Safari 2.x

  1. To change your default home page in Safari, start by selecting Safari from the top menu and then Preferences… from the drop-down list
  2. Make sure the General tab is selected, enter the web site address you wish to have as your home page in the Home page: field, and then close the Preferences window. Now each time you open Safari you’ll be taken to the page you specified.

  3. Click to enlarge

Setting your home page in Camino 1.x

  1. To change your default home page in Camino, start by selecting Camino from the top menu and then Preferences… from the drop-down list
  2. Make sure the General tab is selected, enter the web site address you wish to have as your home page in the Home page: field, and then close the Preferences window. Now each time you open Camino you’ll be taken to the page you specified.

  3. Click to enlarge

Disclaimer

I’ve worked for two very large broadband ISP’s. I had a similar role at each company, and in that role I worked very closely with the “portal” teams. “Portal” teams are the ones that usually design, create and maintain a companys home page or web site. At each of these companies, the home page recieved literally millions of page views/visits a month. Not because they were particularly good (though I thought they were), but because so many customers simply didn’t know how to, or that they even could, change their home page (each company would “set” your home page to their web site when they installed the “required” software). So, before you laugh too hard at someone for not knowing how to change their home page, try to keep in mind there are millions more just like him/her. In fact I would bet that at least one of your relatives has their home page set to whatever the default is, simply because they didn’t know you could change it (I have 2).

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    { 2 comments… read them below or add one }

    1 Forex 04.01.07 at 11:41 am

    It’s very interesting but I need the following information:
    How can I make a set to default page by a JavaScript?
    If does anybody know this useful JavaScript code, please
    share with me and drop lines me.
    tozsdesed**gmail.com

    ** is @

    2 Dontwant U. Toonohoo-Eyeam 09.06.08 at 4:23 pm

    How do you change a Safari web browser web page in Windows XP?

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