Ready to make Microsoft Edge feel a little more like home? Changing your homepage is simple. You just need to dive into the settings menu. From there, you will find the “Start, home, and new tabs” section. This is your command center for customizing what you see when you start the browser or click the home button. You can then toggle the home button on and paste in the web address you want as your new starting point. It’s a quick change that makes a big difference.
Tutorial – How to Change Homepage on Microsoft Edge
This guide will walk you through the exact clicks needed to set a custom homepage in the Microsoft Edge browser. By following these instructions, you’ll be able to tell Edge which website to open whenever you click the little house icon on your toolbar.
Step 1: Open Microsoft Edge and go to Settings.
First, launch the Microsoft Edge browser and look for the three horizontal dots in the top right corner of the window.
Clicking these dots opens up a menu with lots of options. Near the bottom of this menu, you will see “Settings.” Go ahead and click on that to open the main settings page in a new tab. This is where you can control almost every aspect of how your browser works.
Step 2: Navigate to the “Start, home, and new tabs” section.
Once you are on the settings page, look at the menu on the left side of your screen. You will see a list of categories. Find and click on “Start, home, and new tabs.”
This section is dedicated to what you see when you first open Edge, when you open a new tab, and, of course, when you click the home button. It keeps all these related settings in one convenient place.
Step 3: Customize your homepage settings.
In this section, scroll down until you see the part labeled “Home button.” You will see a toggle switch that says “Show home button on the toolbar.” Make sure this is turned on, so the switch is blue.
Right below that toggle, you’ll see two options. One is for the “New Tab page,” and the other lets you enter a specific web address. You’ll want to select the second option, which shows a text box ready for a URL.
Step 4: Enter your desired homepage URL.
Step 4: Click inside the text box and type or paste the full web address of the website you want as your homepage.
For example, if you want Google as your homepage, you would type https://www.google.com. After you enter the address, click the “Save” button. There’s no need to restart the browser. The change takes effect immediately.
After you save your new homepage, the little house icon, or home button, should be visible on your toolbar near the address bar. When you click it, Microsoft Edge will instantly load the web page you just set. Your old homepage is gone, replaced by your new favorite site.
Tips for Changing Your Homepage on Microsoft Edge
- Your homepage and your startup page can be different. The homepage is where the home button takes you, while the startup page is what loads when you first open the browser. You can set these independently in the same settings area.
- If you want a clean, simple homepage, you can set it to
about:blank. This will give you a completely empty white page when you click the home button. - Is the home button not showing up? Double check that the “Show home button on the toolbar” toggle is switched on. If it’s off, the button will be hidden, even if you’ve set a homepage.
- You can change your homepage as often as you like. There’s no limit. If you find a new favorite news site or search engine, you can update it in just a few seconds by following the same steps.
- If you’re signed into your Microsoft account and have sync turned on, your homepage setting might sync across all devices where you use Edge. This can be super convenient.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can’t I change my homepage in Microsoft Edge?
If the homepage settings are grayed out or you can’t change them, it is likely because your browser is being managed by an organization, like your school or workplace. System administrators can set policies that prevent users from changing certain settings for security or consistency reasons. You would need to contact your IT department for help.
Can I set more than one homepage?
Microsoft Edge allows you to set only one specific URL for the home button. However, you can set multiple pages to open when you first launch the browser. This is done in the “When Edge starts” section, right above the homepage settings. You can add several websites that will all open in separate tabs upon startup.
What is the difference between a homepage and a startup page?
A startup page is the website or group of websites that automatically opens when you first launch the Microsoft Edge application. A homepage is the specific website that opens only when you click the home button (the little house icon) on your toolbar. You can have them set to the same page or different pages entirely.
How do I remove the home button from my toolbar?
If you decide you don’t want the home button on your toolbar anymore, you can easily hide it. Just go back to Settings, then “Start, home, and new tabs.” Find the “Show home button on the toolbar” option and click the toggle switch to turn it off. The button will disappear from your toolbar immediately.
Will changing my homepage delete my bookmarks or history?
No, not at all. Changing your homepage only affects what happens when you click the home button. All of your saved bookmarks, browsing history, passwords, and other personal data will remain completely untouched and safe. It’s a purely cosmetic change that doesn’t impact your saved information.
Summary of Steps
- Open Edge and click the three dots to go to Settings.
- Select “Start, home, and new tabs” from the left menu.
- Turn on the “Show home button on the toolbar” toggle.
- Select the option for a specific page and enter the URL.
- Click “Save.”
Final Thoughts
Mastering your web browser is a small step toward making your digital life feel more organized and efficient. It might seem like a minor detail, but the ability to customize your starting point online is a powerful tool. Think about it. Your homepage is the front door to your internet experience. Why not have it lead somewhere you actually want to go? Instead of being greeted by a generic news feed or a blank page, you can land directly on your favorite search engine, your email inbox, your go-to news source, or even a personal dashboard that keeps your life in order. It’s about reducing clicks and saving precious seconds that add up over time.
Taking control of these small settings is the first step toward becoming a more savvy internet user. Once you realize how easy it is to tweak the browser to your liking, you might feel encouraged to explore other customizations. You could organize your bookmarks into neat folders, install extensions that block ads or help you save money, or change the browser’s theme to something that better suits your personality. Each little change makes the browser feel less like a generic tool and more like your personal assistant. Learning how to change the homepage on Microsoft Edge is more than just a technical task. It is an act of personalizing your digital space to better serve you. So go ahead, take those few moments to set up your perfect homepage. Your future self, who gets to their favorite site one click faster every single day, will thank you.
Matthew Burleigh has been writing tech tutorials since 2008. His writing has appeared on dozens of different websites and been read over 50 million times.
After receiving his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science he spent several years working in IT management for small businesses. However, he now works full time writing content online and creating websites.
His main writing topics include iPhones, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, Android, and Photoshop, but he has also written about many other tech topics as well.