How to Make Google Your Home Page

Make Google your starting point every time

By
Jennifer Allen
Jennifer Allen
Jennifer Allen
Writer
  • Swansea University, Staffordshire University
Jennifer Allen has been writing about technology since 2010. Her work has appeared in Mashable, TechRadar, and many more publications.
lifewire's editorial guidelines
Updated on January 24, 2022

What to Know

  • You can change most home pages to Google by clicking Settings or Preferences before finding options for the home screen or home page.
  • Google Chrome and Firefox typically have Google as their default home page.
  • Most browsers require you to type in http://www.google.com to confirm it as your choice.

This article teaches you how to make Google your home page on all major browsers, including Safari, Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, and Firefox. It also shows you how to make Google Chrome your default browser.

How to Make Google Your Home Page

Setting Google as your home page is a relatively simple process, with many browsers already having it as their default. However, if you need to set it manually, the process is still reasonably easy to follow. Here's how to make Google your home page on Safari.

Google Chrome and Firefox have Google as their default home page, so there's no need to change it manually. 

  1. Open Safari.

  2. Click Safari.

  3. Click Preferences.

    Safari with Preferences highlighted.

  4. Click General.

  5. Under Home page, type in http://www.google.com to set the home page to Google.

    Safari with Homepage highlighted in Preferences.

  6. Close the window to confirm your choice.

Can I Make Google My Home Page on Windows?

Windows users may prefer to use Microsoft Edge as their browser of choice. Changing its home page to Google is a relatively straightforward process. Here's what to do.

  1. Open Microsoft Edge.

  2. Click the ellipsis in the right hand corner of the window.

    Edge with ellipsis icon highlighted.

  3. Click Settings.

    Edge with Settings highlighted.

  4. Click Start, home, and new tabs.

    Edge Settings with Start, home, and new tabs highlighted

  5. Under the Home button, type http://www.google.com to make it the home page.

  6. Click Save.

How Can I Set Google as My Default Browser?

If you prefer to use Google Chrome as your browser, it's easy enough to set up. Here's how.

  1. Open Google Chrome.

  2. Click the ellipsis in the right hand corner of the window.

    Google Chrome with ellipsis icon highlighted.

  3. Click Settings.

    Google Chrome with Settings highlighted.

  4. Click Default browser.

    Google Chrome Settings with Default Browser highlighted.

  5. Click Make Default.

    Google Chrome with Make Default highlighted.

  6. Google Chrome is now your default browser.

Where Is My Google Home Page?

You can typically summon up your Google home page in all browsers by opening a new tab by tapping ctrl + t on your keyboard (or cmd + t on a Mac) or by clicking File > New Tab when the browser is open.

Why Can’t I Set Google as My Home Page?

While Google Chrome and Firefox have Google as their standard home page, there can be issues where other websites hijack the home page. Here's how to change things back to Google on Google Chrome.

  1. Open Google Chrome.

  2. Click the ellipsis in the right hand corner.

    Google Chrome with ellipsis icon highlighted.

  3. Click Settings.

    Google Chrome with Settings highlighted.

  4. Click Appearance.

    Google Chrome Settings with Appearance highlighted.

  5. Click the toggle next to Show Home button.

  6. Click the toggle next to Enter custom web address and enter http://www.google.com

    Google Chrome with Enter custom web address highlighted.

Set Google as Your Home Page in Firefox

On Firefox, the process is slightly different. Here's what to do.

  1. Open Firefox.

  2. Click the icon with the three lines in the top right hand corner.

    Firefox with burger icon highlighted.

  3. Click Settings.

    Firefox with Settings highlighted.

  4. Click Home.

    Firefox with Home highlighted within Settings.

  5. Click the drop down menu next to Home page and new windows.

    Firefox with Firefox Home highlighted within New Windows and Tabs.

  6. Click Custom URLs.

  7. Type in http://www.google.com to make it your home page.

FAQ
  • How do I make Yahoo my home page in Google Chrome?

    To make Yahoo your home page in Google Chrome, launch Chrome and click Customize and control Google Chrome (vertical three dots in the upper-right). Select Settings > Appearance and toggle on Show Home Button. Type www.yahoo.com into the text box. Now, when you click the Home button on the browser bar, you'll go to Yahoo.

  • How do I make Google my home page on an iPhone?

    If you're using Safari on an iPhone, there's no real home page when you launch the browser. Instead, you'll see Favorites, Frequently Visited sites, and other options. You can, however, change your default search engine to Google. Launch the Settings app and tap Safari > Search Engine. Tap Google to select it.

  • How do I make Google my home page on an Android?

    To set your home page to Google on your Android device, launch the Chrome app and tap More (three dots) > Settings. Under Advanced, tap Homepage, and then choose Google as Chrome's home page.

Was this page helpful?