In many ways, Google is the internet.
Type a few words into a box and the search engine answers in mere seconds. It's no wonder the company name has become a verb synonymous with "searching for something online." Which is why most people prefer as few obstacles as possible between them and the ubiquitous platform.
The good news is modern browsers let you search directly from the URL box at the top of the page, mostly eliminating the need to type google.com before conducting a search. There is, however, more you can do to ensure your browser opens to Google when you launch it on startup or open a new tab.
Google Chrome
Chrome already opens new tabs with an embedded Google Search bar. But you can also customize the startup page to include favorites as well as Google search.
Computer
Set Your Startup Page:
- Open Chrome
- Click More (three vertical dots) > Settings
- Click On startup
- Choose Open the new tab page, Continue where you left off, or Open a specific page or set of pages. The last one will let you customize new tab pages with favorites, as well as Google Search. Just scroll to the bottom and click Add a new page.
Set Your Homepage:
- Open Chrome
- Click More (three vertical dots) > Settings
- Click Appearance > Show home button
- Click New tab page to open up to Google
Android
- Open Chrome
- Click More (three vertical dots) > Settings
- Click Advanced > Homepage
- Choose Chrome's homepage or a custom page
iOS
You can only set your homepage when using Chrome on a computer or Android device.
Mozilla Firefox
Like Chrome, Firefox relies on Google as its default search program, which means that simply opening a new tab also opens a Google search bar. But it's also possible to turn the search engine into your homepage.
Set or Change Through Home Button
- Navigate to Google.com
- Drag and drop the tab onto the toolbar's Home button. (The Home button is not shown by default. Add or remove it by customizing the toolbar.)
- Click Yes when prompted
Set or Change Through Firefox Settings
- Open Settings > Home
- Ensure Homepage and new windows is set to Custom URLs
- Enter Google.com or click Use Current Page
Apple Safari
The Safari homepage defaults to a list of your favorite websites, without an option to change the setting. You can, however, add a button to the home screen.
- Open Safari
- Click Settings > General
- In the Homepage field, enter Google.com or click Set to Current Page
Choose when your homepage is shown:
- Open new windows with your homepage: Click the New windows open with pop-up menu > choose Homepage
- Open new tabs with your homepage: Click the New tabs open with pop-up menu > choose Homepage
Microsoft Edge
Based on Google's open-source web browser Chromium, Edge looks and feels a lot like Chrome. But it's still a Microsoft product, so Bing looms large. There's an easy workaround, though, for those who want to stick to their Google roots.
- Open Microsoft Edge
- Click the three-dot menu on the top right and select Settings
- Click Appearance
- Toggle the Home button to on
- Click Set button URL and add Google.com
Brave
Free and open-source web browser Brave allows users to select their own homepage; the one-and-done feature displays the same site each time you open Brave
Set Your Startup Page:
- Open Brave
- Click More (three lines)
- Click Settings > Get started > Open a specific page or set of pages
- Click Add a new page > enter Google.com > click Add
- (You can also set the startup page as Continue where you left off.)
Set Your Homepage:
- Open Brave
- Click More (three lines)
- Click Settings > Appearance
- Turn on Show home button
- Click Enter custom web address > enter Google.com
- Click Home button
The URL you entered will be set as the homepage once you close the tab. You can also select the New Tab page to see a new tab upon the browser's launch.