Change your homepage in Safari, Chrome, or Firefox on Mac

Your homepage is the page that loads when you open a new tab or window in your web browser. On a Mac, the steps to change it differ depending which browser you use — Safari, Chrome, or Firefox are the three most common. Each browser stores this setting in its own preferences menu, and the change takes effect when ready after you save it.

The process takes less than a minute in any browser. You will need the web address (URL) of the page you want to set as your homepage — for example, google.com or bbc.com. If you want to use a page you are already viewing, you can copy its address directly from the address bar.

Key Takeaways

  • Safari users open Preferences from the menu bar, click General, and paste the homepage URL into the "Homepage" field.
  • Chrome users go to Settings, select "On startup" from the left menu, and choose "Open a specific page or set of pages," then add the URL.
  • Firefox users open Preferences, click Home in the left sidebar, and enter the URL in the "Homepage" field under "New Windows and Tabs."
  • You can set different homepages for new tabs versus new windows in most browsers, or leave one blank to show a blank page instead.
  • If you paste a URL from your browser's address bar, make sure to include https:// at the beginning so the browser recognizes it as a web address.

Change your homepage in Safari

Open Safari and click Safari in the menu bar at the top of the screen. A dropdown menu will appear. Select Preferences from that menu. A window titled "Safari Preferences" will open.

Click the General tab at the top of the Preferences window — it is the first tab and shows a house icon. Look for the field labeled Homepage. Click inside that field and delete any text already there, then paste or type the URL of the page you want to load when you open a new window. For example, type https://www.google.com or https://www.bbc.com.

Close the Preferences window. The next time you open a new Safari window, your chosen page will load automatically. If you want to change the page that loads in a new tab (rather than a new window), look for the New tabs open with dropdown in the same General tab and select Homepage from that menu.

Change your homepage in Chrome

Open Chrome and click the three vertical dots in the top right corner of the window. A menu will drop down. Click Settings near the bottom of that menu. The Settings page will open in a new tab.

On the left side of the Settings page, click On startup. You will see three radio button options. Click the third option: Open a specific page or set of pages. A text field will appear below it labeled Add a new page. Click that field and type or paste the URL you want to use as your homepage — for example, https://www.google.com. Press Enter or click the Add button that appears.

Chrome will save your choice automatically. The next time you open Chrome, your chosen page will load. If you want to set different pages for new tabs versus new windows, you can add multiple URLs in this same section — Chrome will open all of them when you start the browser.

Change your homepage in Firefox

Open Firefox and click the three horizontal lines (called a hamburger menu) in the top right corner of the window. A menu will drop down. Click Preferences near the bottom. The Preferences page will open in a new tab.

On the left side, click Home. You will see a section labeled New Windows and Tabs. Find the dropdown menu next to Homepage and new windows and select Custom URLs. A text field will appear. Click inside it and type or paste the URL you want to use — for example, https://www.google.com. Firefox saves your choice automatically.

If you want a different page to load in new tabs (as opposed to new windows), look for the New tabs dropdown just below and make the same choice. You can set the same URL for both, or use different pages for each.

Paste a URL from your browser address bar

If you are already viewing the page you want to set as your homepage, you can copy its address directly instead of typing it. Click once in the address bar at the top of your browser window to select it. The entire URL will highlight in blue. Press Command + C to copy it.

Then open your browser's preferences or settings (using the steps above for your browser), click in the homepage field, and press Command + V to paste. Make sure the URL includes https:// at the beginning — if it does not, add it before saving. This prevents the browser from treating it as a search term instead of a web address.

Set a blank page as your homepage instead

Some people prefer a blank page when they open a new window or tab. In Safari, open Preferences and click General. In the Homepage field, type about:blank and close the window. In Chrome, go to Settings, click On startup, select "Open a specific page or set of pages," and type chrome://newtab. In Firefox, open Preferences, click Home, and in the New Windows and Tabs section, select Blank page from the dropdown menu instead of entering a URL.

A blank page loads faster than a website and gives you a clean slate when you start browsing. You can change back to a website homepage at any time using the same steps.

Troubleshoot if your homepage is not changing

If you set a homepage but a different page keeps loading, check whether your browser is set to restore your previous session. In Safari, go to Preferences and click General, then look for Safari opens with — make sure it is set to A new window rather than All windows that were open last time. In Chrome, go to Settings and check the On startup section — if Continue where you left off is selected, Chrome will restore your last session instead of loading your homepage.

Also check whether you have installed any browser extensions that might override your homepage. Open your browser's extensions or add-ons menu and look for anything unfamiliar. If you see an extension you did not install, you can disable or remove it. After that, try opening a new window or tab again to see if your chosen homepage loads.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I set a different homepage for new tabs versus new windows?

Yes. In Safari, use the New tabs open with dropdown to set a different page for tabs. In Chrome, you can add multiple URLs in the "Open a specific page or set of pages" section — the first will load in new windows, and you can add others for tabs. In Firefox, the New tabs dropdown lets you choose a separate page from the one set for new windows.

What if I want my homepage to be a local file on my Mac instead of a website?

You can set a local file as your homepage by dragging it into the address bar to get its file path, then copying that path into the homepage field. The path will look something like file:///Users/yourname/Documents/mypage.html. This works in all three browsers, though it is less common than using a website.

Does changing my homepage affect my search engine?

No. Your homepage and your default search engine are separate settings. Changing your homepage does not change which search engine appears in the address bar when you type a search. To change your search engine, go to your browser's settings and look for a "Search engine" or "Search" section.

Why does my homepage not load when I open a new tab?

Most browsers treat new tabs and new windows differently. You may have set a homepage for new windows but not for new tabs. Go back to your browser's preferences and look for a separate setting for new tabs — in Safari it is called "New tabs open with," in Firefox it is "New tabs," and in Chrome you can add multiple pages to the startup list.

Can I use a Google search page as my homepage?

Yes. Go to google.com in your browser, then copy the URL from the address bar and paste it into your homepage field using the steps above. You can also use https://www.google.com directly. When you open a new window, Google's search page will load and you can search when ready.