Google Chromebook - How to Setup Your Startup Homepage
This tutorial will teach you how to set a startup page to your homepage on the Google Chromebook. In our tests, we learned that there are additional steps to make your homepage work after you have set it. For example, you will need to log out (or restart your Chromebook) of your account and log back in order to complete the change. Also, some extensions may interfere with the start up page, so you might need to disable some extensions as well. We are not sure why you need to do theses steps on the Chromebook since we didn't run into these issues on our other devices (running Google Chrome). However, they might be necessary steps that you have to make.
Step 1: Open Your Chrome Browser on Your Chromebook and Select Options
On your Chromebook, open the Chrome browser and click on the options/settings icon in the upper right corner.
Step 2: Select the Settings Option in the Drop Down Menu
When the menu opens, select the "Settings" option.
Step 3: Search for Startup Settings
When the Settings window opens, you'll see a search bar on the middle top of the window next to the "About Chrome OS" link. The text box will say "Search settings". You can use this text box to search for various settings. However, in this tutorial we will just be searching for the startup settings.
Step 4: Type in "Startup" In the Search and Click on "Set Pages"
In the search box, type in "Startup". This will bring you to the startup settings as shown below. Within the startup settings, you'll see three options to set up your startup pages. Next to the 3rd option, there is a "Set pages" link. Click on the "Set pages" link.
NOTE We will show you another way of getting to the On Startup settings towards the end of this tutorial.
Step 5: Type in Your Homepage URL in the Text Box
After you click on the link to set your pages, a window will open. Here, you can add, remove, or edit your startup pages (i.e. your homepage URLs). These website URLs will open up in a tab when you open up your browser. Type in your homepage URL and click on "OK" to save your settings.
Step 6: Close Your Chromebook Browser
Close your Chrome browser.
NOTE We found out that the startup page settings aren't applied immediately. Most of the time, you will need to log out of your Chromebook and then log back in. See the next step for more information.
Step 7: Sign Out Of or Restart Your Chromebook
In order to apply your changes, you'll need to sign out of your Chromebook or restart your Chromebook. To do this, click on your profile icon on the bottom right corner of your screen and click on the "Sign Out" button. When you log back in, your browser should open with the homepage(s) you specified in the previous steps.
NOTE If your homepage doesn't show up, then there could be a conflict with the browser extensions installed. You will need to disable some of your browser extensions to find the culprit.
Step 8: Log Into Your Chromebook
Log back into your Chromebook and you should see your homepage show up in your browser.
NOTE If you haven't done so already, we recommend that you join Homepage Ninja to create your personalized free homepage.
Step 9: Another Way To Get To Startup Settings
There is another way to get to your startup settings, which we will show you below. Return back to the Settings window by clicking on the icon on the upper right and then selecting "Settings".
Step 10: Choose Advanced Settings
Inside the Settings window, you'll need to scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page. Here, you'll see a link to show advanced settings. Click on that link.
NOTE We still believe that searching for your settings is the easiest way, but there is an advantage to see the full list of settings.
Step 11: Look for the On Startup Settings
After you click on the link to show advanced settings, the settings page will expand. Next, scroll down until you see the "On startup" section. This is the same section we edited in the previous steps. From here, you can follow the same steps to change your homepage.
Step 12: Another Alternative Way To Get To Settings
Another way to get to your settings is to click on your profile icon and selecting the "Settings" option. Then you can follow the previous steps to change your homepage. As you can see, there are multiple ways to get to you Chromebook settings and update your homepage URL.
