Set a new homepage in Edge in three steps

Open Microsoft Edge and select the three-dot menu in the top right corner. Go to Settings, then Appearance on the left sidebar. Toggle Show home button to on if it is not already enabled, then click Choose what to display on the home button. You can pick a blank page, your new tab page, or a custom URL — type the web address you want to see when you click the home button.

If you want to change what appears when you open a new tab instead, that is a separate setting. Go back to Settings, select Startup on the left, and choose what you want to see: your home page, your last open pages, or a specific set of pages you add yourself.

The home button itself may not be visible yet. If you do not see it next to the address bar, go back to Appearance and make sure Show home button is toggled on. Once it is, clicking that button will take you to whatever homepage you set.

Key Takeaways

  • The home button and the new tab page are two different things — changing one does not change the other.
  • You set the home button in Settings > Appearance > Show home button, then choose a blank page, new tab page, or custom URL.
  • You set what appears on new tabs in Settings > Startup, where you can pick your home page, last open pages, or a custom list.
  • The home button must be toggled on in Appearance before it will appear next to your address bar.

Using a custom URL as your homepage

When you choose Custom URL in the home button settings, Edge will load that exact web address every time you click the home button. Type the full address: https://www.example.com rather than just example.com. Edge usually fills in the https:// part automatically, but including it yourself prevents confusion.

Common choices are Google, Bing, Yahoo, or a personal dashboard like a news site or email inbox. You can also use a local file path if you have an HTML file saved on your computer — type file:///C:/Users/YourName/Documents/homepage.html (on Windows) or file:///Users/YourName/Documents/homepage.html (on Mac), replacing the path with your actual file location.

If you change your mind later, return to the same setting and type a different URL, or select one of the preset options instead.

The difference between home button and new tab page

The home button is the icon next to your address bar that you click manually. The new tab page is what appears when you press Ctrl+T (Windows) or Command+T (Mac) to open a new tab. Many people confuse these because they can look similar, but they are controlled by different settings.

You might want your home button to go to Google but your new tab page to show your most visited sites. Or you might want the home button hidden entirely and only use new tabs. Set each one according to what you actually do — if you never click the home button, there is no reason to enable it.

Check your Startup settings to see what Edge opens when you launch the browser itself (as opposed to opening a new tab within an already-open window). You can set it to open your home page, your last session, or a specific list of sites.

Resetting your homepage to Edge's default

If you want to undo your changes and go back to Edge's built-in new tab page, go to Settings > Appearance and toggle Show home button off. This removes the home button from your toolbar entirely and returns you to Edge's default behavior.

Alternatively, you can keep the home button visible but set it back to New tab page instead of a custom URL. Both approaches work — choose whichever matches how you actually browse.

Troubleshooting: homepage not loading correctly

If you set a custom URL but Edge shows an error or a blank page, check that you typed the address correctly. Make sure it includes https:// at the start and that there are no extra spaces. If the site itself is down, try a different URL to confirm Edge is working.

If you set a local file path and it is not loading, verify that the file exists at that location and that you used the correct path format for your operating system. Windows paths use backslashes (\) and Mac paths use forward slashes (/). If the file is on a network drive, use the full network path instead.

If the home button is not appearing even though you toggled it on, try closing and reopening Edge. If it still does not show, check that you are looking in the right place — it should be to the left of the address bar, not in the menu.

Using Edge Collections as an alternative homepage

If you want something more visual than a single URL, Edge Collections let you save groups of websites and access them from your new tab page. Create a collection by clicking the Collections icon (it looks like a stack of cards) in the sidebar, then add sites as you browse. You can pin a collection to your new tab page so it appears every time you open a new tab.

This works well if your "homepage" is really a set of sites you visit every day — news, email, work tools, social media. Instead of navigating to each one, you see them all in one place and click the one you need.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I set different homepages for different profiles in Edge?

Yes. Each profile in Edge has its own settings. Switch to a different profile, go to Settings > Appearance, and set the home button to whatever you want for that profile. Your work profile can have one homepage and your personal profile can have another.

What if I want no homepage at all?

Toggle Show home button off in Settings > Appearance. The button will disappear from your toolbar and you will not have a homepage to click. You can still use Ctrl+T or Command+T to open new tabs, which will show whatever you set in your Startup settings.

Does changing my homepage affect my search engine?

No. Your homepage and your search engine are separate. You can have Google as your homepage but use Bing as your search engine, or vice versa. Change your search engine in Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Address bar and search.

Can I set multiple pages to open when I click the home button?

The home button itself opens only one page. However, in Settings > Startup, you can set Edge to open multiple specific pages when you launch the browser. If you want multiple pages to open when you click the home button, you would need to create a custom HTML file that links to those pages.

Will my homepage setting sync across devices?

Yes, if you are signed into the same Microsoft account on multiple devices and have sync enabled. Your homepage preference will carry over to other computers and devices where you use Edge with that account. You can manage sync in Settings > Profiles > Sync your data.