Change home page in Internet Explorer web browser

Posted on September 20, 2009 under Internet Tips | 4 Comments

What is the use of having a browser home page?

The web browser home page feature is supposed to help you save time. At least that’s what was the orginal intention! For instance, assuming you frequent the Yahoo home page to check email, read news… Wouldn’t it be neat to have it loaded each time you open a browser window? And you can do this by changing the web browser homepage to the web link of choice – www.yahoo.com, in this case. Also, in some browsers, you can set multiple home pages – each web site will open when you start the program.

But this convenient feature has been exploited by many including nefarious web sites that run small programs which automatically put their web site addresses as the browser home page. Several companies change the web browser home page especially during a product installation – though the user is given a choice, the option is usually quite inconspicuous.

How to change the home page in Internet Explorer web browser

Internet options in Internet Explorer web browser Click on “Tools” from the top menu and select “Internet Options” – refer image on the left. In the new pop-up that opens, move to the “General” tab, if not already there. The very first section lets you specify the home page for Internet Explorer. For instance, in the image below, I have three web addresses in the home page box. Now whenever I start the browser, the program opens all the three web sites in individual tabs. This speeds up my work as I don’t have to load each web site manually.

Instructions on how to change the Internet Explorer home page

To delete the home page, simply select it with the mouse (drag and move the cursor over the link) and hit the delete key on the keyboard. Enter a new web address to set it as the home page. Remember to click “Apply“.

Don’t want any home page in the browser?

You can also set a “blank” page as the home page of Internet Explorer – just click on the “Use blank” button. Important note: If you have one or more web links in the home page box, select all and then hit Delete on the keyboard. Then click on “Use blank” button and “Apply“. This ensures that all the homepage links are removed and replaced by a blank page.

Finally, I’ve come to know that some users cannot change the Internet Explorer homepage with above instructions. This can be because of adware/spyware, a virus, malicious code or badly written browser add-ons. I suggest you read that post for help and solutions.