Configuring Firefox to Open to Your Home Page

It's no secret that I love Firefox and encourage all computer users to use it instead of Internet Explorer. That's because Firefox is a safer and more secure internet browser. It also allows you add a lot of cool user-friendly plug-ins which make your internet experience more enjoyable.

The other day, I learned something new about Firefox and I wanted to share it here in case others experience what at first appears to be a problem - but really isn't.

Regardless of what browser you're using, when you open it, the first page you see is called your "home page". For many users, it's the MSN page or Google search page. While those are great pages, many of us like to configure a different home page. For example, I have a Google home page which allows me to configure it anyway I want (and I do). When I open the internet, that is the page I want to see first. Configuring a home is easy and you can read the instructions for setting up a custom home page by clicking here.

However, even after configuring firefox to use a custom home page, you may notice that each time you open Firefox, it may open the last internet pages you visited instead of your home page. This can be frustrating. But the good news is that fixing this problem is a simple configuration change.

Here's how you change it:

1. Open Firefox and on the menu select TOOLS and then OPTIONS ( a window will pop up)
   
2. On the new window, look near the top for the words "When Firefox Starts"
   
3. Click the Pull-down arrow and select "SHOW MY HOME PAGE".
4. Click OK at the bottom of this window.

That's all there is to it. Firefox allows you select multiple options for start pages so feel free to experiment with the others to see if you prefer any of the others.

Customizing Your Google Home Page

Once you have your Google home page set up, the next step is to customize it for you. By doing so, you can ensure that you're getting the information you want, while removing the stuff you don't want.

Once you've logged into your Google home page, you'll see a couple of links labeled, "Themes for Causes" and "Add Stuff".

The "Add Stuff" link will help you add RSS feeds and gadgets (like weather and calendar) that you're interested in. There are loads of gadgets and to make them easier to find, Google has separated them into categories (like tools, sports, finance, etc.).

In addition to the weather and calendar gadget, I tend to favor the "bookmarks" gadget and my favorite RSS feeds.

When you find one you like, simply click the "Add it Now" button under it. When done, click the "back to iGoogle home" link at top of page. If you hold the left mouse button down on the title bar of the gadget, you can drag and drop it anywhere you like on the page.

The "Themes for Causes" link allows you customize your Google page for a holiday, sports, or other theme. Some folks like to do this, some don't. It's a personal preference thing. But check it out to get a feel for how it works.

Having a Google home page can make your internet experience easier and more enjoyable. So give it a try.

How to Change Your Internet Home Page

When you first open Internet Explorer (or your internet browser of choice), the first page you see is referred to as your "home page". For may people, the home page is MSN or Yahoo. But this page can be set to any web page you want.

One of the frustrations folks encounter is that sometimes this page gets changed without your knowledge or permission. But in most cases, following the steps below will fix the problem.

The easiest way to change your home page is to go the web page you'd like to make "home" first. Then follow the steps below to make it your home page.

For Internet Explorer .......

1. On the menu, select TOOLS then INTERNET OPTIONS (a new window pops up)
   
2. Click the USE CURRENT button and then OK

For Firefox .....

1. On the menu, select TOOLS then OPTIONS (a new window pops up)
   
2. Click the USE CURRENT PAGES button and then OK

If you're using Internet Explorer 7 or Firefox, you can set multiple pages to open in tabs automatically when you first open the browser. To do this, open a tab and browse to the page you'd like to have open automatically (repeat this step for every page you want to automatically open). Once you have all the pages opened in tabs, follow the steps above to set your home page.

If you like, you can take setting a custom home page a step further. Several sites (like Google, MSN, and Yahoo) allow to customize their pages and make them your own. The advantage of doing this is that you can customize the pages so that you're getting the news or other information you want while removing the stuff you don't want.

While I have used MSN and Yahoo in the past, I have since switched my homepage to Google because it loads a lot faster and is much easier to customize and add RSS feeds to than the others.

So take control of your browser and set your own customized home pages.

To learn how to set up a Google home page, click here.

For more information tips on configuring your Firefox home page, click here.