Customizing Your Google Home Page

Introduction

A home page is something that Internet users expect when using a major Web portal such as Google. Simply visiting the Google.com website brings you to the Google Corporation's home page, although what you actually see on the screen is the company's search engine. In fact, it's almost misleading to refer to a web portal as "your" own home page, because it is generally considered the home page of the company that hosts the website.

However, Internet users can create and customize their own home page while using Google as a portal to the Web. You can change many of the aesthetic and functional aspects of the Web page using the tools that Google has made available for users. For example, if you are tired of seeing the same white background, you can change the color to something that is brighter or darker. You may also want to change what items appear on the Web page, to show the things that you are most interested in seeing, such as news headline and the weather.

The process of customizing your Google home page is simple, but you might want to consider a few tips that can help you maximize your experience.

Step 1

Use the "iGoogle" feature to quickly customize a home page if you are not logged into your own personal computer. Navigate to http://www.google.com/ig. Usually, a temporary box appears on the Web page that has settings for your Interests, Theme and Locations. Take the time to make your own personal changes to these aspects of the Web page.

You can choose all of the options under the Interest section or just a few. It's better to choose maybe two to three options so that your home page is not inundated with useless information. However, by checking all Interests you might find out about a subject that you weren't previously familiar with.

Click the See Your Page button when you are done with your customizations.

Step 2

Use the location features to your advantage on the Google home page. Many people prefer not to enter their location because of privacy and security issues. However, you don't have to you exact and current physical location. In most cases you only need to enter your zip code or postal code to get pertinent and local specific information such as weather and news.

Step 3

Register for a free Google account if you want your home page settings to be more permanent. The iGoogle feature uses cookies and other software to temporarily remember your home page customizations. However, if you have to log in every time you visit your home page, you have more of a guarantee that you settings will remain the same.

Tips

• You can set your customized Google home page to open as the home page when you open your Internet browser.

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