4 Very Useful (and Cool) Startpages for Chrome
The simplest startpage in the world is probably Google’s homepage. We usually start with a search. But when you can use the browser’s address bar as a search engine, why waste all that real estate? Why not get some cool startpages that can serve you like your Man Friday at the beginning of a new day? You might have seen Chrome startpages – some glamorous, some seemingly capable of anything. I prefer simpler ones that enhance my productivity. So, here are four simple and useful startpages for the Chrome browser.
Zocial Sky
In fact, Zocial Sky works with any browser. Simply enter its URL in your browser’s address bar. It is a simple start page displaying your city’s weather in a visually appealing manner. A beautiful background and large icons provide a quick overview of the upcoming weather conditions.
By registering and logging in, Zocial Sky allows you to track the weather for five cities of your choice. You can also easily search for the weather of any city by typing in the search box. Once logged in, you can add cities to your favorites. You can view information such as cloud cover, minimum and maximum temperature, humidity, and wind direction and speed. Temperature units can be set to Celsius or Fahrenheit.
Bookolio
Bookolio is a startpage extension for Chrome that helps you hit the ground running. It offers over 20 search engines and bookmarks in a simple interface. You also get one-click access to your applications, recently closed tabs, and most visited sites. The search engines provided include Amazon, Ask, Baidu, Bing, Dailymotion, Deezer, deviantART, Digg, eBay, Eurogamer, Facebook, Flickr, GameSpot, Google, IGN, MySpace, Picasa, Twitter, Wikipedia, Yahoo, and YouTube.
You can set a default search engine and quickly cycle through the others. The way it unclutters and makes bookmarks accessible gives this Chrome startpage extension extra points in my opinion.
Things To Do
Things To Do is a simple extension that replaces the new tab page with a to-do list. It allows you to prioritize items by dragging them up and down the list. You can also customize the colors and size of the to-do list using the options page.
Sometimes I like to start my day by looking at a pleasing visual. Start! helps me brighten the day with a startpage that uses photos from Flickr to deck up the background. You can set it to a specific one or let it go automatic with the help of Flickr. The other good thing about Start! is that it saves me a trip to my Google Reader as it pulls and displays RSS feeds at the bottom of the page. Apart from these two key features, Start! is as usual as other startpages in that it displays the motley of bookmarked thumbnails and Chrome apps. You need to configure it a bit, and then it starts serving you well each morning.
What’s your choice for a startpage in Chrome? Is it an extension or a link? Or do you like to preserve the browser real-estate by using none? Let us know.
As Fred Humiston, the author behind Twothirds.us, I focus on providing practical and easy-to-follow guides and solutions for a variety of technical issues that people commonly face.
My articles cover a wide range of topics, from troubleshooting out-of-sync audio on TikTok and managing Firestick devices, to understanding the impact of Capcut on video quality and resolving sound issues on Hisense Roku TVs.
I also delve into more general tech tips, like how to block numbers on landlines or use VPNs without Wi-Fi. My goal is to make technology more accessible and less intimidating for everyone, whether you’re a tech novice or a seasoned user. I strive to offer clear, concise, and helpful advice to make your digital experience smoother and more enjoyable.