How to Make a Speed Dial Homepage

A speed dial home page allows the user to choose which page to display first when the browser is opened.

Popularized by certain Web browsers such as Opera and Apple Safari, a speed dial home page is a variation on the typical browser home page. Rather than displaying only one website, a speed dial home page displays several, allowing you to click the button of your choice to display the website in the full browser window. You can create a speed dial home page for your browser to give yourself the option of multiple websites to load when the browser is opened, rather than only one.

Instructions

Apple Safari for Windows

1. Click the gear-shaped icon in the upper-right corner of the screen, then click "Preferences."

2. Click the "General" tab.

3. Click the drop-down menu next to "New windows open with" and select "Top Sites." Optionally, do the same with the "New tabs open with" drop-down menu. Close the window to save your changes.

4. Close and re-open Safari or click the "Top Sites" button in the upper-left corner of the window. The speed dial page opens and pre-loads your most commonly visited websites.

5. Click an icon to browse to a website. To make changes, click the "Edit" button in the lower-left corner of the window, then click the "X" or push-pin icon above a speed dial icon to remove it or place it on the speed dial page permanently, then click "Done."

Opera

1. Click the "O" icon in the upper-left corner of the window, then click "Settings" and "Preferences."

2. Click the "General" tab.

3. Click the "Startup" drop-down menu and select "Speed Dial."

4. Click "OK," then close and re-open Opera. The speed dial page is displayed.

5. Click an icon to browse to a website. To make changes, click the "X" icon above a speed dial icon to delete that page, or click one of the "Click to add a Web page" buttons to add one. Select a page from a list of your most frequently accessed websites, or enter the address of a website and click "OK" to add it as a speed dial entry.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Browse to the download page for the Firefox Speed Dial add-on using the link in the "Resource" list of this article. Click the green "Add to Firefox" button.

2. Click "Install Now" in the window that appears, then click "Restart Firefox" when the process is complete. When Firefox restarts, the Speed Dial configuration window appears.

3. Click "Set Speed Dial as home page," then click "OK" to have Firefox display the speed dial page when it is opened.

4. Close Firefox and re-open it. The speed dial page is displayed.

5. Click an icon to browse to a website. To make changes, hover the mouse pointer over a speed dial icon, then click the gear-shaped button in the corner of the icon. Type the address of the website you would like to use for that icon in the "Location" box and click "OK."

Tips & Warnings

• For Web browsers who do not have built-in speed dial or a speed dial add-on available, try a Web-based speed dial provider such as Only 2 Clicks (link in "Resource" list). Being Web-based, Only 2 Clicks works on any browser.

References

• Tech Recipes: How to Add a Site to Top Sites in Safari
• How-to Geek: Set the Speed Dial as the Opera Startup Page

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Firefox Speed Dial Browser Add-on
• Only 2 Clicks: Web-based Speed Dial