Google Chrome has been leading the world of browsers for years, both on computers and mobile devices. However, something that few users take full advantage of is the incredible variety of ways in which it can be used. Customize Chrome to suit your needs, tastes, and routines.If you're one of those people who always sees the same thing when you open your browser, or if you simply want to make your experience much more efficient and engaging, this article is for you.
In the following lines I will show you Every trick, tweak, tool, and customization option you can squeeze into ChromeFrom the visual and aesthetic aspects, to shortcuts, profile management, and even the more advanced and lesser-known features. I assure you that, regardless of your user level, you'll discover features and little gems that will make the browser work for you and stop being simply a basic tool. Let's get to it!
Appearance: Colors, themes, and wallpapers to customize Chrome
Customizing Chrome starts with the most obvious: give a different visual touch to your interfaceIt may seem like Google's browser doesn't offer much leeway, but the truth is that there are a handful of options to radically transform its appearance. Here's how to take advantage of all these possibilities:
Change browser colors
Tired of the same old gray or white? Chrome allows change the interface color, either using predefined palettes or creating your own shades. Do the following:
- Open a new tab in Chrome.
- In the lower right corner, you will see a pencil icon or a message that says "Customize Chrome". Click there.
- In the side menu that appears, access the section «Color and Theme».
- Select one of the color combinations offered by the browser itself, or use the option "Custom color" to adjust exactly the hue you want, either with a visual selector or by entering numerical RGB values.
The chosen color will affect the entire browser interface.: bars, new tab page backgrounds, and other elements. You can experiment until you find the combination that works best for you.
Themes: Dress Chrome to your liking
Maybe simple color changes aren't enough for you. To completely change the look of Chrome, it's best to turn to the themes available in the Chrome Web StoreThere are hundreds of them, from minimalist designs to more elaborate and artistic ones. To install one:
- Click on the three dots menu at the top right of Chrome and go to Configuration.
- Within the settings, look for the section "Appearance" and select the option "Topic".
- This will take you directly to the Chrome Web Store theme gallery, where you can browse categories or search by keyword.
- Select a topic and click on "Add to Chrome"You'll see a preview, and if you like how it looks, you can leave it or change it to another version at any time.
These themes not only add wallpapers, but also modify colors of bars, tabs and other details If you ever want to return to the original look, go to the settings, go back to the themes section, and select "Reset default theme".
Custom wallpaper on the new tab page
One of the most visible changes is in the page you see every time you open a new tabYou can set a different wallpaper every day, choose from Chrome's official collections, or use a photo of yourself. To do this:
- Open a new tab and click on the icon "Customize Chrome" (the pencil or message in the lower right corner).
- Go to option "Bottom".
- Choose one of the categories and thematic collections that Google suggests, or use "Upload Image" to select any photo saved on your computer.
- If you like surprises, in some collections you can activate the option “Update every day”This way, you'll have a different background every day without lifting a finger.
These backgrounds are only visible on the new tab page, but they give your daily experience a completely different feel. Remember that you can change, add or remove backgrounds whenever you want..
Dark mode and special visual settings
Chrome includes a dark mode which changes the background and menus of the interface to darker tones, helping to reduce eye strain and save battery life on laptops or devices with OLED screens. Dark mode is automatically activated if you have it on your operating system. (Windows, macOS or Linux).
If you want to force it or customize Chrome even more, you can use the experimental flags (which we will talk about later), or Web Store themes specifically geared towards dark or light mode.
Customize Chrome: New Tab Page
The page that appears when you open a new tab is the fast operations center of many usersCustomizing what appears and how it's displayed in Chrome can save you a lot of time. Here's everything you can change:
Shortcuts: Total control over your favorites
Under the search bar, Chrome displays by default shortcuts to the most visited pages, but you can customize Chrome with your favorite sites or remove them if they bother you. Here's how to set it up:
- Open a new tab and click on “Customize Chrome.”
- In the menu, access the section "Shortcuts".
- You can choose between "My Shortcuts" (the ones you put on hand) and "Most visited websites" (the ones that Chrome automatically detects).
- If you prefer a clean page, disable "Show shortcuts" and will disappear from sight.
You can edit, delete, and add shortcuts Easily hover over each one and use the menu icons that appear. Plus, if you activate the manual function, you can drag and drop them to arrange them however you like.
Chrome Cards in New Tab
In the latest version of Chrome, Google has added the custom content cards: Small boxes that show useful information based on your shopping history, shopping carts, recent Google Drive files, and other suggestions.
You can Enable, disable, or hide specific cards from the customization menuThis way, in each new tab you'll have access to what interests you most.
Resume browsing and smart suggestions
Chrome is able to remember what you were doing in your previous sessions and suggest pages or searches to continue where you left off. You can also group relevant results into tab groups and recover past searches with one clickAll of this is managed from the cards in the new tab.
Cart management and Google Drive priority
If you shop online or work with Google Drive files often, Chrome may display quick links to your active carts and relevant documentsYou can hide any stores or files you don't want to see, and you can also permanently disable these features if you don't find them useful.
User profiles: a different Chrome for each person
It's no longer necessary to combine work, leisure, and family use in a single browser profile. Chrome allows you to create multiple independent user profiles, each with its bookmarks, history, extensions and custom themes.
- To add a profile, click on your user image in the top right corner and select "Add".
- You can choose a different name, theme color, and avatar for each profile. You can even log in with different Google accounts.
- Switching between profiles is as simple as clicking on the corresponding image. Each profile retains its own settings.
This is especially useful if you share a computer with other people, have a work and personal account, or simply want to isolate specific sessions (e.g., web development, leisure, projects, etc.).
Organization and productivity improvement: bookmarks, extensions, and tab groups
True productivity in Chrome is achieved mastering the use of bookmarks, extensions, and advanced tab organizationBelow I explain all the options, including some little-known tricks:
Bookmarks: More than just your favorites
Saving sites to hand is essential for quickly accessing what you use most. Chrome offers a marker bar under the address bar and a very powerful management system:
- Press the star in the address bar to bookmark any page.
- Organize your favorites in themed folders to have everything at hand.
- You can drag tabs directly to the bookmarks bar to save them faster.
- Edit the names of your bookmarks or even leave them unnamed so that only the icon is visible and they take up less space.
- The bookmarks bar can be displayed always, only on the new tab page, or hidden completely. It is managed with Ctrl + Shift + B.
Tab Groups: Keep things organized with colors and labels
Do you open many tabs at once? Chrome allows group related tabs and assign them a name and color, which is ideal for different projects, tasks, or sessions.
- Right click on a tab and select «Add to new group».
- Add more tabs to the group by dragging them or from the context menu.
- You can collapse or expand groups to save space.
- Change the group color and name to identify it at a glance.
Also with Ctrl You can select multiple tabs and move them all together, or even open them in a separate window.
Fixing and organizing eyelashes
Are there pages you need to keep open all the time? Pin them so they remain on the left of the tab bar, taking up less space and always remaining accessible:
- Right click on the tab and choose "Pin up".
- Pinned tabs remain even after restarting the browser.
Extensions: Extend Chrome's capabilities
The Extensions These are small programs that add features to Chrome: from ad blockers and password managers to tools for customizing tabs, automating tasks, and integrating external services. To manage them:
- Click on the icon puzzle piece next to the address bar.
- You can anchor extensions to always see them or leave them hidden in the menu.
- Sign in "Manage extensions" to activate, deactivate or uninstall them.
- If you need new features, access the Chrome Web Store from the link on that page.
Vertical tabs and other experimental features
Would you like the tabs appear in vertical format as in some rival browsers? Although Chrome doesn't allow it natively, there are specific extensions for it: Vertical Tabs, Vertabs and other variations. For complete tricks, you can also explore how to .
And if you like to experiment, you can enter chrome :/ / flags from the address bar to activate advanced or development features. Caution! Some may cause errors, so use them with caution and restart Chrome after changing them.
Startup settings, specific pages, and home page
Would you prefer Chrome to always open to your favorite website, a specific set of pages, or remember your last session's tabs? All of this is customizable:
- En Settings > On startup You can choose to open a specific page, a set of pages, the new tab, or continue where you left off.
- To set multiple pages to start, open them all and then select "Use current pages".
- The new tab page (with the search engine) is the default option, but you can define any other custom web page.
Custom toolbars and shortcuts
The customization possibilities of the Chrome toolbar have been growing. Now you can add or remove buttons to keep your most used items close at hand, like the bookmarks bar, the home button, favorite extensions, and more.
- Right-click the bar to show/hide bookmarks.
- In the section of "Toolbar" of customization, check or uncheck the shortcuts you prefer.
- From the extensions manager, pin only the icons you want to always have visible.
- The icon of the property (to return to the home page) is optional and you can define which URL it should take you to.
Useful tips and features for everyday browsing
Chrome hides numerous tricks and shortcuts that will allow you to save time and take full advantage of the browser's potential. Below are the most practical ones:
Essential keyboard shortcuts
- Ctrl + N: Open new window.
- Ctrl + Shift + N: Open a new window in incognito mode.
- Ctrl + T: New tab.
- Ctrl + D: Save to bookmarks.
- Ctrl + Shift + D: Save all open tabs to bookmarks.
- Ctrl + 1 to 8: Go to the specific tab (in order).
- Ctrl + Shift + B: Show/hide the bookmarks bar.
- Ctrl + F or F3: Search on the page.
- Ctrl + Shift + T: Reopen the last closed tab.
- Ctrl + P: Print current page.
- F11: Full screen mode.
QR codes, sharing and using devices
Chrome makes it easy to share web pages to other devices and people with different tools: If you want to know how to get the most out of this feature, you can also check out .
- You can generate a QR code for any website from the address bar, ideal for sharing with mobile devices by scanning the screen.
- The function Send to your devices allows you to move an open tab to another PC or phone where you are logged in with the same Google account.
- If you have a Chromecast, send any website directly to the TV. Choose your device by tapping "Send" in the Chrome menu.
Reading lists and reading groups
Having trouble finding those articles you put off reading later? Add any page to your reading list from the star icon, and keep pending readings separate from regular bookmarks.
Mute tabs and media control
Is there a tab with music or videos playing and you can't find it? Look for the speaker icon in the tab and right-click, select "Mute website". In addition, you have global playback controls next to the user icon, to manage the multimedia content of all open tabs without going one by one.
Quick recovery and history deletion
- Ctrl + Shift + T: Restores the last accidentally closed tab.
- Ctrl + Shift + Del: Directly open the menu for deleting browsing history and data.
Password management and security
You can Easily manage saved passwords, addresses, and payment methods from the settings, autocomplete and security sections.
Advanced customization and hidden features
For those who want to go further, Chrome hides Tools and features that make a difference for advanced usersIf you want to go deeper, these will also be helpful in this regard.
Chrome Flags: Experimental Features
Accede to chrome :/ / flags and you'll discover a world of experimental options: from performance improvements, hidden visual options, the ability to activate "Reading Mode," to enabling future features before they reach the stable channel. Use them with caution, as they can cause instability and unexpected changes.
Granular privacy and permission management
From the section of "Privacy & Security" In the settings, you can:
- Block or allow third-party cookies.
- Manage website permissions such as camera, microphone, geolocation, and notifications.
- Customize Chrome for each page the elements that it can load (images, JavaScript, pop-ups, etc.).
- Configure all data and cookies to be automatically deleted when you close your browser.
Managing Webapps, PDFs, and Desktop Shortcuts
Many current pages allow installed as desktop applications (webapps), running independently and with its own icon. Chrome detects these pages and displays a special arrow in the address bar; click it to install the web app.
Also, you can save any website as a PDF from the print menu (Ctrl + P) by choosing "Save as PDF" in the destination, or create shortcuts to websites from “More tools > Create shortcut”.
Using the browser as a file explorer
Few people know it, but you can explore your own hard drive from Chrome. Type C: / in the address bar (on Windows) or the path of any drive and you will have access to the files and folders, you can even open multimedia files from the browser itself.
Options for developers and curious users
- press Ctrl + Shift + I to access the element inspector and view all the resources on a website.
- Switch to mobile view with the mobile device icon to see how a page displays on smartphones and tablets.
- From the “Application” tab you can clear data and cache for a single website.
Advanced searches and hidden tricks
- Drag selected text to the search bar to perform an instant search.
- Right-click on images to search for similar ones on Google.
- Search within a website from the address bar by typing the URL and pressing "Tab."
- Select text on a web page, right-click, and create links that lead directly to that highlighted fragment.
Autocomplete management and synchronization
Chrome allows Autofill form data, passwords, addresses, and payment methodsFrom Settings, you can edit or delete any saved items, and decide if you want your data to sync across all your devices by signing in with your Google account.
Updates and a secure environment when customizing Chrome
Chrome updates itself, but you can force a manual check from Help > Google Chrome InformationKeeping your browser updated is key to enjoying the latest customization features and security patches. You can also learn how to improve security in .
To dominate All these tricks and customization tweaks makes Chrome go from being a simple browser to becoming a powerful tool adapted to your needs and tastesWhether you're changing its visual appearance, improving your productivity with shortcuts and extensions, or exploring its more advanced features, you have complete control over the environment you navigate every day.
With a little curiosity and practice, you'll discover options you never imagined and wonder how you ever lived without them. Share this guide so other users can learn the best ways to customize Google Chrome..