The “New Tab” page in Chrome is the digital equivalent of a blank stare. A white void. Nothing, and plenty of it.
Why are we settling for this? Your browser’s start page is the most valuable real estate on your computer. It’s the first thing you see!
Instead of looking at an empty space, you could be looking at a command center. Here are five Chrome extensions that turn that boring start screen into something actually useful.
Momentum
If you want your browser to feel less like a software application and more like a high-end wellness retreat, Momentum is the gold standard.
Every day, it greets you with a stunning, high-res landscape photo and a simple question about your main focus for the day.
It’s minimalism that works, keeping a single to-do list and your primary goal front and center so you don’t forget what you actually sat down to do.
Bonjourr
If Momentum feels a bit too inspirational, Bonjourr is the lightweight, open-source alternative built for speed and clean lines.
It’s a minimalist’s dream, featuring transparency, clean fonts, and zero bloat. You can even tweak the CSS if you’re willing to dig into the code a bit, but most people will just appreciate that it loads almost instantly and looks beautiful while offering enough flexibility to use whatever niche search engine they’re currently experimenting with.
Presentboard
Maybe you don’t want a pretty picture; maybe you want data.
Presentboard is a hidden gem that treats your New Tab page like a literal dashboard, using a grid-based system where you can drop widgets for Google Calendar events, latest emails, stock tickers, and custom RSS feeds.
It’s for the person who wants to see their entire digital life at a glance before they even type a single URL. You can resize and move boxes around until the layout is exactly how your brain likes it, turning your browser into a functional workstation rather than just a window to the web.
Dashy
For those who have 14 apps open just to manage their life, Dashy acts as a “mega-dashboard” that lets you pin functioning widgets directly to your start page.
We’re talking full integrations where you can check your calendar, scroll a Reddit feed, and manage Todoist tasks without ever leaving the New Tab screen.
It even allows for custom profiles, so you can toggle between a “Work Mode” filled with Slack widgets and a “Weekend Mode” dominated by Spotify and news feeds. It’s the closest you can get to turning Chrome into its own operating system.
This is for serious dashboard connoisseurs: The free version offers basic widgets and integration with popular websites, while the $5-per-month paid version offers unlimited widget access, a side panel, custom website embeds, and more.
Tabliss
If you’re tired of extensions locking the best features behind a monthly subscription, Tabliss is the open-source hero you need.
It’s completely free, respects your privacy, and offers a massive library of backgrounds from Unsplash and Giphy.
This one sits comfortably between beauty and simplicity, offering unique widgets like a “Work Hours” countdown or live sports scores. It’s highly modular and even includes a binary clock for the truly dedicated geeks who find reading time normally to be far too easy.