How to Add Custom Links to Chrome’s New Tab Page

Soon, you will be able to add custom links to Chrome’s new tab page. This article explains how to do this.

Before We Start

As of now, this feature is available behind a flag which is available only in Dev channel of Chrome. It might take a while before this shows up for most of you.

Flag Name: New Tab Page Custom Links

Description: Enable customization of shortcuts on the New Tab Page and replaces Most Visited. Implicitly enables ‘ntp-ui-md’ and ‘ntp-icons’. – Mac, Windows, Linux, Chrome OS

Link: chrome://flags/#ntp-custom-links

From the description, it sounds like we might be able to add 10 shortcuts to the new tab page in the future. However, this feature is currently limited to one link.

How to Add Custom Shortcut in Chrome New Tab Page

After enabling the flag, restart Chrome. Now, you should see the “Add shortcut” link on the new tab page, with a “+” icon. 

Click the “Add shortcut” icon. A pop up menu appears:

In the “Name” field, enter the name of the shortcut, whatever you want to call this link. In the “URL” field, enter the web address.  Click Done.

The link should now be added.

How to Remove a Custom Link

To remove a custom link, keep your mouse pointer on the custom link, wait for the three dots menu icon to appear. Click this icon and you should see the “Remove” link on the pop up menu.

Restore Default Shortcuts

After you add multiple shortcuts to the new tab page, there will be an option to restore default shortcuts. Click the gear icon on the bottom right corner of the new tab page for this option:

Would you be interested in replacing all the most visited thumbnails on your Chrome new tab page with your custom links? Let me know in comments!