Customizable startpages

[Sofly]

Oh hey hi

I was always a sucker for customization, i will always love games that let you decorate a personal space or wear cool clothes, and i yearn for the days where every phone, radio, or whatever had a space to put a little charm; i guess that's why i took such a liking to the personal web

But i digress, i'm here to talk about something i found very recently and that i fount pretty interesting, i want to talk about custom startpages

As i was browsing a certain directory, i found a section dedicated to startpages, which were essentially customizable new tabs which host bookmarks and other cool stuff, like custom animations or just some good looks

The one i ended up using was Aesthetic Startpage, a simple customizable startpage with really neat pixel art gifs, and a dark and simplistic interface, but there are more to be found out there, you can use this Awesome List to look for the one for you, hell you can maybe even make your own from scratch!

I do warn that getting this startpage running in firefox was quite a pain, the only way to override the new tab page is through an add-on, and since addons can't read local files i had to open a web server and host it there, but (and let's be honest) if you're in this forum there's like a 72% chance you know how it's done, so i don't think it's that big of an issue

If you already customized your new tab page, feel free to share it!

[bingus_baby]

the only way to override the new tab page is through an add-on

If you don't mind me asking, what did you mean by this? I checked the settings in Firefox and it seems pretty easy. And it supports local files, I checked!

Unless maybe you're in a different version? But regardless it's still hella cool you set up a web server, I'd love to give it a shot one day when I have my own internet provider that supports servers.

(Firefox tab/window custom homepage settings below)

[Sofly]

That's for new windows and startpages (which i guess was its original purpose, lol), the options for changing the new tab are just the default firefox one and just a blank page

[Yaya]

Wow I love this! Looks pretty straightforward and simple and love the aesthetic 

I'm wondering if there's a way to set it so that it opens in a new tab but in a different firefox window? Then I could keep it open full screen/f11 on my second monitor all the time and then click what I need and it will open in a new window (and then in new tabs) on my primary monitor.

[PurpleHello98]

I remember I used to use a site called Symbaloo ages ago, which offered a grid to add your favourite sites, etc. although I eventually stopped using it because it wasn't lightweight enough for my liking. I use Vivaldi as my secondary browser these days, and I use the FVD speed dial extension for Chromium browsers in its 3D view on Vivaldi, since it's a lightweight new tab page that I don't think is ugly, unlike many other extensions I tried. Although it did once randomly add a Turbotax icon to my new tab for some reason.

[Skykristal]

Oh that's awesome! I am always looking for this type of stuff and wasn't really thinking about going outside the add-on store. Great list. thanks for sharing. If I end up creating something, I'll attach it later 

[Yaya]

I'm wondering if there's a way to incorporate an RSS feed somehow... I really would love a start page where I can have everything in one place!

[cybherspace]

I'm wondering if there's a way to incorporate an RSS feed somehow... I really would love a start page where I can have everything in one place!

yeah this is something I've thought about for a long time. there has to be an opensource RSS feed somewhere that you can put on a webpage... this is why I eventually want to make my own startpage.

[shevek]

You may also like this thread, where people simply code theirs and host it on their site and set the homepage/new tab to that url

My current uneventful startpage.

[grubbyfox]

You may also like this thread, where people simply code theirs and host it on their site and set the homepage/new tab to that url

My current uneventful startpage.

I'm wondering if there's a way to incorporate an RSS feed somehow... I really would love a start page where I can have everything in one place!

Oooh that is so clever, I never thought of that!    Oh my, now I've got some ideas and all, haha 

You may also like this thread, where people simply code theirs and host it on their site and set the homepage/new tab to that url

My current uneventful startpage.

@shevek @cinni may I snoop and poke at some of the codes you've used? it's so perfect! I would of course not try to copy the style or anything, I just wouldn't be sure where to start.

Did anyone find out how to make it work with "new tab" and not just as a startpage?

[Yaya]

You may also like this thread, where people simply code theirs and host it on their site and set the homepage/new tab to that url

Oh wow thank you! This is exactly what I'm looking for

My current uneventful startpage.

I love this so much! OK if I snoop at the code? Thank You!

[lilac]

Did anyone find out how to make it work with "new tab" and not just as a startpage?

I think you need to use an add-on for it to work with new tabs, as Sofly has mentioned:

I do warn that getting this startpage running in firefox was quite a pain, the only way to override the new tab page is through an add-on, and since addons can't read local files i had to open a web server and host it there, but (and let's be honest) if you're in this forum there's like a 72% chance you know how it's done, so i don't think it's that big of an issue

Something like New Tab Override should work well if you want to make your startpage a public website.

As mentioned above, there is a limitation with this add-on: If you try to use a local file, it can only read one html file (so no css, image or font files). You could host your website on localhost but there is also another, hacky way of setting the new page to a local file by creating your own add-on.

If anyone is interested I've put instructions in the spoiler below. (note: I'm using firefox 115.9.1esr)

Spoiler

Creating our own add-on will allow us to set the new tab to a local file with access to other local files. This site has the opposite problem though, it cannot include files from the internet (so no images hosted on other websites or javascript served by CDNs). It might be possible but I haven't figured out how to make it work and I haven't needed it yet anyways.

Step 1:
create a folder with any name. Put a file "manifest.json" into that folder.
The contents of the "manifest.json" file should be:

Code

{
    "manifest_version": 2,
    "name": "NewTab",
    "description": "set a url for new tabs",
    "version": "1.0",

    "chrome_url_overrides" : {
        "newtab": "index.html"
    },

    "browser_specific_settings" : {
        "gecko": {
            "id": "New@Tab"
        }
    }
}

Step 2:
add your website into the same folder as the "manifest.json" file. The main html file should be called "index.html"

That's it. We have created our own extension that sets new tabs to a local file! The problem is that we cannot add unsigned extensions to firefox permanently (they get removed after a restart).

Step 3:
To circumvent this, go to about:config and set xpinstall.signatures.required to "false". We can now add unsigned extentions.

Step 4:
Create a zip file that contains the "manifest.json" and your website.

Step 5:
Go to about:addons and drag the zip file from your file manager into the browser window.

A notification should appear saying:
Add NewTab? This extention is unverified. Malicious extensions can steal your private information or compromise your computer. Only add it if you trust the source.
Click Add. Now every new page should open your local html file.

  

[close]

[DiffydaDude]

Did anyone find out how to make it work with "new tab" and not just as a startpage?

I actually did figure out how to do this. If you want to edit the newtab page on Firefox, you need to create a CSS file in Firefox's chrome folder called "userContent.css". From there you can modify the fonts, edit the layout, and change the logo like I did. I changed the logo to the old Firefox logo 
https://github.com/Aris-t2/CustomCSSforFx?tab=readme-ov-file#unlock-custom-css-usage heres a nice link to help you get started!

[grubbyfox]

I actually did figure out how to do this. If you want to edit the newtab page on Firefox, you need to create a CSS file in Firefox's chrome folder called "userContent.css". From there you can modify the fonts, edit the layout, and change the logo like I did. I changed the logo to the old Firefox logo 
https://github.com/Aris-t2/CustomCSSforFx?tab=readme-ov-file#unlock-custom-css-usage heres a nice link to help you get started!

I think you need to use an add-on for it to work with new tabs, as Sofly has mentioned:
Something like New Tab Override should work well if you want to make your startpage a public website.

As mentioned above, there is a limitation with this add-on: If you try to use a local file, it can only read one html file (so no css, image or font files). You could host your website on localhost but there is also another, hacky way of setting the new page to a local file by creating your own add-on.

If anyone is interested I've put instructions in the spoiler below. (note: I'm using firefox 115.9.1esr)

Spoiler

Creating our own add-on will allow us to set the new tab to a local file with access to other local files. This site has the opposite problem though, it cannot include files from the internet (so no images hosted on other websites or javascript served by CDNs). It might be possible but I haven't figured out how to make it work and I haven't needed it yet anyways.

Step 1:
create a folder with any name. Put a file "manifest.json" into that folder.
The contents of the "manifest.json" file should be:

Code

{
    "manifest_version": 2,
    "name": "NewTab",
    "description": "set a url for new tabs",
    "version": "1.0",

    "chrome_url_overrides" : {
        "newtab": "index.html"
    },

    "browser_specific_settings" : {
        "gecko": {
            "id": "New@Tab"
        }
    }
}

Step 2:
add your website into the same folder as the "manifest.json" file. The main html file should be called "index.html"

That's it. We have created our own extension that sets new tabs to a local file! The problem is that we cannot add unsigned extensions to firefox permanently (they get removed after a restart).

Step 3:
To circumvent this, go to about:config and set xpinstall.signatures.required to "false". We can now add unsigned extentions.

Step 4:
Create a zip file that contains the "manifest.json" and your website.

Step 5:
Go to about:addons and drag the zip file from your file manager into the browser window.

A notification should appear saying:
Add NewTab? This extention is unverified. Malicious extensions can steal your private information or compromise your computer. Only add it if you trust the source.
Click Add. Now every new page should open your local html file.

  

[close]

So, if I hosted my startpage on like neocities or something, it would work as preferred? (with codes and all)? :3

[lilac]

So, if I hosted my startpage on like neocities or something, it would work as preferred? (with codes and all)? :3

yep, I think that would be the easiest option