Mariusz Z.

2021-03-12

Startpages

“Startpages” were one of my first web-related hobbies.

Put simply, a startpage is the website that appears when you open a new tab, you might have that page be set to a search engine, or you might have let your browser keep it’s page with news and other widgets. All of these pages, so long as they open each and every time you click “new tab”, are startpages!

Why I love startpages

Startpages are a piece of the old web, the creation of a startpage gives me a strong sense of control over my experience in a browser. Given a little tech know-how and a tutorial you can create from scratch the most visited website in your browser.

I think that is wild!

My current startpage is little more than a few links pointing me to websites I like and projects I am working on, complexity isn’t the appeal here. It’s the fact that the thing I see every time I open a new tab was created by me… for me!

The idea that you are in direct control over the thing you see on your screen is great, it’s a great example of the benefits of user control and customizatibility.

Yet sadly it gets harder each year to maintain, and create, startpages. The major browsers make it more difficult to customise them easily and thus raise the barrier to entry for a hobby that used to be a great intro into web development.

More info

If you’d like to discover a little more about startpages, you can visit stpg-tk or check out the reddit community!


Metadata
  • Created: 2021-03-12

  • Updated: 2022-12-26

  • Word count: 275