How to customize your homepage on Ecosia

Ecosia’s New Tab Page (NTP) is the first page that you see when you open your browser. It comes with multiple options for you to make it your own. This article describes how to modify the NTP and the different options available.

Note that this article assumes you have already successfully installed Ecosia. If not, please refer to our installation articles for desktop here or for mobile here. 

Customizing your NTP on desktop browsers

When you are on the NTP, you can access the customization panel by clicking on Customize on the bottom right side of the screen.

In the panel you can customize the following:

• Appearance:
  • Theme: Select whether you prefer your page to have a light or a dark background
  • Wallpaper: When you click on Edit Background, you’ll have access to a variety of beautiful images inspired by our projects 

• Show on homepage:
  • This setting allows you to choose what sections you would like to see on your homepage. The sections are the following:
  • Shortcuts: The shortcuts are the little icons underneath the search bar that give you quick access to your most visited or favorite websites.
  • Sponsored links (only on the Ecosia desktop browser): The sponsored links section redirects you to a few partner websites where part of any purchase you make goes right back to supporting Ecosia! Find out more by clicking this link. 
  • Climate impact: The climate impact section consists of the total tree and funding counters that help you stay aware of Ecosia’s impact. On the Ecosia desktop browser, you also have access to a renewable energy counter, of which you can find out more here. 
  • About Ecosia: The About Ecosia section gives you quick access to more information about us, whether that is where our money goes, where we plant our trees, or more info about your privacy on Ecosia.

Modifying the homepage website shortcut icons

On the homepage, there are two sets of shortcut icons. The first is your most visited section, which is automatically generated based on your search history. You may remove shortcuts you do not wish to see by clicking on the little x in the corner of each shortcut.

The second tab consists of your favorites. These can be manually added, removed or renamed according to your preferences.

Customizing your NTP on the Ecosia iOS app

The NTP on Ecosia iOS app gives you a few customization options. Go to Menu > Customize homepage

Much like the browser version, you can choose to toggle on or off these different categories:

• Top sites: The top sites are the little icons underneath the search bar that give you quick access to your most visited websites. The websites are automatically generated based on your history. Unfortunately, it is not yet possible to add custom links to the homepage.
• Climate impact: The climate impact section consists of the total tree and funding counters that help you stay aware of Ecosia’s impact. 
• Ecosia news: Ecosia’s news section gives you access to the most recent articles on our blog.
• About Ecosia: The About Ecosia section allows you to quickly access more information about us, whether that is where our money goes, where we plant our trees, or more info about your privacy on Ecosia.

Customizing your NTP on the Ecosia Android app

The NTP on the Ecosia Android app gives you a few customization options. If you scroll all the way to the bottom of the NTP, you will see an option to Customize homepage.

Much like the browser version, you can choose to toggle on or off these different categories:

• Top sites: The top sites are the little icons underneath the search bar that give you quick access to your most visited websites. The websites are automatically generated based on your history. Unfortunately, it is not yet possible to add custom links to the homepage.
• Climate impact: The climate impact section consists of the total tree and funding counters that help you stay aware of Ecosia’s impact. 
• Ecosia news: Ecosia’s news section gives you access to the most recent articles on our blog.
• About Ecosia: The About Ecosia section allows you to quickly access more information about us, whether that is where our money goes, where we plant our trees, or more info about your privacy on Ecosia.

Further customization options on the Chrome desktop browser

Chrome’s new tab page themes are compatible with Ecosia. This means that you can select a custom background and have it automatically underlay Ecosia’s features. 

In Chrome’s webstore, you can consult their available themes. Maybe you’re a dog person, and found this cute wallpaper here. 

Once you’ve found a theme you like, click Add to Chrome

Once added, your NTP should look something like this!

If you want to revert back, you can always change your theme by accessing Chrome’s settings and going to Appearance. Once there, simply select Reset to default.

Need more support? Find additional instructions on Google’s support center on how to customize your new tab page.

Other customization options for desktop browsers

Would you like to customize your browser in more ways than currently offered at Ecosia? If you use a browser that has an extension store, for example Chrome, Firefox or Edge, there may be third-party extensions that offer additional customization options and are compatible with Ecosia. 

Please note that Ecosia is not affiliated with these third-party extensions and cannot assure that they are compatible and function properly.