Weather Clock Dash

Posted on Oct 16

Customizing Firefox's New Tab Page: From Simple to Full Control

#firefox #productivity #css #javascript

Firefox's new tab page has changed over the years. Here's what you can configure natively, and what extensions exist for more control.

Firefox Home (Default New Tab)

The default new tab page ("Firefox Home") shows:

A search bar (using your default search engine)
"Top Sites" — frequently visited and pinned sites
"Recent Activity" section
Recommended stories (from Pocket)
Weather widget (if enabled)

All sections are optional. Go to about:preferences#home to enable or disable each one.

Most developers prefer: disabling Pocket stories (you didn't opt into a curated news feed) and keeping Top Sites or going blank.

Configuring Top Sites

Top Sites shows shortcuts to frequently visited pages. You can:

Pin a site: hover over a tile → click the pencil icon → check "pin"
Remove a site: hover → click the X
Edit a tile: hover → pencil icon → change name and URL

The tiles show by default up to 8 sites. This is configurable in about:config:

browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.topSitesRows = 1  (default, increase for more rows)

Going to a Blank Page

Some people prefer a blank new tab for minimal distraction:

about:preferences#home → change "New Windows and Tabs" → Homepage/New Tab from "Firefox Home" to "Blank Page"

Or set it to a custom URL (useful for a local dashboard or a specific start page).

Firefox View (about:firefoxview)

New as of Firefox 106: Firefox View shows recently closed tabs, synced tabs from other devices, and recently visited pages. Access it from the small icon at the far left of the tab bar.

This is separate from the new tab page — think of it as a "session dashboard" rather than a new tab replacement.

It's useful for:

Quickly reopening tabs you closed this session
Seeing what's open on your other devices (via Firefox Sync)
Browsing recent history without opening History manager

Extensions for Custom New Tab Pages

If you want more than Firefox's native options:

Tabliss — open source, minimal new tab page with customizable widgets: clock, weather, quotes, background images. Excellent privacy (no accounts, local configuration).

New Tab Override — simple extension that lets you set any URL as your new tab page. Point it to a local HTML file for a fully custom start page.

Custom New Tab — similar to New Tab Override, with additional options.

Building Your Own New Tab Page

If you want maximum control, you can write a local HTML file and set it as your new tab page via "New Tab Override" or similar extension.

Simple example:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Start</title>
<style>
  body { background: #1a1a1a; color: #ccc; font-family: monospace; 
         display: flex; flex-direction: column; align-items: center; 
         padding-top: 100px; }
  .links a { color: #7ec8e3; text-decoration: none; margin: 0 15px; }
  .clock { font-size: 4em; margin-bottom: 30px; }
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div class="clock" id="clock"></div>
<div class="links">
  <a href="https://github.com">GitHub</a>
  <a href="https://dev.to">Dev.to</a>
  <a href="https://localhost:3000">Local Dev</a>
</div>
<script>
  setInterval(() => {
    document.getElementById('clock').textContent = 
      new Date().toLocaleTimeString();
  }, 1000);
</script>
</body>
</html>

Set this as your new tab page via New Tab Override → "Custom URL" → file:///path/to/your/newtab.html.

This gives you complete control: your links, your clock, your layout, your color scheme, offline-capable.

New Tab + Tab Sessions

One thing the default new tab page doesn't show: named saved sessions. Firefox Home shows recent tabs but not deliberately-saved session snapshots.

Tab Manager & Session Saver lets you save named session snapshots — but they're accessed via the extension popup, not the new tab page.

If you want to see saved sessions on your new tab page, you'd need a custom new tab extension that integrates with your session manager. Currently, the Tab Manager extension popup is the access point for saved sessions.

Performance Note

Extensions that replace the new tab page run JavaScript on every new tab open. For a snappy browser:

Choose lightweight extensions (Tabliss is very efficient)
Avoid new tab extensions that make network requests on every open (loading a remote weather API, for example, adds latency)
A locally-rendered page (blank page, or local HTML file) is fastest

For most developers: setting new tab to "Blank Page" or a simple local HTML file is more productive than a feature-rich start page. Less distraction, faster load. The Firefox View sidebar (Ctrl+Shift+Z) provides recent tab access when needed.

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