How to Change the Google Background in Chrome
The Google homepage on Chrome is a handy way to search the internet or get quick access to your favorite websites, but it does look a little boring with the default skin. Fortunately, you can download custom themes safely and quickly from the Google Chrome Web Store to spruce up your browser.
Let’s check out how to grab a snazzy new theme, as well as how to turn it off if you change your mind in the future.
How to Change Google’s Background in Chrome
To give Google a fresh lick of paint, we’re going to download a theme for Chrome. This will change the color of your tabs and window to match the background, so take note of that before you change Google’s background. To download a theme for Chrome, head over to the Chrome Web Store and click the Themes setting in the top-left.
From here, you’ll find a few choice themes to pick from. If any of them catch your eye, feel free to click on them and check them out in better detail. Otherwise, click the View All button at the top right to see more. Also, check out some of the themes included in our 15 best Google Chrome themes.
Once you find the theme that’s right for you, click the Add to Chrome button at the top right of its page to instantly install it.
How to Remove a Google Chrome Theme
If you begin to regret your choice, you can always repeat the steps above to download and use a new theme. This will throw out the old one and give Google a new lick of paint.
Otherwise, if you want to go back to the default look, click the three dots at the top right of your browser, and then click Settings.
On the left sidebar, click Appearance. Then, under the Appearance category, find the Theme sub-category and click the Reset to Default button to the right of it. At the time of writing, the button is right at the top of the Appearance page.
How to Change the Google Background With the Customize Chrome Settings
Google Chrome’s New Tab page also includes built-in customization settings, with which you can add a background image saved on your PC. Or you can select a variety of background theme presets available within the Chrome browser. This is how you can add a new wallpaper to the Google homepage without modifying Chrome’s theme colors:
- Click the Customize this page button at the bottom right of the New Tab page.
- Press the Change theme button.
- Click the Upload an image option beside the Classic Chrome box.
- Choose an image to add to the Google New Tab page.
- Click Open to add the selected image to the background.
Now you’ll see the image selected on Chrome’s Google homepage. Adding a background wallpaper in this way will retain Chrome’s default tab and address bar color scheme.
Alternatively, you can select background presets below the Upload an image option. To do so, click one of the background category boxes to view image galleries. Then click on one of the image thumbnails to add the picture to the background. Selecting one of those images will also apply a more general theme that modifies Chrome’s color scheme.
How to Change the Google Background With Themes From Browser-Themes
The Browser-Themes site includes a great collection of Chrome background theme images you can add to the Google New Tab page. However, you’ll need to enable developer mode to install themes from that site. You can change the Google background with themes available at Browser-Themes like this:
- Click in Chrome’s URL address bar, input chrome://extensions/, and press Enter.
- Turn on the Developer Mode option within the Extensions tab.
- Next, open this Browser-Themes.com page.
- Press the Sign in button.
- Input an email address with which to receive a verification code email.
- Open your Browser-Themes email and click the Sign in button there.
- Click on a theme image to add to the Google background.
- Press the Download button for the theme.
- Open the folder that contains your downloaded theme’s ZIP file.
- Next, you’ll need to extract the ZIP file to a folder. Windows users can extract a ZIP archive as instructed within this guide to unzipping ZIP files.
- Drag the theme’s extracted folder onto the Extensions tab and release the mouse button when you see the Copy tooltip.
Chrome’s theme will now change to the one you’ve just downloaded and installed. Click the New Tab page tab to see the theme’s image applied to the Google background.
The themes available at Browser-Themes are user-created ones. Those users created them with the theme creation tool on the site.
You can also set up your own theme by clicking the Create theme button on the Browser-Themes site. Configure the palette, image, and color settings according to preference, give the theme a title, and click the Create option. Then select Download to get the ZIP file for the theme.
Spicing Up Google With Chrome Themes
By itself, Google can look a little boring. However, with just a few clicks, you can install a Chrome theme and make it look a lot better. Or add a new wallpaper to the Google homepage with Chrome’s settings for customizing the New Tab page.
