When a browser opens a new window, it can either start at a blank page or open the web page of your choice. Since this page helps you begin your exploration of the web, it will affect how you use the web and how easily you can find the information you need. Commercial web sites would like you to choose their home page so that you will see their advertisers' banner ads every time you start your web browser. Both Netscape and Microsoft, the major browser designers, set your browser to go to their sites as the default or preferred home page. That is one of the reasons they give their browser away for free.
HeightsNET's original home or starting page (www.chuh.org) was designed as a beginning for students and teachers exploring the web for instruction. This main page was recently updated to reflect the broadening audience of the HeightsNET web site. Parents, community, prospective employees and visitors from around the world are using HeightsNET. The new home page provides a welcome to them and a navigation structure to get them to the areas of HeightsNET they may want to visit.
The educational purpose of the original home page is now reflected in the Instruction page available from the new HeightsNET menu. The search, education, ideas and educational resources pages are all a single click from the HeightsNET Instruction page. The location of the Instruction page is www.chuh.org/instruction. Web pages designed to be a starting point for a specific topic are sometimes called portals or channels.
What are some choices for my browser's home page?
Any page on the web can be used as your home page. You can even create your own web page with the sites you visit most as your browser's home page.
Web sites such as Netcenter (www.netscape.com), Yahoo (www.yahoo.com) and Excite (www.excite.com) allow you to customize a home page that can include the current weather, news topics of interest to you, stock quotes, sports scores, etc.
How can I change my browser's home page?
Internet Explorer and Netscape Communicator have a preferences dialog under the Edit Menu. You can customize many of their features here, including the start or home page. The easiest way to change your browser's home page is to copy the location (URL) of the page you want to use and paste it into the home page entry block in the preferences dialog box. In Windows you can hold down the control key and the "c" key to copy the selected text, and then the control key and the "v" key to paste it at the cursor location.
Internet Explorer Preferences
Netscape Communicator Preferences
How can I quickly get to other pages besides my home page?
The bookmarks (Communicator) or favorites (Explorer) feature of your browser, allows you to save and organize as many web page locations as you wish. When you are viewing a page you would like to keep track of, select "Add Bookmark" under the Communicator Bookmarks menu or "Add Page to Favorites" under the Explorer Favorites menu. You can also open your Bookmarks or Favorites list and edit or reorganize them so they are easy to find. Internet Explorer will even check to see of one of your favorite pages has changed since the last time you were there.