How to Set 8 Bit Dashboard as Your Browser Start Page

Updated

Open 8bitdashboard.com in your browser, then use the browser's own settings to make that address your homepage or startup page. The site itself has no account or setup step — it's a start page you point your browser at. The exact menu differs by browser, so the steps below cover Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari.

What the page gives you

According to the site's own description, 8 Bit Dashboard is designed as a start page: 8-bit GIFs with a clock, bookmark hotkeys, and a greeting. That means the value shows up the moment a new tab or window opens, so the goal is to make the browser load it automatically rather than typing the URL each time.

Set it in Chrome

  1. Open https://8bitdashboard.com in a tab.
  2. Open Settings (three-dot menu → Settings).
  3. Go to On startup.
  4. Choose Open a specific page or set of pages, then Add a new page and enter https://8bitdashboard.com.
  5. Optional: under Appearance → Show home button, enable it and set the home button to the same address.

Expected result: every new Chrome window opens on the dashboard. New tabs still open your normal new-tab page unless you also change the new-tab behavior through an extension.

Set it in Edge

  1. Open Settings → Start, home, and new tabs.
  2. Under When Edge starts, select Open these pages and add https://8bitdashboard.com.
  3. To make the Home button use it, set Home button → Show home button and enter the same URL.

Expected result: launching Edge loads the dashboard first.

Set it in Firefox

  1. Open Settings → Home.
  2. In Homepage and new windows, choose Custom URLs and enter https://8bitdashboard.com.
  3. Optionally set New tabs to the same custom URL — this is the one browser where the dashboard can also replace the new-tab page without an extension.

Expected result: new windows (and new tabs, if you set it) open on the dashboard.

Set it in Safari

  1. Open Safari → Settings → General.
  2. In Homepage, enter https://8bitdashboard.com.
  3. Set New windows open with and New tabs open with to Homepage.

Expected result: new Safari windows and tabs load the dashboard.

Quick comparison

Browser Startup page setting Can replace new tab natively?
Chrome On startup → specific pages No (needs an extension)
Edge Start, home, and new tabs No (needs an extension)
Firefox Home → Custom URLs Yes
Safari General → Homepage Yes

Common snags

  • Typing the bare domain: enter the full https://8bitdashboard.com if the browser rejects the short form.
  • New tab vs. startup: these are separate settings in Chrome and Edge. If the dashboard appears on launch but not on new tabs, that's expected — change the new-tab behavior separately or accept the split.
  • Multiple startup pages: if you add the dashboard alongside other pages, they all open at launch; remove the others if you want the dashboard alone.
  • Private/incognito windows: these usually ignore startup page settings, so test in a normal window.

Once set, the dashboard loads with no further configuration — the clock, GIFs, greeting, and bookmark hotkeys are part of the page itself.