Google Chrome browser is an open-source program for accessing the World Wide Web and running Web-based applications. The Google Chrome Web browser is based on the open-source Chromium project and it was officially released on December 11, 2008. A few years after its release, it had become the favourite of everyone who surfs the world wide web.

This post is for any beginner who wishes to use and navigate the google chrome interface. Please note that this post is majorly for those using google chrome on a PC. However, some of the contents here are still relevant to using google chrome on mobile phones as well.

Why Google Chrome has become the choice of Most

According to StatCounter global statistics on web browsers, more than half of internet users browse the world wide web using Google chrome. This is a result of the cool features of this browser in comparison to other browsers out there. Some of these cool features of google chrome are:

• Enjoy the faster speed of browsing
• Open source and free
• Easy interface
• Cross-platform availability
• Easy customization
• Omnibox function
• Tab groups
• Frequent patch update
• Synchronization with other google apps
• Live caption (cc) for any video or audio
• Screen/ Desktop cast
• Developer tool (Second to no other)
• Wide range of extension integration

These are to mention a few of Chrome’s features that makes it beat other browsers.

The Google Chrome interface

The google chrome interface is made up of several parts. These are highlighted below:

• The Tab Bar

This is also called the title Bar. It is the portion where you have all the tabs currently opened in your chrome windows. You can always add a new tab using the ‘+’ icon by the right of the existing tab(s). Alternatively, you can add a new tab using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+T. You can also close a tab by hitting the ‘x’ icon by the right of each tab. Closing a tab can also be done using Ctrl + F4, while you can recover a closed tab by hitting Ctrl + Shift+T.

The tab bar is also a place for you to create tab groups for stacking several similar tabs together. To do this, select the tabs you’d want to stack together and right click on the selected tab/tabs and choose the add tab to group option, then select a new group.

To the right of the tab bar, you have the tab search dropdown where you can search for any of your opened tabs. This is mostly beneficial in instances where you have tons of tabs opened in a single Chrome window.

• The Address bar

Right below the tab bar (Title bar) is the address bar. It is made up of several parts.

First by the left are the navigation buttons which are:

Back: to go back to a previously viewed page

Forward: to move forward to a page earlier opened

Reload: to refresh the current webpage this can also be done using the F5 key on your keyboard. (Note that the refresh button changes to a cancel/stop button when a page is loading. This can be used to stop a loading page)

Home: To go to the home screen of your google chrome windows. This is by default set to the google search homepage but can be set to whatever URL you want. To set your home page to your desired URL, click on the Main menu→Settings→Appearance→Show Home button.

To the right of the navigation buttons is the address box. The address box is made up of:

Site information: is indicated by the lock icon. This gives the info about the present site you are visiting. When clicked, it gives detail of the site security, the number of cookies being used, and the site settings.

Omnibox: The Omnibox is the part of the address box where you type in the URL of the site you want to visit or type in the search query you want to search on search engines. It is called the Omnibox because it can perform multiple functions.

Share: to the left of the Omnibox is the share button which can be used to share the current page via several media and can also be used to send the page link to any other devices you’re signed in to.

Bookmark this tab: this is used to bookmark a tab and save it in your bookmark manager.

 To the right of the address box are the Extensions buttons. This shows some pinned extensions from your extension manager. Extensions are minor programs that are installed into Chrome browsers to enhance the functionality of the browser.

To the left of the extension buttons is the Show Side Panel. The Side panel in Chrome shows the reading list and the bookmarks.

Further to the right is your profile. This can be clicked to sign in or sign out of your Google account. It can also be used to switch between several google accounts signed into chrome and also for syncing your activities with other devices where you are signed into.

Lastly to the right is the main menu (or customize chrome button). It is indicated by three vertical dots and can be used to carry out tons of customization for your chrome browser.

• Bookmarks Bar

The bookmark bar is right below the address bar. It is a place for keeping/ pinning frequently visited websites for ease of access. Depending on the customization of your chrome browser, you might not see it there by default. To make your bookmark bar visible, you’d have to go to the Main Menu→Bookmarks→Show bookmark bar or simply press Ctrl + Shift + B.

• Download Status Bar

The download status bar appears at the very bottom of the google chrome interface only when there is an ongoing file download or there has been any file download within the browsing session. This bar gives you a quick glimpse of the status of your download and also gives you instant access to open the downloaded files.

You can see that the Google Chrome interface is really easy to navigate and yet has rich features to ease your browsing tasks. If you are still unsure about anything related to the Google Chrome interface, do not hesitate to get in touch with us. You can message us on WhatsApp by clicking here or join our WhatsApp group by clicking Here