✨ How to Set a GIF as Your Google Chrome Homepage Background


Do you want to make your Google Chrome look cooler and more fun? Adding a GIF to your Chrome homepage is a great way to do that! A GIF is like a short, moving picture—and you can use it to make your new tab page more exciting.

Let’s go step-by-step and learn how to do it.

✅ Option 1: Add a Still GIF as Your Background (Easy Way)
This method is simple but note: the GIF won’t move, it will show as a still image.

🔹 Step 1: Download a GIF
Go to a site like:

Giphy

Tenor

Find a GIF you like, right-click on it, and choose "Save image as…"
Make sure the file ends in .gif.

🔹 Step 2: Set it as Your Chrome Background
Open a new tab in Chrome.

Click the pencil icon (bottom right corner).

Click “Background” → “Upload from device”.

Choose your GIF file.

✅ Done! Now your Chrome homepage will have your chosen image as a background. But remember, it won’t move—it shows only the first frame of the GIF.

🔁 Option 2: Make Your GIF Move on the New Tab Page (Advanced Way)
Want the GIF to actually move? You’ll need to create a small Chrome extension.

📁 Step 1: Make a Folder
Create a folder on your desktop, name it something like MyChromeGIF.

📄 Step 2: Add These Files Inside the Folder
➤ manifest.json
This tells Chrome what your extension does.


{
"manifest_version": 3,
"name": "GIF New Tab",
"version": "1.0",
"description": "Animated GIF as Chrome homepage",
"chrome_url_overrides": {
"newtab": "index.html"
}
}



➤ index.html
This file will show your moving background.



<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>GIF Tab</title>
<style>
body {
margin: 0;
overflow: hidden;
}
video {
position: fixed;
top: 0; left: 0;
width: 100vw;
height: 100vh;
object-fit: cover;
z-index: -1;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<video autoplay muted loop>
<source src="your-gif.mp4" type="video/mp4">
</video>
</body>
</html>


👉 Replace your-gif.mp4 with the name of your video file.

🎥 Step 3: Convert the GIF to a Video
Chrome doesn't support moving GIFs directly, so convert your GIF to a video (MP4 or WebM).
You can use a free site like EZGIF to do that.

🧩 Step 4: Load It into Chrome
Open Chrome and go to chrome://extensions/

Turn on Developer Mode (top right).

Click “Load unpacked”

Select your folder (MyChromeGIF)

Now, open a new tab and enjoy your animated background! 🎉