3 Ways to Add a Website Link to the Start Menu

You’ve got a website you use constantlyemail, a school portal, a project dashboard, your favorite “I swear I’m only checking it for five minutes” siteand you want it one click away.
The Windows Start menu can absolutely do that. In fact, you’ve got three solid options depending on how “app-like” you want the site to feel.

This guide walks through three reliable ways to add a website link to the Start menu on Windows 11 or Windows 10, plus real-world tips to avoid the classic gotchas
(like mystery icons, shortcuts that open in the “wrong” browser, and “Why did my pin move?” moments).

Before You Start: A Quick Reality Check (Windows 11 vs. Windows 10)

The steps are similar, but the Start menu behaves differently depending on your version:

• Windows 11: “Pinned” items show in the top section. No live tiles. Everything is more… tidy. (Or “less fun,” depending on your taste.)
• Windows 10: Pinned items can appear as tiles. Some sites can show a recognizable icon tile, which feels more like an “app.”

All three methods below work on modern Windows setups, but your best choice depends on what you want:
a simple link, a browser-based “app,” or a classic shortcut you control.

Method 1: Pin the Website Directly from Microsoft Edge (Fastest)

If you want the simplest route and you’re fine with the link opening in Edge, this is the quickest way to pin a website to the Start menu.
It’s basically the “two-clicks and done” option (okay, maybe four clicksWindows loves a good click).

Step-by-step (Windows 11 / Windows 10)

1. Open Microsoft Edge.
2. Go to the website you want to add (example: https://calendar.google.com).
3. Click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner.
4. Choose More tools > Pin to Start.
5. Confirm the name (if prompted), then approve the pin.

When this method is best

• You want speed and simplicity.
• You’re okay with the site opening in Edge (including your logged-in Edge profile).
• You don’t need the site to behave like a standalone app window.

Pro tip: Pin the “right” page, not just the homepage

Pin the page you actually use. For example:

• Instead of your bank’s homepage, pin the login page (if it’s stable).
• Instead of a project tool’s front page, pin your dashboard URL.
• Instead of a school portal landing page, pin the assignments section (your future self will say thank you).

Method 2: Install the Website as an App (PWA) and Pin It (Most “App-Like”)

Want the website to feel like a real appits own window, its own Start entry, and a cleaner “no tabs everywhere” experience?
That’s where Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) come in. If the site supports it, you can install it from Edge or Chrome and then pin it to Start.

Not every site supports full PWA features, but many popular services do (think productivity tools, music, messaging, and web dashboards).
Even when a site isn’t a “perfect” PWA, you can often still create an app-style shortcut.

Option A (Edge): Install “this site as an app,” then pin

1. Open the website in Microsoft Edge.
2. Click the three-dot menu.
3. Go to Apps (or More tools, depending on your Edge version).
4. Select Install this site as an app (or Install).
5. Name the app if prompted, then click Install.
6. Open Start, find the new app entry, right-click it, and choose Pin to Start (if it isn’t pinned automatically).

Option B (Chrome): Create a shortcut that opens as a window, then pin

Chrome’s flow usually starts as “Create shortcut,” and then you choose whether it behaves like a windowed app.

1. Open Google Chrome.
2. Navigate to the website you want.
3. Click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner.
4. Choose Cast, save, and share > Create shortcut.
5. In the dialog, name it and (when available) select Open as window.
6. Click Create.
7. Now locate that shortcut (often on the desktop or in a Chrome apps location), right-click it, and choose Pin to Start if available.

Why PWAs are worth it

• Cleaner workflow: No “which tab is it?” scavenger hunts.
• Dedicated icon + entry: Easier to find in Start search.
• Feels like an app: Separate window, separate taskbar grouping, fewer distractions.

Example use-cases where PWAs shine

• School + study: Google Classroom, Microsoft 365 web apps, learning portals.
• Work dashboards: Jira boards, analytics panels, support queues.
• Communication: Web chat tools that you want “always available” without a full browser session.

Method 3: Create a Classic Website Shortcut and Add It to the Start Menu Folder (Most Control)

This is the “old-school Windows power user” approachand it’s still incredibly useful.
You create a standard website shortcut and place it into the Start Menu’s Programs folder so it appears in the app list, then pin it.

This method is great when:

• You want the shortcut to open in your default browser (not necessarily Edge).
• You want to manage shortcuts like normal files (rename them, organize them, back them up).
• You’re dealing with a site that doesn’t install nicely as an app.

Step 1: Create the shortcut

1. Right-click on your desktop.
2. Select New > Shortcut.
3. Paste the website URL (example: https://www.nytimes.com).
4. Click Next, name the shortcut, then click Finish.

Step 2: Put it in the Start Menu Programs folder

There are two common Start Menu folders:

• For your user account: %AppData%MicrosoftWindowsStart MenuPrograms
• For all users (admin permissions may be required): C:ProgramDataMicrosoftWindowsStart MenuPrograms

The easiest way is to open Run and jump straight there:

1. Press Windows + R.
2. Type shell:start menu (or use the folder paths above) and press Enter.
3. Open the Programs folder if needed.
4. Drag your shortcut into that folder (or copy/paste it).

Step 3: Pin it to Start

1. Open Start.
2. Find your shortcut in All apps (Windows 11) or the app list (Windows 10).
3. Right-click it and choose Pin to Start.

Bonus: Organize shortcuts like a pro (without overdoing it)

If you add multiple website shortcuts, create a folder inside the Programs folder such as:
Web Shortcuts or Work Links.
Your Start list will be cleaner, and you’ll feel like the kind of person who labels cables.

Which Method Should You Use?

• Pick Method 1 if you want the quickest Edge-based pin.
• Pick Method 2 if you want an app-like experience (best for daily-use web tools).
• Pick Method 3 if you want maximum control and default-browser behavior.

Troubleshooting: Common Problems (and Fixes That Don’t Require Yelling at Your Screen)

“Pin to Start” is missing

• Make sure you’re using Microsoft Edge for Method 1.
• Try updating your browser and Windows, then relaunch.
• Use Method 3 as a fallbackclassic shortcuts almost always work.

The icon looks generic (like a blank page)

• Some sites don’t provide a good favicon. Installing as an app (Method 2) often improves the icon.
• For Method 3, you can manually change the shortcut icon in Properties (if you have a suitable .ico file).

It opens in the “wrong” browser

• Method 1 will open in Edgeby design.
• Method 3 typically opens in your default browser. If it doesn’t, check Windows default apps for HTTP/HTTPS.
• Method 2 opens in the browser that created the app/shortcut (Edge-created apps open like Edge apps; Chrome-created shortcuts open like Chrome apps).

Sign-in confusion (multiple accounts)

• If you use multiple profiles (school + personal), install/pin from the profile you actually want tied to the shortcut.
• PWAs created under a specific browser profile tend to keep that profile’s session behavior.

Real-World Experiences: What Actually Happens After You Pin Sites (Plus the Little Gotchas)

Once you start pinning websites to Start, it’s hard to stop. It begins innocently“I’ll just pin my email.”
Next thing you know, your Start menu looks like a control panel for your entire life, and you’re one shortcut away from pinning your grocery list “for productivity.”
Here are a few real-world patterns people run into when they use these methods dailyand how to stay sane.

First, Windows 11 makes pins feel more permanent, but also more curated. Since the Start menu has a dedicated “Pinned” section,
people tend to pin only the essentialscalendar, email, a task board, and maybe one “fun” site they pretend is a news site.
The upside is less clutter. The downside is that if you pin too many links, Start search becomes your best friend because scrolling through pins isn’t always faster.
A practical approach is to pin your top 5–10 “daily drivers,” then rely on search for everything else.

Second, PWAs are the secret weapon for focus. When a site runs in a standalone window, it behaves like a real app:
no tempting row of tabs, fewer notifications from unrelated browsing, and less “How did I end up reading about 18th-century shipwrecks?”
People who use web dashboards (analytics, customer support, classroom portals) often notice a measurable difference in attention.
If you’re easily distracted, Method 2 isn’t just a convenienceit’s a mild life upgrade.

Third, the most common complaint is: “Why does it open in the wrong account?”
This happens a lot with Google services, Microsoft 365, and any site where you use multiple profiles.
The fix is annoyingly simple: create/install the shortcut while you’re signed into the correct browser profile and correct account.
If you pinned your school portal from your personal Chrome profile, it’s going to keep acting like it’s personal until you redo it.
For anyone juggling school + work + personal logins, this alone is a strong reason to choose Method 2because the “app” is more consistent about which profile it belongs to.

Fourth, icons can be weird. Sometimes a pinned website shows a crisp logo; other times it looks like a blank document that’s having an identity crisis.
In everyday use, people find that installing as an app tends to produce better icons because the browser uses the site’s app metadata (when available).
If you’re picky about aesthetics, Method 2 is usually the best-looking option. If you’re using Method 3 and the icon bothers you,
you can change the shortcut icon manuallybut that’s a “Saturday afternoon with a cup of coffee” project, not a “two minutes before class starts” project.

Fifth, in workplaces and schools, device policies can limit pinning or app installs.
On managed PCs, “Install as an app” might be disabled, or Start pinning may be partially controlled by the organization.
When that happens, Method 3 is often the most resilient because it relies on ordinary shortcuts and the Start Menu folderbasic Windows behavior that tends to remain available.
In other words: if Windows gets strict, go classic.

Finally, once you’ve pinned a few sites successfully, the best “experienced user” trick is to treat Start like a launchpad, not a landfill.
Pin what you truly use daily, uninstall or unpin what you don’t, and remember that Start search is ridiculously fast.
Your goal isn’t to pin the entire internet. It’s to make the internet you actually use show up on time.

Conclusion

Adding a website link to the Start menu is one of those small changes that makes your computer feel tailored to you.
Whether you go with a quick Edge pin, a proper app-style install, or a classic shortcut you control, the best method is the one that saves you clicks every day.
Start smallpin two or three sites you use constantlyand you’ll feel the difference immediately.