If you’re addicted to web bookmarks like me, you probably save lots of web pages in your web browser. I have hundreds of bookmarks, and I keep on adding more (since I started over 10 years ago).
There are multiple ways to save bookmarks in Chrome for desktop. I will share the most common ones and hopefully help you achieve a better user experience.
But first, here is a quick tip on how to show/hide the Bookmarks Bar in Chrome for desktop. Simply use the following shortcuts:
- Windows: Ctrl + Shift + B
- macOS: Cmd ⌘ + Shift + B
Different ways to bookmark a page in Chrome
1. Drag and drop the URL
Just drag and drop the URL from the address bar in the Bookmarks Bar. You can either drag the icon or the whole URL text from the address bar.
Unfortunately, in Chrome you can’t drag and drop the browser tab in the Bookmarks Bar. This will open the tab in a new window.
2. Click the bookmark icon
Simply click the Bookmark icon located on the right side in the address bar. If you wish, you can select a folder, otherwise it will go to the Bookmark Bar by default.
If you wish to add the bookmark to a sub-folder, open the folder drop down menu and choose this option: Choose Another Folder. You’ll get the list of all your folders and sub-folders, select the one that you need.
3. Use a shortcut
Use the following shortcuts to quickly bookmark a web page:
- Windows: Ctrl + D
- macOS: Cmd ⌘ + D
Now that you know how to quickly bookmark web pages in Chrome, let’s discuss about backups.
How to export and backup your web bookmarks
There are lots of methods to save, export and backup bookmarks. You could use a web/cloud service, a browser extension or simply export the bookmarks. They all have pros and cons, but I will share my way of doing things.
I basically use 2 options:
1. Export bookmarks
In Chrome web browser for desktop, follow the next steps:
- Go to Bookmarks – Bookmarks Manager (or use this shortcut – macOS: Alt + Cmd ⌘ + B, Windows: Alt + Ctrl + B).
- Click on 3 vertical dots in the right hand corner
- Choose the Export bookmarks option
- Select where you want to save them and click on Save
You’ll get an HTML file with all your bookmarks. Now, save this file on your laptop and also Google Drive, Dropbox or whatever cloud storage service you use, to make sure you can restore the file if you need it.
2. Use Chrome Sync
If you switch devices often and don’t want to export/import an HTML file every time you use a different laptop/desktop computer, the Sync might be a good option.
It will basically store your bookmarks in the cloud, so you can load them on any Chrome browser, once you login with a Google account.
Here is how to enable Chrome Sync feature:
- Click on your profile icon in the upper right cornet (you must be logged in)
- Click on Turn on sync, then on Yes, I’m in
- Optional: select what you want to to sync
Note: make sure you export your bookmarks to an HTML file if you want to unsync. Otherwise, you will lose all your bookmarks.
I hope this is useful and let me know if you have any other ideas or questions in the comments below.
