The Problem With Default New Tabs
Firefox's default new tab (Top Sites) shows recent history and sponsored tiles. Brave has a crypto widget. Chrome shows a search bar and some icons.
None of them let you set exactly which shortcuts show up, in what order, with thumbnails you control.
I wanted something more intentional.
Speed Dial Hub
Speed Dial Hub is a Firefox new tab extension that gives you a visual speed dial — a grid of tiles linking to your most-used sites.
What you can do:
- Add any URL as a speed dial tile
- Customize tile labels and order
- Set a background image or color
- Group tiles into folders
- Works offline (no remote data)
AMO: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/speed-dial-hub/
Why Build Another Speed Dial Extension?
There are existing ones, but I wanted something without premium paywalls and without sending usage data anywhere. Speed Dial Hub is free, local, and doesn't require an account.
How I Use It
My layout:
- Row 1: Work tools (GitHub, Jira, Google Docs)
- Row 2: Communication (Slack, email, calendar)
- Row 3: Reference (docs, internal wiki, bookmarks folder)
Every morning I open Firefox and my first new tab is a map of where I'm going today. No thinking required.
The New Tab Real Estate Problem
Browser tabs are opened constantly. The new tab page is seen dozens of times a day. A page that just shows recent history is a missed opportunity — it could be a quick-launch interface for your workflow.
Speed Dial treats the new tab as a productivity surface, not a browsing history widget.
Free on Firefox Add-Ons. No account, no sync, no tracking.
