I want to

BlueG

Your Personal Homepage which is to say that it's a home/start page alternative. It's very simple to set up and only takes a few seconds. If you're familiar with Netvibes it looks very like that, with widgets/gadgets and columns where you can drag and drop. There are tabs for different subject areas, and you can add widgets as you need to different pages.  Nice and easy to use. I didn't create an account myself, just played with the public stuff, so I'm not sure if you can share pages that you create with other folk, but if you're looking for a nice straightforward start page, this is one to check out.

Dash - a new home/start page resource

If you're unhappy with home/start page tools such as Symbaloo or Netvibes, you might want to give Dash a run out. There's an emphasis on live feeds, you can create private or public pages, and there are a few widgets that you can add.

iloggo.com

is an icon based home/start page. iloggo.com is very simple to use; just give it the URL of your favourite sites and it will then create a button for you using images from the site, or you can choose something for yourself. You can also have tabs for different subject areas. It's ok, it does the job, but it fails in 2 crucial areas for me - there doesn't seem to be a way in which you can share content, and it doesn't have support for RSS feeds, both of which really are rather integral in the development of resources such as this. However, if all you're after is a very simple launchpad, this works as well as any of the others.

Startme

If you're still looking for an alternative to iGoogle, and you don't like the other start page options out there, try Startme, which says of itself that it's:Your URLs on a personal startpage. Looks very straightforward to use and it's got some nice features: Categorize bookmarks/RSS feeds in pages and lists Simple drag and drop interface Import/Export your bookmarks/RSS-feeds (OMPL-support) Search engines support (add your own custom search) Offline support (HTML5 Local caching) Extensions for popular browsers like Google and Firefox Make your pages public (and share them) The last option there is an important one, as there are very few tools that let you share your pages with other people. It's worth a quick look if you're still in the startpage/homepage market.

Trackpanel

Looking for an alternative to certain other startpages? You might want to take a look at trackpanel.net It's attractive and looks simple to use. It's not got the same functionality as some other options, but it's quick and simple. It's currently free, though they might want to charge a small fee in the future.

YourPort

Make the Web Yours This is a home or start page site. Very straightforward - just add in the URL of any site that you're interested in visiting on a regular basis and you're done. You can add in your own sites (although it does seem that you have to have an image file to associate with it, or you can't do the link - at least I couldn't), but not RSS feeds. So, not as complex as something like Netvibes, but great if you just want quick access to a number of links.

25 iGoogle Alternatives

Google continues to eat itself, by feeding more and more of its products into the ever hungry maw of Google+ The latest is their start or home page, iGoogle. For those of you who are not sure what a home or start page is, the page that pops up when you start your browser is your home/start page. It's an often overlooked resource, because it can pull in RSS feeds, link to news feeds, keep you informed about your email and a whole lot else.

My personal favourite, and the one that I teach on courses is Netvibes. It's very stable, has been around for years, provides as many different tabbed pages as you need and also allows you to publish material for other people to see. It's widely used by libraries and universities. However, if you'd like to try some alternatives, here they are:

Allmyfaves. This is a kind of start page, except that you can't yet add anything yourself. It simply lists lots of categories and then lists 10 resources in each listing for you to click on. The interface is jammed with site icons and is overpowering, and not something that I'd like to use myself. You may be different however!

Bonzobox. This is an interactive web tool that allows people to build their own customized "BonzoBox" home page with links to their favorite websites. Click, drag and drop. Nothing especially interesting about this one, and it didn't really have a wow factor for me. As good as many of the others out there.

Favoor. Very basic, but it seems to do the job.

Internet Buttons. If you have a friend or relation who is not too up on using the net, or you wanted to create a really simple home or start page for someone, try this one. Very simple - choose the link, choose the buttons and choose a URL. Point friend/relation to 'their' page and it makes life easier for them.

Kadaza. You can only choose from an admittedly huge list of resources broken down into a wide variety of different options. You can move their position, but that's about it. Not a bad idea if you just want to be presented with a bunch of options, but very limited personalisation.

Nextaris. Your all-in-one toolkit for searching the Web, tracking news, capturing Web content, sharing files, publishing Web blogs, and private messaging.

Pobb. This is an online Tool to create your own unique eHome, with links to your favourite places on the Net and lots more.

Protopage. It's a home/start page. Very basic, but fine if you want to try out the concept.

Schmedley. Lots of options, plenty of widgets that you can move around, you can add new tabs and so on. It does look as though some advertising is forced on you though, which is a shame, and it's one of the reasons that I'll be sticking with Netvibes.

Sitehoover. This is a simple to use home page resource that works using thumbnails for sites that you input yourself. If you register (which you'll need to in order to keep the page you create) you can theme it, import bookmarks from Firefox, use RSS feeds and create public 'hoovers' as well.

Spaaze. This is a cross between a start page, Wallwisher and Glogster resource. Add content, move it around the screen, add in images and video, put in links and so on. They are going to go for a pricing model, which probably isn't that sensible, given the free resources that are overlapping into this territory.

Start. This one looks ok, but a bit clunky to start with. However, you can actually edit the HTML to make it look nicer - if you're ok doing that of course! Supports RSS feeds.

Symbaloo. This is really nice as a start page. Looks a bit noddy, with large block icons, but you can add your own, drag in bookmarks, rearrange things, add tabs and so on. It's not as sophisticated as some resources like Netvibes, but if you want something quick, easy and uncomplicated this has to be in the running.

SymbalooEDU. This is an interesting twist on their existing start page offering, which I've blogged previously. They now have version optimized for teachers, allowing school branding, customised content, webinar training, with a maximum number of of users. It's also free of any advertising.

Tizmos. The thumbnails are quite large, and I can see how this could actually be a nice way of display a bunch of pages that you want to take people to; a nice training aid in effect.

Transferr. This is a customised home page that lets you quickly and easily access your favorite web sites, manage your favourites, and share single or whole groups of your favourites with others. Transferr creates icons of your favourite sites ready for easy access. You can add a favourite site to your hompage by simply typing in the address, or you can import favourites directly from your web browser. Transferr allows you to manage your favourites by colour and by keeping them in tabs.

uStart. This looks very good indeed actually. Same format as  Netvibes. Good approach, wide variety of widgets, very neat. Can't see a way of sharing content, which lets it down a bit, but this looks like a good alternative.

Webnavigo is Polish, but it's easy to work out what it's talking about.

Webwag. Looks painfully like Netvibes. Lets you create you create your own content, tags and so on, and will populate a page automatically for you. Looks nice and simple, possibly more attractive than Netvibes itself in fact.

Wonderpage. It's a start page by any other name. However, as the description suggests, it's a very visual resource with a grid of pages.

Woolik. You can resize everything, add in your own backgrounds and move all the widgets around. I didn't see an option to add in your own sites however, just to choose from a pre-selected list.

YourPort. Bringing all your favorite sites together in one place. Why use Yourport as my homepage?  Automatically sync to your own bookmarks. No login or sign-up needed. Share your favorite sites with friends. Its Free to us. Very basic, with large button icons.

Zeadoo. Quote from their site: "Zeadoo is your personal homepage for searching, bookmarking and sharing websites with friends. The site is designed for anyone who wants a simple, customizable page that they can access with one click from anywhere in the world."

Zenstart.  These people say that they've got 'the best start page', but it doesn't allow you to add your own resources, there's no opportunity for RSS feeds, no widgets - just a series of pre-assigned lists of sites. All you can do is change the position of them within the 6 assigned categories. It's also very American biased. Until they can add more functionality, this is just a listing of sites - and not a very good one either!

I haven't listed Pageflakes, since it had its heyday a long time ago - and it fell into a sharp decline several years back. I personally wouldn't touch it with a bargepole. As for iGoogle itself - the message is perfectly clear - just don't trust Google. With anything really.

 

Wonderpage

Visual & Social bookmarking tool It's a start page by any other name. However, as the description suggests, it's a very visual resource with a grid of pages. I'll be sticking with Netvibes though.

TizzR; a home page designed for children

From the site: "TizzR Is The Personalized Web Space And Homepage Which Can Be Customized By Adding Your Favourite Websites , Search Engines , And Emails As Well As Choosing Your Favourite Colour Schemes And Social Networking Sites To Use From One Page In One Place." (Guys, seriously - lose the Caps On Every Word. You're not hip and down with the kids you look sad and pathetic.)

Anyway, apparently children don't want news, weather and stuff like that. They want to know what their friends are doing, personal news and so on. Which is why they'll go to Facebook and won't come here. I love start pages, but really, this just isn't in the running.

Blinkdash

Blinkdash Just love this one, I don't think. They have a nice little page that slags off other search engines; "The truth about other start pages: Here's a secret. Most start pages are efficient at getting you where you DON'T want to go." No, actually... most good start pages are very good at getting data to come to you so you don't have to go anywhere else. This thing is so basic it's worse than useless. Avoid like the plague.