Windows 7: Internet Website Shortcut - Create

   Information

This tutorial will show you how to create a Internet Website Shortcut that will open a website in any browser in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.

OPTION ONE

Drag and Drop to Create Internet Website Shortcut in IE9 or IE10

1. Open Internet Explorer, and go to the website that you want to create a shortcut of, then do either step 2 or 3 below for how you would like to create the shortcut.

2. To be able to Pin the Internet Shortcut

A) Drag the favicon in the left side of the address bar in IE9 to your desktop and release to have a shortcut to the website. (see screenshot below)

   Note

When you create a shortcut using this option, the shortcut behaves like when you pin a site from IE9 or IE10, and opens in a new IE9 or IE10 window. The shortcut's/pinned site is at the center of the experience, not the browser. When a shortcut's/pinned site is launched from the taskbar, the browser frame and navigational controls integrate the site's icon and primary color, providing an experience that's tailored to the site you're viewing.

You can also add additional home page tabs for each site you pin or create a shortcut of like this. That way when you open a site that's pinned you can open several webpages or websites all at once.

B) You can now move the shortcut to where you like for easy use, Pin to Taskbar or Pin to Start Menu (Vista/Windows 7) or Pin to Start (Windows 8) this shortcut.

OR

3. To Drag and Drop without a Separate IE9 or IE10 Window Opening

A) Press and hold shift + left click, drag the favicon in the left side of the address bar in IE9 or IE10 to your desktop and release to have a shortcut to the website. (see screenshot below)

B) You can now pin the shortcut into the jump list of Internet Explorer on the taskbar, or move the shortcut to where you like for easy use.

OPTION TWO

Right Click on Website to Create Internet Website Shortcut in Internet Explorer

1. Open Internet Explorer, and go to the website that you want to create a shortcut of.

2. Right click on a non clickable area of the webpage, and click on Create shortcut. (see screenshot below)

3. Click on Yes to have the shortcut created on your desktop. (see screenshot below)

4. If you would like to Change the Icon of the Internet Shortcut
NOTE: This is if you do not want to have the default Internet Explorer icon use for your shortcut. If that icon is ok with you, then you are done and can go to step 5 instead.

A) Right click on the new internet shortcut on the Desktop and click on Properties.

B) Click on the Web Document tab, then click on the Change Icon button. (see screenshot below)

C) Click on the Browse button, then navigate to and select the 256x256 pixel ICO file that you want to use as the icon for your internet shortcut, click on Open, select the icon, and click on OK. (see screenshots below)

D) Click on OK. (see screenshot below step 4A)

5. You can now move the website shortcut to where you like.

OPTION THREE

To Manually Create a Internet Website Shortcut to Open in Any Web Browser

1. Right click on a empty area on desktop, and click on New and Shortcut. (see screenshot below)

2. Type the location from either step 3A or 3B OR step 4A or 4B below into the location area, and click on the Next button. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: Check to see if you have a 32-bit or 64-bit Windows installed first. You would substitute website address below with the website URL adress that you want instead.

3. To Create a Internet Shortcut to Open in Internet Explorer Inprivate Browsing
NOTE: InPrivate Browsing enables you to surf the web without leaving a trail in Internet Explorer. This helps prevent anyone else who might be using your computer from seeing where you visited and what you looked at on the web.

A) If you have 32-bit Windows

"%ProgramFiles%\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe" -private website address

FOR EXAMPLE:
I would type this below for our website http://www.sevenforums.com/.

"%ProgramFiles%\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe" -private http://www.sevenforums.com/

B) If you have 64-bit Windows

• To Have Website Shortcut Open in Default 32-bit Internet Explorer

"%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe" -private website address

FOR EXAMPLE:
I would type this below for our website http://www.sevenforums.com/

"%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe" -private http://www.sevenforums.com/

• To Have Website Shortcut Open in 64-bit Internet Explorer

"%ProgramFiles%\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe" -private website address

FOR EXAMPLE:
I would type this below for our website http://www.sevenforums.com/

"%ProgramFiles%\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe" -private http://www.sevenforums.com/

4. To Create Internet Shortcut to Open in Internet Explorer, FireFox, or Chrome

A) If you have 32-bit Windows

"%ProgramFiles%\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe" website address

FOR EXAMPLE:
I would type this below for our website http://www.sevenforums.com/.

"%ProgramFiles%\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe" http://www.sevenforums.com/

   Note

If you wanted to have the website shortcut open in another browser, say Firefox instead as an example, you would use this below instead. You would just substitute the first part in quotes for the full path of the browser's exe file that you wanted to use instead.

Code:

"%ProgramFiles%\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" http://www.sevenforums.com/

   Note

If you wanted to have the website shortcut open in another browser, say Google Chrome instead as an example, you would use this below instead. You would just substitute the first part in quotes for the full path of the browser's exe file that you wanted to use instead.

Code:

"%ProgramFiles%\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" http://www.sevenforums.com/

B) If you have 64-bit Windows

• To Have Website Shortcut Open in Default 32-bit Internet Explorer

"%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe" website address

FOR EXAMPLE:
I would type this below for our website http://www.sevenforums.com/

"%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe" http://www.sevenforums.com/

• To Have Website Shortcut Open in 64-bit Internet Explorer

"%ProgramFiles%\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe" website address

FOR EXAMPLE:
I would type this below for our website http://www.sevenforums.com/

"%ProgramFiles%\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe" http://www.sevenforums.com/

   Note

If you wanted to have the website shortcut open in Firefox instead as an example, you would use this below instead. You would just subsititute the first part in quotes for the full path of the browser's exe file that you wanted to use instead.

Code:

"%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" http://www.sevenforums.com/

   Note

If you wanted to have the website shortcut open in another browser, say Google Chrome instead as an example, you would use this below instead. You would just substitute the first part in quotes for the full path of the browser's exe file that you wanted to use instead.

Code:

"%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" http://www.sevenforums.com/

4. Type in the website name (ex: SevenForums), and click on the Finish button. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: You can name this anything you would like.

5. To Change the Icon of the Internet Shortcut
NOTE: This is if you do not want to have the default Internet Explorer icon use for your shortcut. If that icon is ok with you, then you are done and can go to step 5 instead. If you wanted to use the default favicon .ico file used by the website, then these are stored in the hidden C:\Users\User-Name\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files protected operating system folder. It is recommended to move and select to use the favicon to a different location to avoid accidentally deleting the favicon when clearing the browser history.

A) Right click on the new internet shortcut on the Desktop and click on Properties.

B) Click on the Shortcut tab, then click on the Change Icon button. (see screenshot below)

C) Click on the Browse button, then navigate to and select the 256x256 pixel ICO file that you want to use as the icon for your internet shortcut and click on Open. (see screenshots below)

D) Click on OK. (see screenshot below)

6. You can now move the shortcut to where you like for easy use, drag and drop it to the taskbar or Start Menu button, or Pin to Taskbar or Pin to Start Menu (Vista/Windows 7) or Pin to Start (Windows 8) this shortcut.
NOTE: Just a reminder that if you move or delete the shortcut (target), then the pinned one from this shortcut on the taskbar and/or Start Menu will no longer work since the target has been moved or deleted.