The desktop context menu is a convenient place to add webpage shortcuts. Having shortcuts for your favorite websites there will enable you to access them straight from the desktop. Furthermore, context menu shortcuts don’t clutter the desktop in any way. This is how you can set up website context menu shortcuts in Windows 11/10.
How to Add Context Menu Website Shortcuts by Editing the Registry
Editing the registry to add website context menu shortcuts isn’t as daunting as it sounds. To do so, you’ll need to add a couple of new registry keys to the Shell key for a webpage shortcut. A command key’s string value will specify both a webpage and browser for a context menu shortcut to open.
s an example, this is how you can add a shortcut for opening Bing in Edge to Windows 11’s classic context menu.
Click the Start menu’s taskbar icon with your right mouse button and select Run to open the command dialog box. Enter regedit within the Open box, and click the OK option. Input Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shell within the Registry Editor’s address bar, and press the Return key. Now right-click the shell key on the left of the Registry Editor to select New > Key. Input Bing for the key’s title. Right-click the Bing key to select the New and Key options for it. Type command to be the subkey’s title. Select the command key, and double-click its (Default) string value. Input C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\msedge. exe bing. com within the Value data box. That value includes the full default Microsoft Edge path and the bing. com domain name. Click OK to save the new string value. Close the Registry Editor’s window.
There’s no need to restart Windows for this registry tweak to take effect. Right-click any area of the desktop to select Show more options on Windows 11’s standard context menu. Click the new Bing shortcut you’ll now see on the classic context menu to bring up Microsoft’s search engine in Edge.
How to Add Shortcuts for Opening Websites in Google Chrome, Opera, and Firefox
You can also add website shortcuts that open in Google Chrome, Opera, and Firefox much the same. However, you’ll need to change the browser path you enter for Google Chrome and Opera. The command key’s Value data box must include the full browser path for Google Chrome or Opera along with the website’s URL like this:
Google Chrome: full_Google_Chrome_EXE_file_path bing. com Opera: full_Opera_EXE_file_path bing. com
The website URL specified doesn’t need to include any “https://” or “www.” for it to work. So, chop out those parts from the website addresses you enter in the Value data boxes.
To find the full paths for Chrome and Opera, right-click desktop shortcuts for those browsers and select Properties. You can copy their full paths from the Target box within the Shortcut tab with the Ctrl + C hotkey. Press the Ctrl + V hotkey to paste an EXE path into the Value data box.
You don’t need to enter a full folder path for Firefox. Instead, enter firefox bing.com in the Value data box for the command key’s Default string. Change the URL at the end of that value for whatever website shortcut you need to include on the context menu.
You can remove website shortcuts by deleting their keys from the registry. Open the shell key specified above in the registry. Then right-click the webpage shortcut key you added and select Delete. Click Yes on the confirmation dialog box to confirm.
Access Your Favorite Websites Directly From the Desktop
Overall, it’s relatively straightforward to expand your context menu with website shortcuts by manually editing the registry as outlined above. Adding website shortcuts to the desktop context menu will give you more direct access to your favorite sites.
When you’ve added some websites to that menu, you’ll no longer need to rummage through your browser’s bookmarks manager to find and open them.
