There are a few websites I visit daily or multiple times a week, such as my WordPress dashboard, school website, and digital services from my public library. Instead of having a bunch of tiny icons crammed onto my Favorites tab that are hard to see with low vision, I created a list of ways to bookmark websites for easier access across my favorite devices and add websites to my device home screen or device taskbar. Here are the most helpful ways to bookmark websites for low vision users that go outside a traditional folder or notepad. This is especially helpful for students who are working on a writing project or who use a lot of web applications for school.
Add website to Windows taskbar
When I was redesigning my desktop and toolbar on my Windows 10 and Windows 11 computers, I added website links to my taskbar so I could select the icon to immediately open a new tab or browser window with a specific website. This was a game changer for writing posts for my website, as I only have to click two buttons to start writing a new post and don’t get distracted by deciding to go to another website instead.
To add a website to Windows taskbar from Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome:
- Select the three dots in the top right corner to open the Settings menu, or use the keyboard shortcut alt-F
- Select More Tools
- Select Pin to Taskbar (or Pin to Start to add to the Start menu)
Related links
- How To Customize Icons For Windows
- How To Create Custom Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows
- Low Vision Accessibility Settings For Windows 10 and 11
Add website to iOS home screen
Since I do a lot of schoolwork and research on my iPad, I have several websites organized into folders on my iPad home screen, as well as links to web applications I use frequently like the Canvas website or research databases. These open in my device’s default web browser.
To add a website to the iOS home screen:
- Open a website in the desired web browser
- Tap the Share button
- Tap Add to Home Screen
- Drag the icon to the desired location on the home screen
Related links
- How To Create Custom iOS Icons and Custom Home Screen Designs
- How To Organize Apps On iPad With Low Vision
- Enabling Temporary Accessibility Settings For iPad
- Tips For Staying Organized In Summer Classes
- How I Use Canvas With Low Vision
Add website to Android home screen
I don’t actually have any icons on my Android Home Screen that uses Microsoft Launcher, as I prefer gestures for opening apps. But just like with iOS, users can also add website shortcuts to their Android home screen.
To add a website to the Android home screen with any launcher program:
- Open a website in Google Chrome
- Tap the Menu button
- Tap Add to home screen, editing the name if needed
Some launchers allow users to choose custom icons for their home screen, or customize the size of the icon.
Related links
- How To Create A Custom Android Home Screen With Microsoft Launcher
- Make Any Android Smartphone Accessible For $20
Digital bookmarking tools
I started using digital bookmarking tools and bookmarking apps to organize research sources, website links, and other multimedia content after I realized that my previous strategy of adding everything to my bookmarks or copying links into a single document wasn’t particularly effective. Users can save content from online sources, upload their own content from a device or cloud storage, or utilize a mix of both methods to organize multimedia content and topics of interest using headings, tags, folders, and other organizational tools. Many tools also provide options for adding notes or applying visual formatting to text, which can aid in the notetaking process or when organizing content from multiple sources, as well as support for simplified reading displays.
Related links
- Free Digital Bookmarking Tools For Low Vision
- Instapaper Accessibility For Visual Impairment
- A to Z of Assistive Technology for Reading Digital Text
- My Favorite Digital Library Resources For Low Vision
Organizing links with Microsoft Edge Collections
Collections is a free tool built into the Microsoft Edge web browser and can be accessed across multiple devices that are signed into the same Microsoft account. Instead of using the Bookmarks tool and viewing a text-based list of links and titles, Collections uses visual links that include the title for the page and an accompanying image, which can make content easier to locate, especially recipes with accompanying food pictures. Users can also search their collections list and access web pages using Read Aloud, Immersive Reader, and other built-in tools.
To save links to Collections, first the Collections tool to the toolbar or open it in the More Tools menu located in Settings and More (three dots icon). From there, Windows users can save webpages using keyboard shortcut Ctrl-Shift-Y or by opening a collection and selecting Add Current Page.
Related links
- Customize Microsoft Edge Accessibility For Low Vision
- Create An Accessible Digital Cookbook With Microsoft Products
Saving a group of tabs as a workspace or tab group
When I was working on a research project, I would often return to the same tabs over and over again or want to share a list of tabs so that someone else could see what I was working on. Features like Google Chrome tab groups and Microsoft Workspaces make both of these tasks infinitely easier, and can be configured by selecting the Workspaces icon in the top-left corner of the screen for Edge or by right-clicking on an open tab in Chrome and selecting Add tab to group.
Customization options for Microsoft Workspaces and Google Chrome tab groups include:
- Save current tabs to a new workspace/tab group: choose a name for the workspace (or tab group) and a color
- Create new workspace (Edge only): automatically open a new window for adding tabs to a workspace after choosing a name and color
- Invite to workspace (Edge only): once an existing workspace is open, users can invite someone else from their organization or copy/paste a link that will open the workspace in a new window for anyone that has the link. The link can be copy and pasted into an email, document, or other application.
Workspace links update in real time, so opening a new tab or closing an existing tab will be automatically synced to the workspace. To prevent users from accidentally closing tabs, right-click on a tab and select Lock All Tabs (or lock a single tab).
Creating shortcuts with virtual assistants
I open websites using Google Assistant and Siri, and don’t want to necessarily announce the full URL of a website to open it. Instead, I create shortcuts such as “Go to the library” to open my college’s library website, share names of my favorite food blogs, or say “open Veronica With Four Eyes” to open my own website.
To create a website shortcut with Google Assistant:
- Open Google Assistant and say/type Open Your Stuff
- Search for Shortcuts and scroll to See All
- Select the + icon next to shortcuts of interest. Shortcuts can be edited before being added
For Chromebook devices:
- Press the Assistant icon or say “Ok Google”.
- At the top right, select the Options menu and open Your Stuff
- Select Shortcuts and Create new shortcut
- Under “When I say Ok Google”, enter the phrase to activate the skill
- Under “Google Assistant should”, enter the desired Google Assistant action
To create a website shortcut with Siri:
- Open the Shortcuts app and create a new shortcut for Hey Siri
- Enter the phrase or word that will activate the skill
- Add the name of the website to open
- Save the skill, which can be accessed by saying Hey Siri
Related links
- Ten iOS Shortcuts For Visual Impairment
- How To Use Dictation As Assistive Technology With Mainstream Devices
Add a website to a folder or ZIP file
One of my professors sent me a ZIP file of several assignments along with shortcut links to research papers, which was helpful when I couldn’t attend class for a month due to illness. This can be done by using the Ctrl-S (save) keyboard shortcut, and saving the webpage to the desired location. This saves the complete view of the page, though for a more dynamic/up-to-date page, it is better to add the website hyperlink to a document as this only saves an offline view of one page.
Related links
- How I Read Research Sources With Assistive Technology
- How I Find Research Sources In Accessible Formats
- How I Outline Research Papers With OneNote
Other helpful ways to bookmark websites for low vision users
- I like creating “hyperdocs” for projects using Microsoft Office Sway that can organize multiple websites in one place. Learn more about how I use Sway in Creating Take-Away Documents With Microsoft Sway
- Another popular option for storing websites with an online bookmarking tool is Wakelet, which has several accessibility options— this was helpful when I had to organize multiple sources for a project. Learn more in Wakelet Accessibility Features For Low Vision
- I use pinned tabs on my computer so that websites automatically load when I open a new browser session. Right-click on an active tab and select Pin Tab
Published July 16, 2020. Updated June 2025