Bookmarks or Favourites in Google Chrome (or any other browser) are an easy shortcut for heading straight to your most commonly-used websites. But if you have cause to reinstall Chrome, you can create a backup of your Bookmarks easily, letting you return them again later.

A good reason for doing this is if you're about to upgrade to Windows 10. Though the upgrade process isn't meant to remove or change your installed programs, some users have found this hasn't been the case. It's a pain to have to recreate all your Bookmarks from scratch, so take a moment to backup your Chrome Bookmarks first.

How to back up your Chrome Bookmarks

The following process creates a simple HTML file that's saved on your computer. You can then use this file to import your bookmarks at a later date when you reload Google Chrome.

To create a backup file of your bookmarks, open Chrome and click the top-right menu icon (three horizontal lines). Hover over Bookmarks to reveal the Bookmarks menu. Click Open Bookmarks Manager.

For an easy shortcut to the Bookmark manager, you can also click Ctrl + Shift + O.

Within the Bookmarks Manager, click Organize > Export Bookmarks to HTML file... Pick a location on your PC to save the file and click Save.

Restore Chrome Bookmarks from a backup

To restore your Bookmarks from an HTML file, click Ctrl + Shift + O.

Within the Bookmarks Manager, click Organize > Import Bookmarks from HTML file... Locate the HTML file on your computer then click Open.