User:LuriaDan/Draft article on start page

Notes: - Would appreciate any comments, thoughts. - This is a work in progress. - Comments appear [in square brackets]

Article Content:

Overview
A start page is the first thing that you see when you open your web browser, or when you open a new tab (a new tab can also have a different start page). Start pages are usually the default browser settings (like the Chrome "New Tab" page ), an empty page (about:blank), a website (URL) - also known as a homepage, or a special page generated by third-party browser extensions or add-ons. This article focuses specifically on pages and websites designed to serve as start pages.

Start page components
Any web address could be a start page, but some websites and browser extensions have been designed specifically to serve as start pages to provide the surfer with useful functionality when starting an online surfing session. There are generally a few types of components implemented in start pages:
 * Personalized information (via login) - usually an inbox preview, contacts, local weather, etc. A great example of this is iGoogle (iGoogle will retire on November 1st, 2013, this has caused many people to look for alternative solutions to the popular google start page.)
 * Customization options (move components around & modify links, widgets, and change the appearance of the start page)
 * Links to websites (presented as texts, icons, images or a combination)
 * News story briefs or headlines, RSS feeds, and/or links to such content
 * Web widgets or gadgets
 * Search boxes (usually using third-party search engines)
 * Ads & sponsored content

Top start pages: a comparison table
Define "top"? How to select criteria for table? [how should I approach this?]