+++
date = "2015-12-04"
title = "El Capitan: Safari New Tab Slow Fix"
tags = ["osx", "safari"]
description = "Safari is a decent browser. But recently I noticed a 3-5 second lag when opening a new tab, so I investigated."
slug = "el-capitan-safari-new-tab-slow-fix"
+++

Safari is a great browser. I know there are alternatives, like Firefox and Chrome, but I like Safari. 

Recently I noticed a lag of about 3-5 seconds when opening a new tab. I use tabs often, so this started to get in my way. 
Because I did not feel like switching browsers, I did some digging around to see if I could get this problem fixed.

Doing a quick Google search (after waiting a few seconds for that new tab), there was one quick suggestion:

> Disable iCloud for Safari

Alright, let's try. No change. Still lag. This was the other common tip:

> Set 'New tab opens with' to 'Empty Page'

Ok, done. Still lag.

I went digging further in Safari's settings and on a hunch I disabled "Include search engine suggestions". The magic button. This makes opening new tabs fast again. 

![](/img/safari-slow-new-tab-fix.png)

The reason why this fixes the issue is beyond me, unless the new tab automatically starts searching for suggestions even though it's showing an empty page.