Download and install the Start Page project template from Visual Studio Gallery.

Alternatively, you can install the template from Extension Manager.

Open the New Project dialog box.

In the left pane, under Installed Templates, expand the Other Project Types node, and then click Extensibility.

In the middle pane, click Custom Start Page, and then name your project and click OK.

Visual Studio creates a Start Page project that is a complete copy of the Visual Studio 2010 Start Page.

From Solution Explorer, open StartPage.xaml.

Edit StartPage.xaml.

You can view your work by pressing F5 to open an experimental instance of Visual Studio with the custom Start Page installed.

Create a Start Page project by using the Start Page project template, as described in the previous procedure.

Open StartPage.xaml.

Remove all of the page content, leaving only the outer xml elements and the containing grid Grid element, so that your .xaml file resembles the following example.

<Grid        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
             xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
             xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006" 
             xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008" 
             xmlns:sp="clr-namespace:Microsoft.VisualStudio.PlatformUI;assembly=Microsoft.VisualStudio.Shell.StartPage"
             xmlns:vs="clr-namespace:Microsoft.VisualStudio.PlatformUI;assembly=Microsoft.VisualStudio.Shell.10.0"
             xmlns:vsfx="clr-namespace:Microsoft.VisualStudio.Shell;assembly=Microsoft.VisualStudio.Shell.10.0"
         mc:Ignorable="d" 
             d:DesignHeight="600" d:DesignWidth="800">
    <Grid>
        <!--Add content here.-->
    </Grid>
</Grid>

Remove any supporting files you do not intend to use.

You should keep the .vsix and .pkgdef files for deployment purposes.

Press F5.

The experimental instance of Visual Studio opens with the new Start Page installed but not selected.

In the experimental instance of Visual Studio, on the Tools menu, click Options.

In the Options dialog box, under Environment, select Startup. Then, on the Customize Start Page list, select your .xaml file, and click OK.

On the View menu, click Start Page.

The working Start Page is displayed. You must close the experimental instance, re-copy any changed files, and then re-open the experimental instance to see new changes.