Chapter 1: AWS Home
AWS Home
This is a very common point of confusion for beginners, especially when people say things like “go to AWS Home” or “what do I see on AWS Home?”.
Let me explain it clearly, like we’re sitting together looking at the same screen.
AWS Home = AWS Console Home = the dashboard / landing page you see right after you log in to the AWS Management Console.
It is not a separate product or service like EC2 or S3. It is simply the starting screen (home page) inside the AWS web interface.
Official name (from AWS documentation): AWS Console Home Most people just call it Console Home, AWS Home, or the AWS dashboard.
Let’s visualize it step by step (imagine this is February 2026 — interface looks very similar to 2024–2025 versions)
- You open your browser and go to: https://console.aws.amazon.com/
- You sign in (using IAM user + password + MFA, or root — but please never use root daily!)
- Boom — you land directly on AWS Console Home.
What does this page actually look like? It’s like the dashboard of your phone after you unlock it — lots of useful info tiles, shortcuts, and summaries so you don’t get lost in 200+ services.
Typical sections / parts you see on AWS Console Home (2026 view)
| Section / Widget | What it shows / does | Why it’s useful for beginners |
|---|---|---|
| Recently visited services | List of 6–8 services you opened last (EC2, S3, Lambda, etc.) | Quick jump back to what you were working on |
| AWS Health | Any ongoing AWS service issues or outages in your regions | Know if problem is AWS-side or your config |
| Cost & usage alerts | Quick glance at this month’s bill + any budget alarms | Avoid surprise bills (very important!) |
| myApplications | If you created “applications” (logical groups of resources), shows cost/security overview | Modern way to organize projects (newer feature) |
| Favorites / Pinned services | Services you manually pin (like bookmarking) | Customize your own shortcuts |
| Build section | Recommendations like “Try Amazon Q”, “Explore generative AI”, quick starts | Good for learning new things |
| All services button/link | Opens the full alphabetical list of 200+ services | When you want to explore |
| Search bar (top) | Type anything — “create S3 bucket”, “EC2 instance” — jumps directly | Fastest way to navigate |
| Region selector (top right) | Mumbai (ap-south-1), Singapore, US East, etc. — very important! | Resources are region-specific |
| Account menu (top right) | Billing, organizations, settings, sign out | Manage account stuff |
| AWS button / logo (top left) | Click this anytime → takes you back to Console Home | Your “Home” button |
Real-life example: Your first login experience (step-by-step story)
You’re in Hyderabad, just created free AWS account.
- Sign in → land on Console Home
- You see: “Welcome to AWS” banner + some getting-started cards
- “Recently visited” is empty (first time)
- You see big “EC2”, “S3”, “Lambda” tiles because AWS promotes popular ones
- Cost widget says: “Free Tier usage — ₹0 so far” (good sign!)
- You think: “I want to create my first virtual machine” → Just type “EC2” in the top search bar → press Enter → straight to EC2 dashboard
- Later when you come back: click the little AWS cloud logo (top left) → back to Home instantly
How to customize it (very powerful feature)
AWS lets you make Console Home your personal dashboard:
- Click + Add widgets (usually top-right or bottom-right)
- Choose from dozens:
- Build widget (learning resources)
- Cost explorer mini-chart
- Trusted Advisor checks (security & cost recommendations)
- Favorite services grid
- myApplications overview
- Amazon Q Developer chat (AI helper — ask questions right there)
- Drag and drop to rearrange
- Resize some widgets
- Remove ones you don’t like
Example: A student in Hyderabad building a web app might pin:
- EC2
- S3
- RDS
- CloudWatch
- Cost & usage → Their Home screen now looks like a custom control panel for their project.
Quick comparison: AWS Home vs Other “Homes”
| Term you might hear | What it really is |
|---|---|
| AWS Home | Console Home dashboard (this page) |
| AWS Home page | Same as above |
| AWS Console | The entire web interface (including Home) |
| AWS website (aws.amazon.com) | Marketing site — not for managing resources |
| AWS documentation home | docs.aws.amazon.com — learning articles |
So when a tutorial says: “Go to AWS Home and search for S3” It means: Log in → you’re already on Console Home → use search bar.
Got it?
Want me to walk you through:
- How to customize your Console Home right now?
- What the most useful widgets are for beginners in 2026?
- Or difference between Console Home and Service-specific dashboards (like EC2 dashboard)?
Just say the word — next lesson ready! 🚀🏠
