Hello natedawggh,
Thanks for choosing the Apple Support Communities. We understand you're experiencing issues on Safari. Let's try these steps and see if they are helpful in changing your settings.
Change Tabs settings in Safari on Mac - Apple Support
"Change Tabs settings in Safari on Mac
In the Safari app on your Mac, use Tabs settings to choose how webpages, links, and tabs work in Safari windows.
To change these settings, choose Safari > Settings, then click Tabs.
Option
Description
Tab layout
Keep tabs in a separate tab bar, or move them into the toolbar.
Choose one of the following:
- Separate: Tabs remain in the tab bar, below the toolbar.
- Compact: Tabs move up to the toolbar. The active tab is the Smart Search field.
Always show website titles in tabs
Show website titles, even when a window is narrow or has many tabs.
Deselect this option to hide website titles and show only an icon.
Open pages in tabs instead of windows
Choose one of the following:
- Never: Open webpages in windows.
- Automatically: Open webpages in tabs unless a webpage is designed for a specially formatted window.
- Always: Open webpages in tabs.
⌘-click opens a link in a new tab
Change what the listed shortcuts for opening links do.
When a new tab or window opens, make it active
Make new tabs or windows open in front of the one you’re currently viewing.
Use ⌘-1 through ⌘-9 to switch tabs
Use keyboard shortcuts to select one of the first nine tabs in the tab bar.
See also
Use tabs for webpages in Safari on Mac"
We hope this helps.
Cheers!