How to customise the Windows 11 Start Menu: A Step-by-Step Guide

Making Your Windows 11 Start Menu Feel Like Home

The Start Menu in Windows 11 is like the front door to your digital world. Personalising it isn’t just about looks; it’s about making everything you use regularly easy to find. Moving tiles around, resizing them, or pinning apps helps make that space work the way you like to get things done. Whether you prefer a minimalist setup or one filled with your favourites, these simple tweaks can really make a difference and keep your daily tasks running smoothly.

How to Tweak Your Windows 11 Start Menu

Customising that Start Menu isn’t complicated. It’s all about organising your apps and removing the ones you no longer use. A bit of initial setup means less fiddling later and more time being productive. Plus, a neat-looking setup just feels better — and let’s face it, it can make using your computer a lot more enjoyable.

Getting Started

Open the Start Menu by clicking its icon on the taskbar or pressing the Windows key on your keyboard. You’ll see all your favourite apps and more. From here, it’s game on. Add new apps, organise tiles, or remove the ones that just clutter things up. Pro tip: For quick access to settings, right-click the Start icon or press Windows key + X and select Settings.

Pinning Your Favourite Apps

Want your most-used apps front and centre? Just find them in the All Apps list, right-click, and select Pin to Start. Easy as. You can also drag apps directly from the search results into the pinned section. Feeling adventurous? Group similar apps by dragging one tile onto another — makes it look tidy, doesn’t it?

Clearing Out the Clutter

Over time, that Start Menu can fill up with stuff you hardly use. Gets annoying pretty quick, right? To tidy it up, right-click on the icons you don’t need and choose Unpin from Start. You can do this from the recent list too. For a complete reset, head to Settings > Personalisation > Start and click on Reset layout — back to square one.

Resizing App Tiles

Want some tiles to stand out more? Right-click a tile, hover over Resize, and pick from Small, Medium, or Large. Bigger tiles are handy for your most-used apps. Just a heads-up: you can’t resize all tiles at once, so you’ll need to do it individually if you want a consistent look.

Rearranging the Layout

Simply drag and drop tiles to move them around. You can also create new groups by dropping a tile into an empty space. Right-click a group to rename it if you like. The idea is to arrange your apps in a way that makes sense for how you work and play.

Quick Tips for a Customised Start Menu

Organise by Usage: Keep your most-used apps at the top for quick access.
Group Similar Apps: Use folders or groups to keep things tidy.
Use Widgets: Add widgets for quick info at a glance. Click the Widgets icon or toggle it in the Taskbar settings.
Experiment with Layouts: Try different arrangements to see what feels best.
Keep It Simple: Don’t overcrowd — less clutter means less frustration.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change the colour of the Start Menu?

Absolutely! Head to Settings > Personalisation > Colours and pick a colour from the palette. Whether you prefer Dark mode or Light, it’s easy to set it up to suit your taste.

How do I add widgets?

Widgets appear in the taskbar, not the Start Menu. Click the Widgets icon to add or manage them. If you don’t see the icon, you can turn widgets on via the taskbar settings. Widgets give you handy info right on your desktop — super useful.

Can I reset the Start Menu layout?

Yes, no worries. Go to Settings > Personalisation > Start and hit Reset layout. For the brave, there’s also a PowerShell command — but be aware, it’ll wipe out your customisation:
Get-StartApps | Remove-StartApps.

What’s new in Windows 11’s Start Menu?

Quite a bit! It’s centred now, has better search, and you can work with virtual desktops more easily. These updates are all about making multitasking smoother. To create a new desktop on the fly, press Windows key + Ctrl + D.

Can I resize the whole Start Menu?

Not quite. When open, the Start Menu size stays fixed. But you can resize individual tiles to make your home screen smarter for your needs. Not perfect, but it helps.

Wrap-Up

At the end of the day, customising isn’t just about making things look tidy — it’s about creating a system that works for how you move through your digital day. So, go on and have a play. After all, it’s your digital space!

Open the Start Menu.
Pin your most-used apps.
Remove icons you don’t need.
Resize tiles to suit your workflow.
Rearrange for quicker access.

With a bit of tinkering, that Start Menu can go from dull to personalised — helping everything flow a bit more smoothly. Hopefully, this saves you a couple of hours or so in the long run.