So you just upgraded to Windows 11 from Windows 10, and the centered Start Menu is not to your liking. I say customize the Windows 11 Start Menu to your preferences and give it a try. I am sure there is plenty to appreciate in the revamped Start Menu. After all, the new Start is being touted as one of the best features of Windows 11. In case you still don’t like the new Start experience, you can very well go back to the classic Start Menu with Live Tiles support on Windows 11. And if you are absolutely done with the refreshed UI, you can downgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 11 at any time. But before you do that, I recommend trying to personalize the Windows 11 Start Menu to get the most out of it.

Here, we have detailed everything you need to know about the new Windows 11 Start Menu and how to personalize it as per your needs. As the new Start menu is different, you might have to give it some time to grow on you. Nevertheless, we have provided some important tips to better your Start Menu experience on Windows 11.

  • Rearrange Icons and Pin Apps to Windows 11 Start Menu
  • Manage Pinned Apps in Windows 11 Start Menu
  • Tune Recommendations on Windows 11 Start Menu
  • Add Folders to Windows 11 Start Menu
  • Bring Back the Classic Start Menu on Windows 11
  • Move Windows 11 Taskbar, Start Menu to the Top or Side

Rearrange Icons and Pin Apps to Windows 11 Start Menu

  1. The best way to find your favorite apps on any Windows version is by pinning them to the Start Menu. And well, you can do the same in Windows 11 as well. Simply click on “All Apps” at the top right, scroll down and go to the app you want to pin to the Start Menu.

  2. You can also drag the app and move it to any position in the “Pinned” apps list of your liking

  3. Moreover, if you pin more than 18 apps to the Start Menu, then Windows 11 adds a second page. You can scroll to move between different pages of pinned apps.

  4. First off, open Settings and navigate to “Personalization” from the left pane. Here, scroll down and go to “Start” settings.

  5. Next, if the “Show the most used apps” toggle is greyed out, you need to enable a privacy setting to make it work. Open Settings and jump to “Privacy & Security” from the left pane. Here, click on “General”.

  6. Similar to Windows 10, Windows 11 also lets you add folders to the Start Menu. Go to the Settings -> Personalization -> Start page and click on “Folders“.

  7. The folders will appear to the left of the power menu in the Start Menu. This way, you can quickly access important folders from the Windows 11 Start menu without ever needing to scroll through pinned apps or anything.

In case you don’t like the Windows 10X-style Start Menu on Windows 11 and want the classic Start menu with Live Tiles support back on Windows 11, you can do that as well. Simply follow our linked article for detailed steps on how to edit the registry files to get access to the old Windows 10-style Start Menu.

That was all about the Start menu, but if you want to move the taskbar on Windows 11 to different sides, say the top or right side, well, you can do that with some Registry tweaks. Just follow our detailed guide on how to move the Windows 11 Taskbar to the top, left, or right side of the screen, and you will be all set.