How to customize the Windows 11 desktop experience

While many people love the new interface in Windows 11, others prefer the old look and feel of Windows 10, or at least some of the features that are now missing in the newer operating system.

Thankfully, numerous apps are available to get your Windows 11 experience customized how you like while removing unwanted bloatware from the operating system.

Below are three applications that can help you customize Windows 11 to how you like it.

ThisisWindows11

Windows 11 is essentially Windows 10 with a new design, so it also comes with the same bloatware problem, which is unwanted apps preinstalled by OEM and Microsoft.

Like Windows 10, Windows 11 allows users to remove apps from the Settings or Control Panel manually. But if you want to delete all bloatware from your system quickly, you can try a new open-source app called ThisIsWin11.

This app lets you customize advanced and basic features of the operating system and disable Windows 11 features like Microsoft Teams integration on the taskbar.

The app currently comes with the following features:

• Basic settings: It allows you to configure the basic settings of Windows 11 quickly.
• PumpedApp: You can check and optimize Windows 11 by making changes to the PowerThrottling.
• Bloatware: This feature will allow you to remove the pre-installed Windows 11 apps.
• Quickly install apps using packages.
• PowerClicks: This enables you to automate Windows tasks using PowerShell scripts.

The tool is available for free on Github.

ElevenClock

With ElevenClock, you can customize the Windows 11 Taskbar clock so that it is formatted how you like, can be customized with different colours, and even brings back "seconds" to the displayed time.

With ElevenClock, you can show the clock over fullscreen, hide the clock when clicked, display a task manager shortcut on the clock context menu, disable the notifications badge, and more.

The tool is available for free on Github.

Start11

Start11 was recently released to help users customize the appearance of the Windows 11 Start Menu and even restore the classic interface. 

The program is compatible with Windows 11 and Windows 10 and can be used to recreate the user interface from previous operating systems.

With Start11, you can even get a Windows 11-like Start menu on Windows 10 or the Windows 10 Start Menu on Windows 11.

At the same time, Start11 comes with several other features that allow you to customize the way the Start Menu looks, such as:

• Return your Start menu to the left side of your screen.
• Dark mode for a sleek look
• You can choose a style and theme for your Start menu. For example, you can return to the familiar Windows 7 style Start.
• Customize your taskbar by adding texture or adjusting transparency.

The tool is currently in beta, costing $4.99 (free trial available). The program is expected to get more customization options in the future.

You can download the app from here.

How to customize the Windows 11 desktop experience