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5 Start menu alternatives and Windows tweaks that will speed up your workflow
The Start menu is an essential part of the Windows experience, but it's not always the most efficient and customizable. To counter this, Microsoft introduced a sleek and modernized Start menu in Windows 11, but not everyone is still a fan of the changes.
If you miss the classic Start menu or want more customization and efficiency, there are several Start menu alternatives and Windows tweaks that can improve your workflow. Let's explore these powerful tools to help you regain control over your Start menu and boost your productivity.
StartAllBack
Bring back the classic Start menu with modern tweaks
Do you miss the Start menu from Windows 7 and want that on your Windows 10 or 11 device? That's what StartAllBack lets you do. It's a lightweight utility that restores the classic Start menu experience while adding modern enhancements. You get three themes to choose from, which you can further customize as per your liking. You can customize the Start menu's appearance, including the size, layout, and color scheme. StartAllBack also allows you to tweak the taskbar, adding features like smaller icons, centered taskbar items, and even the ability to ungroup taskbar buttons.
Despite being feature-rich, StartAllBack's performance is top-notch. It's designed to be lightweight and fast, ensuring that it doesn't slow down your system. Whether you're a fan of the classic Start menu or just want more control over your Windows interface, StartAllBack is a great choice.
The app is paid, but you get a 100-day free trial to try all the features before you decide to purchase. It's one of the few third-party Start menu alternatives that fits pretty well with Windows 11.
Open-Shell
A free and open-source Start menu replacement
Open-Shell is a popular Start menu replacement that allows you to go back in time and bring back the classic Start menu from Windows 7, XP, and even older Windows versions. The tool offers you deep customization options to enhance the usability of the Start menu. You get multiple styles to choose from with different layouts.
Further, you can personalize the Start menu through custom skins and button styles and make changes to other settings that define how you want to interact with it. One less commonly talked about feature of Open-Shell is its improved search functionality. Although, like the default Start menu, it also depends on the Windows search index, you'll notice improved search results.
The tool is completely free and regularly receives updates and improvements through a dedicated community. I did feel a slight slow performance when changing the themes multiple times, but overall, the app seems to be well-performing.
Start11
A modern Start menu with a classic twist
Start11 is a premium Start menu alternative developed by Stardock. It has been for a long time, and after the release of Windows 11, the company created a dedicated app for it. The app allows you to choose from seven Start menu styles, including Windows 7, Windows 10, Windows Pro Style, Modern Style, and a compact menu for smaller screens. Further, you can customize the selected Start menu even more by changing icons, using search integration, pinning frequently used apps, and more.
Start11 offers a 30-day free trial before charging, but if you're looking for a premium Start menu replacement that integrates well with Windows 11 and its features, you should definitely consider it.
Windhawk
A modular tool for customizing Windows
Windhawk is one of my favorite Windows customization tools. It not only lets you replace the default Start menu but also gives you the option to customize the taskbar, Windows Explorer, taskbar clock, Edge or Chrome browser, and more. The app is modular, which means you can install the required mods for the tweaks you need. For example, the "Windows 11 Start Menu Styler" mod is for styling the Start menu. This makes it a pretty flexible and lightweight app. The "Windows 11 Start Menu Styler" currently gives you around 15 Start menu styles to choose from, ranging from translucent Start menu to double column style and more.
Windhawk follows the community-driven approach that allows users to share their own mods. So, even you can create modifications and share them with others on the app. It's a flexible and free app that's an excellent choice for transforming your default Start menu without many manual changes.
Use Windows in-built settings
Make the Start menu efficient through
Apart from using third-party apps to tweak or replace the Start menu for efficiency, you can also make changes in some built-in settings. This is especially helpful if you want to make some changes but don't want to use any third-party app for that.
Here are a few Start menu settings changes you can make:
- Change layout: Open Settings and navigate to Personalization > Start. Select a different layout than the current one that suits your workflow. You have the default option, the one with more pins, and the one with more recommendations.
- Add folders next to the power button: In the Start menu, you can add a shortcut to several folders, such as Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, and more, next to the power button. Go to Personalization > Start > Folders.
- Pin your favorite apps to start: You can add your favorite or most used apps to the Start menu for quick access. Just right-click on the app icon and select Pin to Start.
Customize your Start menu with these apps
The Start menu has been one of Windows's most useful features since earlier versions. However, on your Windows 10 or 11 system it might lack the customization that you want, or you might like the previous versions of it better. In such cases, the alternatives listed above will let you take control of your Start menu experience and take it to another level.
By experimenting with different alternatives and tweaks, you can find the perfect balance between aesthetics, speed, and functionality that best suits your needs. All of these tools are lightweight and completely compatible with both modern Windows OSs. You'll be amazed by how much more productive you can be just by making these slight adjustments to your Windows default UI.