Making Windows 11 Look Better: Customisation That Works

Windows 11 shipped with a cleaner, more modern design than any previous Windows version, but its defaults — a centred taskbar, rounded corners, and a pastel colour palette — are a starting point, not a finished product. Knowing how to make Windows 11 look better through its built-in customisation settings and a handful of well-regarded free tools produces a desktop that is genuinely personal, visually cohesive, and in many cases noticeably more productive through a cleaner, more organised layout. This guide covers how to make Windows 11 look better across every major visual element — from the quickest built-in settings changes to the free applications that unlock customisation beyond what Microsoft exposes by default. We go deeper on the whole subject in our Complete Guide to Windows Software.

Before changing any settings, decide what kind of aesthetic you actually want — a minimal dark productivity desktop, a colourful creative environment, something close to macOS, or a distinctive custom look — because the approach to how to make Windows 11 look better differs significantly depending on the target. This guide covers techniques applicable to all preferences and flags which are most relevant to specific aesthetics.

How to Make Windows 11 Look Better: Built-In Settings

Themes and Colours

The most impactful built-in change in how to make Windows 11 look better is selecting a cohesive theme and accent colour rather than leaving the default. Go to Settings → Personalisation → Themes to browse Microsoft’s theme options. Beyond the built-in selection, Microsoft Store themes — accessible through the Themes page — include curated wallpaper and accent colour combinations covering nature, architecture, gaming, and abstract aesthetics. For a distinctive look without additional software, the Premium themes in the Microsoft Store are free and higher quality than the built-in default options.

For manual colour customisation to make Windows 11 look better without a full theme change:

1. Go to Settings → Personalisation → Colours
2. Set Choose your mode to Dark — dark mode is widely preferred for desktop aesthetics and reduces eye strain in lower-light environments
3. Enable Transparency effects — adds a frosted glass appearance to windows and the taskbar for a more premium look
4. Enable Show accent colour on Start and taskbar — applies your chosen accent colour to these elements for visual cohesion
5. Click View colours to select a manual accent colour, or enable Automatically pick an accent colour from my background for a colour that harmonises with your wallpaper

Taskbar Customisation

The taskbar is the most visible element of the Windows 11 interface and the highest-impact area for how to make Windows 11 look better. Right-click the taskbar and select Taskbar settings to access customisation options:

• Move the taskbar to the left — Go to Settings → Personalisation → Taskbar → Taskbar behaviours → Taskbar alignment → Left. Many users prefer the left-aligned taskbar for a more traditional Windows appearance and better use of wide-screen real estate
• Auto-hide the taskbar — In Taskbar behaviours, enable Automatically hide the taskbar for a full-screen desktop view that reveals the taskbar only when the mouse approaches the bottom edge
• Remove taskbar clutter — In the Taskbar items section, disable Widgets, Task view, and Search (especially if you use Windows search via the Start menu or keyboard shortcut instead) to reduce visual noise in the taskbar
• Pin only what you use — Right-click any taskbar icon and select Unpin from taskbar to remove apps you do not launch frequently. A minimal taskbar with only three to five pinned apps looks significantly cleaner

Wallpaper and Lock Screen

A high-quality wallpaper is the single fastest way to make Windows 11 look better — a stunning photograph or well-designed abstract transforms the desktop immediately. Go to Settings → Personalisation → Background and browse the built-in options, or select a custom image. Several high-quality free wallpaper sources:

• Unsplash (unsplash.com) — the largest library of free high-resolution photography; landscape, architecture, abstract, and nature collections
• Wallpaper Engine (paid, approximately £3.59 on Steam) — animated and interactive wallpapers; the most popular desktop customisation tool on Steam by a significant margin
• Windows Spotlight — in Background settings, select Windows Spotlight to have Microsoft rotate professionally photographed wallpapers automatically each day

How to Make Windows 11 Look Better: Free Customisation Tools

TranslucentTB — Transparent Taskbar

TranslucentTB is a free application (available from the Microsoft Store) that makes the Windows 11 taskbar transparent or with custom blur effects — removing the solid background behind taskbar icons for a floating, integrated appearance. It is one of the most popular free tools for how to make Windows 11 look better, with highly configurable transparency levels and the ability to set different transparency states for the desktop, with open windows, and in maximised windows. The effect is subtle but makes the desktop look significantly more premium.

PowerToys — Microsoft’s Own Enhancement Suite

Microsoft PowerToys is a free utility suite from Microsoft itself that adds powerful customisation and productivity features to Windows 11. Relevant for how to make Windows 11 look better:

• FancyZones — creates custom window layout zones that snap windows into defined areas (multi-column layouts, magazine grids, or any custom arrangement). Produces a clean, intentionally organised desktop appearance
• PowerRename — batch rename files with consistent naming conventions, which improves the visual cleanliness of folder views
• Mouse utilities — highlight the cursor location with a visual indicator; useful for presentations and screen recordings

PowerToys is available from the Microsoft Store or the GitHub repository at github.com/microsoft/PowerToys. It is actively maintained by Microsoft and safe to use from these official sources.

EarTrumpet — Cleaner Volume Control

EarTrumpet (free, Microsoft Store) replaces Windows 11’s volume mixer with a more functional alternative that shows per-application volume control directly from the system tray. Beyond functionality, EarTrumpet’s interface is cleaner and less dated than the built-in volume mixer — a small but satisfying improvement in how to make Windows 11 look better for the system tray area.

Rainmeter — Desktop Widgets and Skins

Rainmeter is the most powerful free tool for how to make Windows 11 look better through custom desktop widgets — displaying system information, clocks, music players, weather, calendars, and custom visualisations directly on the desktop as configurable, skinnable overlays. The Rainmeter community at deviantart.com and visualskins.com has thousands of free skins covering every aesthetic from minimal dark to maximalist gaming setups. For users who want a highly distinctive desktop, Rainmeter is the most transformative free tool in the how to make Windows 11 look better toolkit — though it requires some time to configure skins to your preference. The Rainmeter website covers the installation and community resources.

How to Make Windows 11 Look Better: Start Menu Cleanup

Windows 11’s Start menu with its recommended content area is visually cluttered and is one of the elements users most commonly want to improve. To make Windows 11 look better through Start menu organisation:

1. Right-click each recommended item and select Remove from list to clear the recommendations section
2. Go to Settings → Personalisation → Start and disable Show recently opened items in Start, Jump Lists, and File Explorer for a cleaner Start menu
3. Pin only the applications you actually launch from Start — fewer pins means a cleaner, more scannable layout
4. For a more radical Start menu replacement, Start11 (approximately £4.50) or Open-Shell (free, open source) replace the Windows 11 Start menu entirely with more traditional or highly configurable alternatives

For additional system optimisation tools that complement the aesthetic improvements in this guide, our article on the best PC optimization software covers the maintenance tools that keep Windows 11 running as well as it looks. The Microsoft Support website at support.microsoft.com has documentation on all the built-in personalisation settings covered in this guide for users who want to explore each setting in more depth. You might also run into Best Grammar Checker Software.