If you have to work on your PC or laptop every day, then it's a smart idea to personalize your computer so that you are comfortable while you work. The first step in making your desktop look better is to choose a great wallpaper and screensaver. But once your PC has a new look, what's the best way to make it look better? Well, one of the easiest ways to make your desktop look better is by removing clutter from your desktop and putting your most used applications in one location.

While the taskbar may seem insignificant, optimizing it could save you a lot of time in the future by having all your favorite applications ready to use at the click of a button. Instead of cluttering up your desktop with shortcuts and applications, add all of your frequently-used programs to your taskbar with a few widgets.

So, if you'd like to get the most out of your taskbar, then follow the steps below so that you can customize your taskbar to suit your needs.

How to pin/unpin programs on the taskbar

Adding or removing icons from your start menu or taskbar will help properly optimize your PC. You can add or remove a program from the taskbar with the click of a button.

1. If you'd like to add a program to the taskbar, then right-click on the application's icon and click Pin to taskbar.
2. If you'd like to remove a program, simply hover over the icon on the taskbar and click on Unpin from taskbar.

Pinning applications to your taskbar is not the same thing as pinning the applications to the start menu, so make sure you choose the correct option depending on what you are after.

How to change your taskbar settings in Windows 11

There are two places where you can change taskbar settings. The majority of the taskbar settings are in the Taskbar tab, but you can also change the taskbar color in the Color tab. To start the process:

1. Search for and open the Settings menu (Win + I).
2. Click on the Personalization tab in the left panel.
3. If you want to change your taskbar settings, then open the Taskbar Tab.
4. If you want to change your taskbar color, then open the Colors Tab.

Taskbar icons

The Taskbar items tab has all your Taskbar’s default apps. Your default apps may be different from the applications shown in the images below. None of the options in this section are necessary, as most of the functions can be done using other shortcuts.

1. The Search function has 4 design options: Search box, Search icon and label, Search icon only, Hide. Choose whichever style suits your PC.
2. Underneath this, you can disable/enable Task view and Widgets applications from the Taskbar. You may also have a Copilot option if you're using a newer PC.

If you want to use the Task view but don't want to waste space on the taskbar, you can instead use a trackpad shortcut to use it. Drag down with three fingers on your laptop's trackpad, and it will open the Task view menu.

System tray icons

The System tray icons and Other system tray icons sections offer additional applications and widgets you can pin to your taskbar. The system tray is the group of icons on the right side of the taskbar. The system tray usually deals with applications that run in the background, or other devices such as peripherals. Try only to add applications to the system tray if you use them frequently.

1. In System tray icons, you can add the Pen menu, Touch keyboard, and Virtual touchpad to the right side of the taskbar. These are only relevant if you have a touchscreen display.
2. In Other system tray icons, you can add/remove specific applications in the taskbar’s system tray.

Taskbar behaviors

There are only a few important settings in the Taskbar behaviors section.

1. Under Taskbar alignment, you can move your taskbar icons to Left alignment or keep them in the Center.
2. If you want your taskbar to only show up when you hover over it, then select the Automatically hide the taskbar option.
3. You can check the boxes for the other 4 settings in this window: Show badges on taskbar apps, Show flashing on taskbar apps, Share any window from my taskbar, and Select the far corner of the taskbar to show the desktop.
4. The Combine taskbar buttons and hide labels option is a personal choice. You can choose Always and it will only show you one instance for each application. Or you can select the Never / When taskbar is full option and the taskbar will show you every instance for each app.

The blurred out settings are for computers with multiple displays, but are not worth changing. You can also change how your PC's clock works, showing seconds instead of minutes.

How to change your taskbar color

The taskbar settings in Windows 11 can feel somewhat limited. Luckily, you can still change the color of your taskbar to better match your desktop. To start, you will have to go to Settings > Personalization > Colors.

1. Look for the Accent color dropdown menu. Change this to Manual and then you can choose a color.
2. Look for the Show accent color on Start and Taskbar option and turn it On.

Making your PC more useful

That's all there is to it! There are multiple reasons why you might need to make changes to your taskbar, such as removing that pesky Copilot preview icon, removing the almost useless weather and news widget in the lower left corner, or maybe you just want to change the taskbar to look how it did back in Windows 10.

Whatever the case may be, after following these steps your taskbar should be a little less cluttered and a lot more useful to you. If you'd like to customize your PC even further, then check out our how to customize your Windows 11 PC guide to learn more.