App

Why you should customize the apps and widgets on your iPhone home screen

December 28, 2022
Jill D. Clifton

This story is part of 12 days full of tipsto help you make the most of your technology, your home and your health during the holiday season.

Wallpaper isn’t the only way to personalize your iPhone’s home screen.

Thanks to a built-in application as well as a third-party application that you can download for free from the App Store, you can easily create themes for your home screen, allowing you to create your own unique app icons and widgets.

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If you really want to make your iPhone your own, read on to learn how to customize your home screen.

For more information on personalizing your iPhone, see The best iPhone cases in 2022 and how to get rid of some of the most annoying features on iOS 16.

How to change your app icons on your iPhone

The apps that live on the home screen have their own logos, but you can use a native iOS feature to change the look of any app icon:

  1. open that abbreviations App on your iPhone (already pre-installed).
  2. Tap the plus icon in the top right corner.
  3. Choose Add action.
  4. Type in the search bar open app and select that open app Plot.
  5. Next, tap apartment and select the app you want to customize.
  6. Then tap the down arrow next to Open app at the top.
  7. Tap in the menu Add to home screen.
  8. Rename the shortcut to anything you like where it says the Home screen name and icon.
  9. Next, go to your web browser of choice and locate a new icon image. You can search for something like “facebook icon aesthetic”. When you find an image you like, save it to your photos.
  10. Go back to the Shortcuts app and tap the icon under Home screen name and icon. Choose Choose a photo and tap on the picture you just saved. You can enlarge or reduce the image. Beat Choose.
  11. Finally strike Add.

Now you have a customized app on your phone (actually a bookmark). You can delete the original app from your home screen, but you can easily find it in your app library.

There really is no better way to personalize your iPhone than with a colorful phone case. FireNova has a silicone case in different colors – sky blue, midnight green and teal – for the iPhone 14.

Customize widgets on your iPhone home screen

Apps aren’t the only thing you can customize. You can also add a little flavor to your widgets with the help of this third-party app:

  1. Download the Widgetsmith app to your iPhone.
  2. In the app, select the size of the widget you want to customize – your options are small, medium, and large.
  3. Tap the widget to customize it. You can change the font and colors. Go back when you’re done and tap Save on computer.
  4. Go to your home screen and press and hold anywhere on the screen.
  5. In edit mode, tap the plus icon in the top left corner and search for Widgetsmith. Tap on the icon.
  6. Select the widget size you want to add to your home screen and tap Add widget.
  7. You can change the widget by pressing and selecting on the app Edit widget. That’s all! Now your home screen has different sized icons for a customized look.

You can create widgets for specific features and applications, including photos, time, date, weather (paid), health, battery, calendar, reminders, tides (paid), and astronomy.


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