5 Tips to Make the Windows 8 Start Screen More Useful

Windows 8’s Start Screen has received good reviews over the past few years. Mostly buyers of Windows 8 tablets, desktops, laptops and 2-in-1s don’t consider it useful compared to the Start Menu it replaces.

This is mostly because the Start Screen is something completely new in Windows 8. In an effort to ensure that touch users have an interface they can interact with, Microsoft decided it would be a good idea to rethink the Start Menu. Unlike the Start Menu, the Start Screen is not a miniature pop-up window with a list of installed programs in alphabetical order.

Instead, the Start Screen is a touchpad filled with its own different kinds of apps. Each of these apps has their own customizable tiles. App creators can put things like a user’s bank balance or their latest email on the Start Screen for a quick glance. Users can then resize these tiles and move them around for a little more customization.

Here are some tips to make the Windows 8 Start Screen more useful, inviting and functional.

Pin Useful Live Tiles to Start Screen for Easy Visibility

The biggest mistake new Windows 8 device buyers make is taking their device home and sticking to live tiles pinned to the Start Screen. They never customize them and never add new ones. Instead, they keep coming back to the Desktop for all their needs. This makes the Start Screen a kind of pit stop on the way to the Desktop.

Windows 8 users should go to the list of apps by swiping up the Start Screen from the bottom of their touchscreen or by clicking the arrow in the lower left corner of their screen. Mouse users should right-click each app they think they’ll want to access quickly and pin it to their Start Screen. Tablet users should hold their finger down on each app they find useful and pin it to the Start Screen.

It doesn’t matter if the app is a Windows Store app or a Windows Desktop app. The point here is to pin it to the Start Screen so you can quickly dive in without any hassle.

Arranging Live Tiles by Convenience and Priority

It’s daunting to look at different tiles for information. Fortunately, Windows 8 allows users to rearrange and group live tiles to make more sense for their needs and break the monotony of colored rectangles and squares. Many Windows users, myself included, divide apps into media apps, news apps, and gadgets. This allows the brain to instantly know exactly where to open a certain type of app or look for new notifications.

Download Apps with Useful Live Tiles

Installing Windows 8 on every device comes with a default list of installed apps. Pre-installed apps like News and Weather provide Live Tiles useful enough. Don’t get hung up on these apps though, there are plenty of Windows Store apps with more solid Live Tile offerings.

flipboard showcases their latest cover stories directly on their Live Tile and MetroTube shows the user’s latest YouTube subscription updates directly here. Simple apps like your time let users put a clock on the Start Screen instead of opening the Charms Bar. Look for apps with good Live Tiles and, if possible, never buy an app that doesn’t. As you download and install these apps, they become available on any other Windows 8 devices you own.

Add a Background for Some Personality

In early versions of Windows 8, Microsoft didn’t have a built-in way for users to add their own images behind the Start Screen’s Live Tiles. Why this happened remains a complete mystery, but the company added the feature later in a free update. Enabling this feature also sets the default background image on any other Windows 8.1 devices you have. When opened, the Start Screen feels more like a cohesive and useful part of Windows, not a blank colored hole.

Replacing Live Tiles with a List of Installed Apps

No matter what tips and tricks are available today, it is likely that some people will still not want to use the Start Screen. It’s not as much a reflection on them as the Start Screen. Adding things to the Windows workflow would never please a subset of users tuned into their own style.

For these users there is always an option to disable the Start Screen. This is done in two different ways. First, users can disable the Start Screen’s Live Tiles and only show the list of installed apps when they press the Windows button on their laptop or desktop computer.

The second option is a bit more complicated but allows Windows 8 users to quickly recreate the Start Menu from older versions of Windows. Users can add the Start Menu back by installing Stardock’s Start8 desktop program.

Whatever tips you decide to take advantage of regarding the Start Screen, keep in mind that there is no one-size-fits-all way of doing things. For it to work best, the Start Screen needs to be customized to suit your personality and computing habits. Change things up often until you find the best results.