Learn the ins and outs of adding widgets and shortcuts to your iPhone's home screen.

Imagine you want to give your iPhone a spooky or Christmassy look for an upcoming holiday, such as Halloween or Christmas. Did you know there's more you can do than set your desktop background to a picture of a ghost, a witch, or Santa and his sleigh and reindeer?

Here's some reading material: changing the iPhone lock screen.

The days when Apple wouldn't allow its customers to alter the appearance of the home screen have long since passed. However, the workplace has become much more lenient recently. The appearance of an iPhone can be modified in countless ways, such as by replacing the stock icons with your own or by adding widgets. To really turn up the heat, you can even put a short video clip on your lock screen. You can easily accomplish this.

You'll need an iPhone and the most recent version of iOS to get started.

How to design and upload unique app icons to the iPhone home screen.

Get your creative juices flowing, because you're going to need them for this one.

(1) Reduce the number of applications you use

Get started faster by paring down the number of apps on your home screen. Having too many apps can make your home screen look cluttered. The fewer apps you have on your home screen, the less time it will take to replace their icons. To uninstall an app, tap and hold it, then pick Remove App. You are not erasing it from your phone; instead, you can access it by swiping right from the home screen or by pulling down from the top of the screen. Apple provides additional information and tips on how to arrange your home screen and make the most of the App Library on their support page.

Step 2: Look for appropriate app icons

Once you've decided which apps you want to use, it's time to start looking for images to use as icons. Thousands of sellers on Etsy offer icon sets centered around a variety of topics, and you can buy and download one in a matter of seconds for next to nothing. In addition, you can find plenty of free icon apps (like Color Widgets) and websites (like Flaticon) online. Use a picture you took and saved instead. Create a consistent aesthetic by working within a predetermined theme. Those of you who are in the Halloween spirit, for instance, might find suitable icons in the form of pictures of bats, witches, etc.

Three, create quick links within your apps

Launch the Apple Shortcuts program. Since it is already on your device, there is no need to install it.

In order to replace the app icons on your home screen with the icons and photos you collected in step two, you will use Shortcuts. A shortcut for an app can be made and then placed on the home screen. It will function like an app in all respects, but it will have your own personal icon and name.

Here's how to accomplish things in the Shortcuts app:

1. You can get this by tapping the nearby corner.
2. Select Add Action on the new shortcut menu.
3. Click Open app in the resulting menu after doing a search.
4. Select the desired application by tapping the 'App' button on the new shortcut pane.
5. To access the information panel, select it from the menu at the top (next to Open app).
6. To add an app to your home screen, select the option from the details panel.
7. Select the shortcut name field (listed below Home Screen Name and Icon) on the preview pane.
8. Remove "New Shortcut" and give the shortcut a new name.
   • Try opening it with the app's name, like "TikTok."
9. You should now select the shortcut's icon, which can be found next to the name of the shortcut in the Home Screen Name and Icon section.
10. Select Choose photo from the edit icon menu that appears.
11. In the meantime, your photo album will load. Choose an image you'd like to use as an icon.
12. Tap Add on the preview pane.
13. The result will be visible on your home screen now; you can close Shortcuts.
    • You should now be able to view the iconized and named app shortcut you just made.
    • To avoid having dual icons on your home screen, delete the original app.

Afterward, retrace your steps from the beginning to modify any other apps that appear on your home screen. Another reminder that aesthetics demand consistency:

Keep in mind that the Shortcuts app affords you the opportunity to explore your creative side You can create your own shortcuts or use Apple's pre-made ones, and then save them as "apps" to your home screen, complete with icons. Using your custom app shortcut, you can quickly access your favorite YouTube video, send a snapchat to your significant other, or open Shazam with the tap of a finger. Countless outcomes are possible. Having shortcuts and icons for every possible app and website is a slippery slope.

If you want to make the most of your time with the iPhone and the Shortcuts app, Apple has a support page with more information and suggestions.

Creating a widget and putting it on your home screen is as easy as downloading one of the many apps available in the Apple App Store. Common ones include Widgetsmith and Color Widgets. It allows you to pin a picture to your home screen in three different sizes: small, medium, and large. For Halloween, you might include a picture of a pumpkin.

Here, we'll show you how to use Color Widgets, which, in comparison to Widgetsmith, has a much more intuitive user interface (UI).

1. Select the Widgets menu in Color Widgets after opening it.
2. Discover is where you'll find ready-made widgets.
3. Select Edit Widget by tapping the corresponding icon.
4. Then, you can establish a personalized look.
5. To replace the current image, select Edit and then Add Photo.
6. Select a photo to crop from the gallery that appears.
7. Adjusting the background, text, and border hues is simple via the editing screen.
8. After making your selections, select Set Widget.
9. One of the widgets may need to be deleted and a new one created.
10. The next step is to exit Color Widgets, return to the main menu, and long-press an empty spot.
11. Use the in-context.
12. To find the color widgets, type "Color Widgets" into the search bar.
13. In the new window that opens, select Add Widget and then navigate to the widget size you want to use.
14. The app will then be installed on your phone's main menu.
    1. Some tweaks to your widget may be necessary down the road. If that's the case, press and hold the widget you want to edit, and then tap Edit.
    2. To add a widget to your home screen, choose it from the available options.

A word of caution: not all widget-customization apps are created equal. For instance, after the initial free trial period, many of them have a monthly fee. They also brand the widget you place on your home screen with their logo and refuse to let you remove it or charge you extra if you do. Lastly, widgets themselves tend to have few uses. Besides a clock or calendar, photos can also be used to launch the widget editor.

If you really want to give your iPhone a facelift, you should probably switch up the home screen as well. Can't figure it out The full details can be found on Apple's support page, but in short, you'll want to navigate to your iPhone's Settings > Wallpaper > Add New Wallpaper. Easy peasy

Those who are really committed to the cause should also update their lock screens to reflect the spirit of the event. A video wallpaper (or "Live Photo," as Apple calls them) would be the icing on the cake. You can make the wallpapers move like a GIF when you press the screen. Pretty cool, huh

Here's how to make any video into a live wallpaper that plays automatically when you unlock your iPhone:

With iOS 16, users finally have the freedom to design their own Lock Screens. Extras like widgets, fonts, images, and wallpapers can be installed. Pocket-lint has an in-depth tutorial on how to change the lock screen on your iPhone. Here, however, is the abridged, TL;DR version of that tutorial.

1. Pressing the lock screen for an extended period of time
2. Select a new wallpaper by tapping the blue icon in the lower right. Select Modify Current to alter the one you have
   • If you swipe (from right to left), you can create a new template for your lock screen that you can save and use again later.
3. Anyway, let's say you're looking for a new wallpaper.
   • To change your wallpaper, click on the blue icon.
   • Suggested images, photo shuffle, emoji, weather, astronomy, color, and highlighted wallpapers are all accessible.
4. You can modify a wallpaper's appearance by cropping it, applying a filter, altering the font, and coloring it, and even including a widget.
   • Choose the pinch-to-crop option to reduce the size of the background.
   • Alternately, you can use the button to enhance the 3D effect
   • To include a widget, go to Manage > Add Widgets. Birthdays, a calendar, a battery, and other such things will be displayed. Swipe between options.
   • Changing the lock screen's font and color is as simple as holding down the clock and selecting your new preferences.
5. Once you're ready, select the plus sign in the upper right.
   • The two of them can be set as wallpaper if you like (this will alter your home screen).
   • Alternately, you can make your home screen unique.
   • Choose "customize" to modify its hue, gradient, image, and blur settings.
6. When you're done, simply set it and walk away.

Actually, yes Use the app store search for "home screen." Apps like Brass, Aesthetic Kit, and Themify let you easily alter your phone's theme, both in terms of the home screen and the lock screen. DIY instructions are included in this book. When you do it yourself, you can put your own spin on things and express your individuality in the process. Use a smartphone app if you'd rather not devote much brainpower to the task.

In addition, Pocket-lint has compiled a collection of excellent iPhone backgrounds.