Since iOS 14 was launched, I’ve seen and tried all kinds of hacks to customize the iPhone home screen. I enjoyed giving my home screen a custom look using a variety of tools. And I guess most of you would be more or less in the same baseball field given how big an “iOS 14 home screen customization” trend has been in recent times. While there is no lack of paid tools, how do you customize your iOS home screen for free like a pro? Well, as long as you’re willing to get a little creative, there are some great hacks that can allow you to spruce up your iPhone home screen to your liking.

Customize your iPhone home-screen like a pro for free

For me, there are three basic tools for designing a home screen: custom app icons, custom widgets, and a solid wallpaper library. Once you have these components under your radar, all you need to do is take your imagination for a long spin. Depending on a specific theme like dark, vibrant and nature, you can set a suitable wallpaper, place app icons and widgets in perfect harmony with the layout. Now that you have the idea, let’s put it into practice!

Create custom-app icons

Nothing looks as elegant on the home screen as custom app icons. So if you want to amp up the customization game, be sure to create custom app icons so that your iPhone home screen looks more personalized.

In case you’re wondering how you might make app icons, let me tell you the process is pretty straightforward. All you have to do to get started is simply to choose the desired icon, color, badge or glyph according to the design theme, then place the custom icons on the main screen using the Shortcuts app.

Change app icon ( free, $ 9.99 / month ) and Pro Launch Center ( free , offers in-app purchases) are the apps I use to create custom iPhone app icons. They are both available for free and simplify the task of creating app icons.

I’ll walk you through the quick steps using Change App Icon. Then, download the app on your device and then open it. Next, tap on the Edit Icons tab. Then, choose Icon tab and select the desired icon. Next, tap on the Color and Background Tabs to select your preferred color and background. Then, tap the download button to save the app to your camera roll.

After saving the app icon in the Photos app, launch the Application Shortcuts , then tap the “+” Button in the top right corner screen. Then, tap Add Action . Then, search for Open app action and select the app you want to start. Next, select the icon you just created from the Photos app.

In the end, add the app icon to the main screen . In the future, you can touch this custom icon to start the corresponding app. If you want to follow the step-by-step instructions, follow our detailed guide on creating and using custom app icons.

Besides these apps, icons8 and Flaticon are two of the my favorite platforms that offer many app icons. So, take these apps and websites for a long test to create loads of custom app icons.

Create eye-catching custom home screen widgets

When it comes to customizing your iPhone home screen, custom widgets have an important role to play. And guess what, the App Store has a load of apps that let you create awesome home screen widgets. Whether it is an always running clock widget or a weather widget or the useful utility widget that shows the total memory and storage space, you can create all kinds of widgets that allow you to beautify your home screen. iPhone to your liking.

Creating custom widgets is pretty straightforward as the steps for most widget apps are identical. For example, you want to create a nice looking widget using a popular home screen widget app called “Widgetsmith” ( free , $ 1.99 per month). Start the app widget and then customize the widget by choosing all the tools available. Next, tap and hold the blank screen and press the “+” button to access the widget library.

Then, choose Widgetsmith . Then, select your preferred size and Enter it at the home screen.

Create transparent-widgets

Whenever I go out to customize the iPhone home screen, I want the freedom I want to place icons. While iOS doesn’t offer the flexibility of leaving a blank like Android, there are some third-party apps that fill the void. Therefore, you can create transparent widgets on your iPhone and place them where you want to leave blank. After that, you can place the app icons where you want them. Take a look at the screenshot below!

In particular, the process of creating invisible widgets for iPhone is almost the same as for regular widgets. The only thing you need to keep in mind is to make sure that the transparent widgets match the background so that they can easily fool the eyes.

The apps I’d recommend for creating transparent home screen widgets are – Yidget ( free ) and TWid ( free ). They are simple to use and work as intended.

I’ll show you the quick steps using Yidget. First of all, take the screenshot of the blank screen of your iPhone home screen. Next, open the Yidget app and then tap the Create option . Next, select the screenshot and refine it using the tools provided.

Then, tap and hold the blank screen on your iPhone and tap the “+” button . Then, tap Yidget and choose the right size for the widget.

Get the most of-beautiful-wallpapers

Wallpapers form the crux of attractive home screen designs. So, make sure you have the luxury of choosing from a large assortment of wallpapers as they can play a vital role in allowing you to design your iPhone home screen with different themes.

Whether you want your home screen to be original or retro or look gorgeous, there are some top-notch wallpaper apps available for free. The ones that always give me beautiful wallpapers without having to spend a fortune are: Black Lite ( free ) and WallPick ( free ).

With a huge library of professionally designed wallpapers and themes, these wallpaper apps always ensure you have something new to try. On the other hand, if you like dynamic wallpapers, check out our article on the best animated wallpaper apps for iPhone.

What if you don’t want to install wallpaper apps on your device or just want to have more beautiful wallpapers, I would recommend checking out a couple of well-known websites that offer loads of iPhone wallpapers: Unsplash and Wallpaper Safari .

While Unsplash offers a wide range of natural and abstract backgrounds, Wallpaper Safari has created some iconic backgrounds that should resonate with your fan’s image.

Automatically change the iPhone wallpaper with a simple tap

No matter how good a theme is, after a while it tends to look dull or pale. This is why a timely change is inevitable to keep the fascinating aspect intact. It turns out that there is a shortcut that allows you to automatically change your iPhone wallpaper with a simple tap.

The solution works with a link called “Wallpaper”. Therefore, you will need to set it up first using the selected wallpapers. To go on, create an album of all your favorite wallpapers and then add the background shortcut to your library of shortcuts.

Then, allow the wallpaper app to use your personalized photo album using the Link app.

Once done, all you have to do to scroll through all your favorite wallpapers is simply press the home screen icon .

Track-cool home screen design ideas

Once you have custom app icons, widgets and matching wallpapers, creating beautiful themes isn’t a big deal. Depending on different themes like dark, winter, love and funky, you can design your home screen by placing the icons in line with a specific layout.

Keep in mind that there is no rule of thumb for creating a top-notch theme. So, never fail to experiment and improvise. From what I can tell after creating a ton of themes for the iOS 14 home screen, it’s worth tweaking anything subtle that you think could play a vital role in decorating your home screen.

For example, if you want to create a love theme, bring colorful widgets that show a delicate flower with an appropriate message on top. Also, make sure that the app icons are also perfectly synchronized with the gel with the theme of love.

A couple of neat-ways to keep clutter out of the home screen

A cluttered home screen never looks pleasing to the eye. Therefore, make sure you keep it clean so that it never seems burdened with too many unnecessary apps. iOS 14 offers a couple of better ways to keep your home screen tidy.

Download apps directly to your app library: When you have a well-designed app library that’s always ready to keep your apps organized and easily accessible, there’s no point in ruining your entire home screen with too many apps . With iOS 14, you can download apps directly to the App Library. That way your specific theme with a custom app layout will never be messed up. Go to Settings app – & gt; Home screen . In the Newly Downloaded Apps section, choose App Library Only .

Hide unwanted home screen pages: If you want to have better control over your home screen, keep as few home screen pages as possible. Unlike before, you can hide unnecessary home screen pages so they can stay hidden.

Simply hold down a blank screen and press the horizontal dots at the bottom. Next, deselect the page you want to hide and then press the Finish option in the upper right corner to finish. If you want to view the home screen pages, follow the same steps, then select the pages you want to recover.

Professional-tips for customizing your iPhone home screen

So, this is how you can give your iPhone home screen a custom look. With so many interesting ideas, I imagine that customizing the home screen will now become a pleasant experience for you. And that too without having to break the bank.

Speaking of which, which of these tips did you find most exciting? Be sure to submit your feedback. Also, drop in on all of these cool tips that you think are worth mentioning in this guide.