Microsoft revamped the Start menu and taskbar in Windows 11, eliminating some of the features that users of Windows 10 have known for years and loved. The Start button was changed to the center position. The taskbar no longer allowed for the ungrouping of windows, lost its full right-click context menu and could no longer be moved to the top or sides of the screen. The Start menu began to display content and web search results that many users weren’t interested in. That’s where Stardock Start11 comes in — to reverse all those changes and more, to restore all that Windows 11 removed and provide customization features that Windows 10 and Windows 11 didn’t have at all.
Start11 is the latest in Stardock’s Start8 and Start10, which served the same function in Windows 8 and Windows 10, respectively. The Michigan company has been working on Windows desktop enhancement tools for decades, and Start11 is the latest in that portfolio, which it and reviewers say is one of the most viable Start menu replacements for Windows.
This addon allows you to install multiple Start Menu Styles.
Start11 offers a number of styles to select from for the Start menu. The Windows 7 style returns the small two column layout featuring the program list on the left hand side. Windows 10 and Windows 11 styles mimic the same menus, but with some extra features. There are also Stardock’s own modern designs (Pro and Launcher), which are completely different than the Microsoft designs. If a user is using Windows 11, it can make the Start menu look like Windows 7, and if a user is using Windows 10, it can give them a Windows 11 appearance, so Start11 can help users to standardise the look of their Start menus across multiple computers running different versions of Windows.
Taskbar Customization
Start11 adds and restores the functionality of the taskbar which was removed from Windows 11. It restores the full right-click context menu to the taskbar, removes the grouping of taskbar windows so that each open window appears as a separate button in the taskbar and allows the taskbar to appear at the top of the screen. Visual changes include rounded corners, custom colors, textures, transparency and a floating mode to make the taskbar appear as if it were an app dock floating away from the edge of the screen. Taskbar size adjusts without regard to the Windows default.
Click-around the Start Button and Icon
However, the Start button is either shifted to the left or remains centered, regardless of the position of the taskbar icons: the user can center the icons of the applications on the taskbar, while keeping the Start button on the left, or vice versa. The Start button icon is replaced with any of the icons provided or a custom picture provided by the user, which makes the desktop look personalized without the ability to do so provided by Windows.
Search Customization
When a user searches for a local file or app, Web search results and ads are also displayed in the Start menu search, adding to the clutter of the search. Start11 offers its own search functionality, which eliminates the web content and ads, places user’s local content at the top and prioritizes the most frequently used items. Combined with the Edge browser, the search can also search the open tabs. Search experience remains the same between versions of Windows, important for users with multiple machines.
Folders and Quick Access
Start11 includes folders inside the Start menu to organize similar shortcuts and quick access links to local drives, network drives, folders, the Recycle Bin and web content. These shortcuts are added to the Start menu directly and don’t need to be added to the registry or workarounds, making it easier to access often-used places.
Content Removal
In addition to adding features, Start11 also strips away elements from the Windows 11 Start menu that users may not want—such as recommended content and recent documents—and any other external content added by Microsoft by default. The end result is a Start Menu that displays only the things that the user decides to keep.
Fences Integration
For desktop customization enthusiasts who use both Start11 and Fences, the two products can work together, with Start11 working seamlessly with Fences.
Business Deployment
Stardock has a business version that provides deployment options for businesses looking to standardize desktops when migrating from Windows 10 to Windows 11. The business edition will be used primarily to ease retraining during the transition to Windows 11, by making it look and work like Windows 10 throughout an organization.
