---
title: "How to move the Windows 11 taskbar to the left"
description: "Windows 11 moved the Start button in the taskbar, but you can move it back to its original position. Here's how to move the Windows 11 taskbar to the left."
image: "https://images.ctfassets.net/lzny33ho1g45/3BdZG2gwvaNRNqwv3LXkfR/e5b44800476a7fc5e4a0266f435bc009/Windows.jpg"
---

# How to move the Windows 11 taskbar to the left

Windows 11 moved the Start button in the taskbar, but you can move it back to its original position. Here's how to move the Windows 11 taskbar to the left.

Since 1995, the Windows _Start_ button (the Windows logo) had remained firmly planted in the bottom-left corner of the screen. But now, Windows 11 moved the button to the left side of a center group of icons. 

This isn't a terrible decision, design-wise: displays are bigger than ever, and the center of the screen is probably closer to your cursor right now than the bottom-left corner. 

But if muscle memory keeps sending your mouse to the bottom-left corner to launch the Start menu, only to bring up the widget bar instead, here's how to move the Windows 11 taskbar to the left. 

**Table of contents**: 

- [How to move the Windows 11 taskbar to the left](#how-to-move)
- [How to customize the Windows 11 taskbar](#how-to-customize)
- [Bonus: How to restore the old taskbar in Windows 11](#how-to-restore-the-old-taskbar)

## How to move the Windows 11 taskbar to the left

1. Right-click a blank area on the taskbar, and then click **Taskbar settings**.
2. In the _Personalization _tab of your _Settings_ window, click **Taskbar behaviors. **
3. Click the dropdown next to _Taskbar alignment_, and select **Left**.

Just like that, the _Start_ button is back where it belongs. 

## How to customize the Windows 11 taskbar 

Moving the _Start_ menu to the left isn't the only way you can customize the Windows 11 taskbar. If there are widgets you'd rather not see in your taskbar, right-click the app icon, and then select **Unpin from taskbar**. 

## Bonus: How to restore the old taskbar in Windows 11

You moved the taskbar back to the bottom-left corner, but what if you hate how the Windows 11 _Start_ menu looks and acts? You can change that with [Open-Shell-Menu](https://open-shell.github.io/Open-Shell-Menu/)—a free and open source application that replaces the modern _Start_ menu with versions similar to Windows 95, Windows XP, and Windows 7. 

1. Go to [open-shell.github.io/Open-Shell-Menu/](https://open-shell.github.io/Open-Shell-Menu/).
2. Click the start menu style that you want to use.
3. Click **OK**.

You can also replace the _Start_ button with whatever icon you want. I personally enjoy adding something that resembles Windows 95. 

That's more like it! Enjoy partying like it's 2005. 

**Related reading**: 

- [The best productivity apps for Windows](https://zapier.com/blog/best-windows-productivity-software/)
- [How to add Quick Look, the best Mac feature, to Windows](https://zapier.com/blog/quicklook-windows/)
- [How to copy text from an image or video on Windows](https://zapier.com/blog/windows-copy-text-from-images)

_This article was originally published in August 2022. The most recent update, with contributions from Jessica Lau, was in May 2025. _