How to make your own app icons iphone

One of the coolest iPhone features is that you can customize app icons to make your Home Screen look unique. That way, even if all your friends and family have iPhones, you can make yours stand out by adding different icons for each app you use.

Believe it or not, changing your app icons is easier than it sounds; it only takes a few steps. Let us show you how to do it.

What Do You Need Before Getting Started?

So how does this work? Well, thanks to the Shortcuts app, you can create a shortcut to open an app instead of just using the app itself. That way, you can customize a shortcut and add a different app icon.

To do this, make sure you have Apple's Shortcuts app installed on your iPhone. It should be there by default, but you could always install it again if you deleted it.

You'll also need some app icons. You can use default icons in Shortcuts or even a picture you have. Or, you can also use free websites to find icons, such as flaticon and icons8.

If you want some premium icons, you can buy app icon packs.

After you have everything you need, here's how you can add custom app icons on your iPhone Home Screen

How to Add Custom App Icons on iPhone

As we mentioned, instead of opening an app directly, you'll create a shortcut that'll take you to the app. So what we need to do first is create the shortcut and then add it to your Home Screen.

Here's how:

  1. Open the Shortcuts app and tap the My Shortcuts tab on the bottom-left corner of your screen.
  2. Tap the plus button (+) in the top-right corner of your screen to create a new shortcut.
  3. Tap Add Action and type Open app in the search bar. Then tap the Open app action to add it.
  4. Tap Choose and choose the app you want to open.
  5. Now, tap on the three dots in the top-right corner.
  6. Tap Add to Home Screen and add a name to your shortcut.
  7. Tap the icon to the left of the shortcut's name.
  8. Tap Choose File and find the icon you want to use for this shortcut.
  9. Tap Add.

And you're set. You can also choose Take Photo or Choose Photo if you want to add your own picture. It's all up to you!

Are There Any Drawbacks to Using Shortcuts?

Even though this is a fantastic way to customize your Home Screen, using shortcuts isn't as quick as just opening apps the regular way.

If you have a new iPhone, you probably won't have any delay issues, but if you have an older, less powerful device, you might see your iPhone take longer to open apps with shortcuts.

Additionally, every time you open an app with a shortcut, you'll see a small popup window reminding you that you used a shortcut. It isn't a big problem, but it might be mildly annoying for some people.

Another drawback is notifications. When you use shortcuts instead of the actual app, you won't see the small notification bubble in the top-right corner of the app with the number of pending notifications.

It's Your Turn to Customize

Over to you. Now that you know how easy it is to add different app icons and customize your Home Screen in any way you want. After you're done with app icons, you can start adding some widgets and create a Home Screen that's both unique and functional. The sky is the limit.

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ios 14 change home screen custom widgets app icons

(Image credit: Future)

In iOS 14, Apple introduced support for home screen widgets, meaning as an iPhone user you can tailor everything you want to see on your home screen. But do you know how to make custom widgets and app icons for your iPhone?

While Apple has provided pre-made widgets for several of its native apps, there are plenty of third-party apps in the App Store designed for helping users with their iPhone home screens. Some apps even support theme creation, prompting people to share their Avatar the Last Airbender (opens in new tab), Animal Crossing (opens in new tab) and Microsoft Paint (opens in new tab)-inspired layouts. 

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Users are certainly getting crafty, but they’re not doing it alone. The hot app for making custom widgets is called Widgetsmith. In fact, Widgetsmith’s personalized widgets and a little familiarity with iOS shortcuts are all you’ll need to start customizing your iPhone home screen. 

Of course, there’s no need to transform your iPhone displays into a meticulously coordinated theme. (Although these iOS 14 home screen ideas might inspire you.) But if you want to show love to your favorite sports team or fandom, or just crave an aesthetically-pleasing presentation, we’ll show you how to make custom widgets and app icons for your iPhone’s home screen. 

How to make custom iPhone widgets

(Image credit: Future)

Wondering how to make the custom iPhone widgets you’re seeing all over social media? You won’t find them in Apple’s widget library. Instead, you’ll need to download Widgetsmith. Widgetsmith is free, although you can pay $1.99 per month or $19.99 per year for Widgetsmith Premium, which supports hosted data sources (like the weather and tidal information) and exclusive widget styles.

  • Download Widgetsmith for iOS (opens in new tab)

The free version of Widgetsmith offers widgets for your calendar, clock, reminders, activity (via Apple Health) and photos.

1. Open Widgetsmith on your iPhone. Choose whether you want to make a small, medium, or large widget. For reference, the small square widget is the size of 4 apps, while the large square widget is the size of 16 apps. The rectangular medium widget is the same size as 8 apps. 

2. Click on the widget size you want. If you click on ‘Add Small Widget’ or ‘Add Medium Widget’ it will just duplicate the preset generic widget. Be sure to click on the image icon or ‘[Widget size] #1.’

How to make custom iPhone widgets

(Image credit: Future)

3. Rename the widget to reflect its contents. For example, we’ll make a date widget and name the widget accordingly. 

How to make custom iPhone widgets

(Image credit: Future)

4. Click on the widget icon to begin customizing its purpose and appearance. We’re sticking with a date, but you can choose from time photos, custom text (say, for a motivational quote), calendar, reminder, activity and astronomy widgets, too. Weather and tide widgets require Widgetsmith Premium. 

How to make custom iPhone widgets

(Image credit: Future)

5. Customize your widget font, tint, background color and border color. There are several style options to choose from. If you’re going with a theme, try to match the aesthetic.

How to make custom iPhone widgets

(Image credit: Future)

6. Click save and return to your iPhone home screen.

How to make custom iPhone widgets

(Image credit: Future)

7. Long press on an app icon or your wallpaper. Click the plus icon in the top left corner of your iPhone display to open the widget menu. Select Widgetsmith from the widget menu.

How to make custom iPhone widgets

(Image credit: Future)

8. Swipe left or right and select 'Add Widget' depending on what size widget you want to add (this should reflect the widget you made within the Widgetsmith app). Click done in the top right corner.

How to make custom iPhone widgets

(Image credit: Future)

9. Long press your new widget. Click ‘Edit Widget.’

How to make custom iPhone widgets

(Image credit: Future)

10. Select the name of the widget you made. Keep in mind this will only work if the size widget you added reflects the size widget you customized in the Widgetsmith app.

How to make custom iPhone widgets

(Image credit: Future)

You should see your customized widget on your iPhone home screen. The steps above work for making all kinds of widgets, and there is no limit to how many widgets you can make with Widgetsmith.

How to make custom iPhone app icons in iOS 14 with shortcuts

(Image credit: Future)

Now that you have your widgets to your liking, you can make custom icons for all the apps on your iPhone. This means you can replace anything from the Facebook or TikTok logo to the icons of Apple’s native Settings or Mail apps with images of your choosing. Bonus points if you pick a collection of pictures that match.

Gather all the images you want to use to make your custom iPhone app icons. We’re going to use Apple’s Shortcuts tool.

1. Open Shortcuts on your iPhone. It’s one of the pre-installed Apple apps on your iPhone.

2. Click the plus ‘+’ sign in the top right of your screen.

How to make custom iPhone app icons

(Image credit: Future)

3. Search for apps and actions.

How to make custom iPhone app icons

(Image credit: Future)

4. Search ‘open app’ and click ‘Open App’ from the Actions menu.

How to make custom iPhone app icons

(Image credit: Future)

5. Click ‘Choose.’ Search for the app you want to make a custom icon for. We’re using TikTok.

How to make custom iPhone app icons

(Image credit: Future)

6. Click the ellipses ‘...’ sign.

How to make custom iPhone app icons

(Image credit: Future)

7. Click Add to Home Screen.

How to make custom iPhone app icons

(Image credit: Future)

8. Type in the name of the app and select the icon next to the text field to change the image.

How to make custom iPhone app icons

(Image credit: Future)

9. Select ‘Choose Photo’ and choose a photo from your photo app. Select choose once you’ve cropped it to a square. 

10. Click ‘Add’ to add your new icon to your iPhone home screen. It will appear in the first free space on your home screen. 

How to make custom iPhone app icons

(Image credit: Future)

Repeat the steps above for every app icon you want you customize. You can then add the original apps to a different folder or home screen and hide that home screen. Whenever you click on your new custom icons, Shortcuts will redirect you to the app you assigned.

  • Next: Check out these awesome iOS 14 hidden features

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Kate Kozuch is an editor at Tom’s Guide covering smartwatches, TVs and everything smart-home related. Kate also appears on Fox News to talk tech trends and runs the Tom's Guide TikTok account (opens in new tab), which you should be following. When she’s not filming tech videos, you can find her on an exercise bike, mastering the NYT Crossword or channeling her inner celebrity chef. 

How do I create an icon for an app?

Here are some tips for creating an app icon that stands out..
Use a unique shape or symbol. You'll always be up against dozens of other apps, whether a user is browsing the app store or scrolling through their home screens. ... .
Keep it simple. ... .
Don't include words. ... .
Choose vibrant colors. ... .
A/B test different versions..

Can you make custom apps for iPhone?

Creating Custom Apps You can offer: Apps for iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple TV. A tailored look and feel, such as company logo or branding. Specific functionality for a business process or workflow.