How to Add Widgets to Windows 11 Desktop

To add widgets in Windows 11, press Windows + W to open the Widgets board, select the plus (Add widgets) button, choose a widget and select Pin. Windows 11 has no built-in way to place widgets directly on the desktop wallpaper, so for true desktop widgets you need a third-party app such as Rainmeter, Widget Launcher or BeWidgets.

This guide covers how to add widgets to Windows 11 in all three places they can live in 2026: the Widgets board, the lock screen, and the desktop itself. It also explains how to resize, rearrange and customize them, and what to check when the Widgets button is missing.

Where Windows 11 Widgets Can Appear

Before you start, it helps to know that “widgets” means three slightly different things in Windows 11. The table below summarizes them.

How to Add Widgets to Windows 11 on the Widgets Board

The Widgets board is the native home for widgets. Microsoft has been rolling out a redesigned board with a navigation bar on the left that separates your widgets from the Discover news feed. The steps below work on that newer layout and note where the older layout differs.

1. Open the board. Press Windows + W, or select the weather or Widgets icon on the left end of the taskbar. On a touchscreen, swipe in from the left edge.
2. Go to your widgets. On the newer design, select Widgets in the left navigation bar. On the older design, your pinned widgets appear at the top of the single scrolling board.
3. Select the plus button. Choose Add widgets (the + icon) near the top right of the board. A gallery opens.
4. Pick a widget. Browse the list on the left of the gallery, such as Weather, Calendar, To Do, Photos, Family Safety, Phone Link or Outlook. A preview appears on the right.
5. Pin it. Select Pin or Add widget. If the button is greyed out, that widget is already on your board.
6. Close the gallery. The widget now sits in your pinned area, and it will stay there across restarts.

If a widget appears on the board because Windows suggested it, you can keep it without opening the gallery: select its More options button (three dots) and choose Pin widget.

Get more widgets from the Microsoft Store

The gallery has a Find more widgets link at the bottom. It opens the Microsoft Store filtered to apps that include widgets. Many third-party apps, including system monitors and to-do apps, add their own board widgets after you install them. Once installed, they appear in the same Add widgets gallery.

Customize Widgets in Windows 11: Size, Order and Settings

Resize a widget

1. Open the Widgets board and go to your pinned widgets.
2. Hover over a widget and select its More options (three dots) in the top corner.
3. Choose Small, Medium or Large. According to Microsoft’s support documentation, some widgets offer only one or two sizes.

Rearrange widgets

Click and hold a widget’s header (the top strip), then drag it to a new spot in the pinned area. Other widgets shift to make room. Put the ones you check most often, such as Calendar or Weather, at the top left, which is the first place the eye lands when the board slides open.

Change what a widget shows

Open the widget’s three-dot menu and choose Customize widget. For example, set a weather location, switch the stock watchlist, or pick which Outlook calendar appears. Each widget offers different options, and the changes apply only to that widget.

Remove a widget

Open the three-dot menu and choose Unpin widget. To stop seeing a suggested widget, choose Hide this widget.

Turn Off the News Feed and Keep Only Your Widgets

Many people open the board only for weather or calendar and find the news feed distracting. Microsoft has changed where this setting lives, so check both locations.

1. Open the Widgets board with Windows + W.
2. Select the Settings (gear) icon near the top right.
3. On the older layout, choose Show or hide feeds and set the feed to Off, then confirm with Turn off.
4. On the newer layout with the left navigation bar, the feed sits in its own Discover dashboard. Select your account icon in Discover to follow or block topics and publishers, or look under the Discover dashboard’s personalization settings to hide it.

You can also stop the board from opening when you hover over the taskbar icon. In Widgets settings, look for Open Widgets board on hover and turn it off.

Add Widgets to the Windows 11 Lock Screen

Lock screen widgets show information before you sign in, such as weather or sports scores. Microsoft has been rolling this feature out gradually, so it may not appear on every PC yet.

1. Press Windows + I to open Settings.
2. Go to Personalization > Lock screen.
3. Expand Your widgets (on some builds it is called Lock screen status or similar).
4. Select Add widget and choose from the list.
5. Use the gripper handles to the left of each entry to change the order, and the three-dot menu to remove or adjust a widget.

The lock screen holds up to four small widgets. To add a fifth, remove one first. Recent Windows 11 builds show only Weather by default for new users and include an optional toggle that lets Windows suggest widgets for empty slots. If you share the PC, remember that anyone who can see the screen can read lock screen widgets, so avoid calendar or email widgets there.

How to Put Widgets on the Windows 11 Desktop

Many searches for “desktop widgets windows 11” come from people who remember the Windows 7 gadgets that sat on the wallpaper. Windows 11 does not have an equivalent. The Widgets board is a panel that slides over your windows, and there is no native setting to pin a board widget to the desktop. Third-party apps fill the gap.

Set up Rainmeter (example)

1. Download the installer from the official Rainmeter website and run it. Choose the standard installation.
2. Rainmeter starts with a default skin showing a clock, CPU and RAM usage and disk space.
3. Right-click any widget to move it, change transparency, or set it to stay on the desktop or on top of windows.
4. To add more widgets, download skins (packaged as .rmskin files) only from well-known community sources, then double-click to install.
5. Open the Manage window from the tray icon to turn individual skins on or off and to set Rainmeter to start with Windows.

Widgets from these apps use some memory and CPU. A handful of simple Rainmeter skins usually uses well under 1% CPU on a modern processor, but animated or frequently updating skins cost more. If you game on the PC, set skins to update every few seconds rather than every second.

Widgets Button Missing? How to Bring It Back

1. Check the taskbar setting. Right-click the taskbar, choose Taskbar settings, and under Taskbar items turn Widgets on.
2. Update Windows. Go to Settings > Windows Update and install pending updates. Widgets are delivered through the Windows Web Experience Pack, which updates via the Microsoft Store.
3. Update the Web Experience Pack. Open the Microsoft Store, go to Library, and select Get updates.
4. Check work or school policies. Organizations can disable widgets with Group Policy. On Windows 11 Pro, the policy is under Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Widgets. On a managed work PC, ask IT rather than changing it.
5. Sign in with a Microsoft account. Some widgets, such as Outlook Calendar and To Do, need a Microsoft account to show your data.

Which Widgets Are Worth Adding?

The board is most useful when it answers questions you would otherwise open an app for. A practical starter set for a work PC:

• Weather (Medium): hourly forecast without opening a browser.
• Calendar (Medium): the next three or four events at a glance.
• To Do (Medium or Large): syncs with Microsoft To Do on phone and web.
• Phone Link (Small): phone battery and recent notifications if you use Phone Link.
• A system monitor from the Store (Small): CPU and memory usage while you work.

For a gaming PC, keep the board lean. Fewer pinned widgets means the panel opens faster and fetches less data in the background.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the shortcut to open widgets in Windows 11?

Press Windows + W. You can also select the weather or Widgets icon on the taskbar, or swipe in from the left edge on a touchscreen.

Can I put widgets on my desktop in Windows 11?

Not with built-in tools. Windows 11 widgets live on the Widgets board and the lock screen. For widgets on the wallpaper, use a third-party app such as Rainmeter, Widget Launcher or BeWidgets.

How do I customize widgets in Windows 11?

Open a widget’s three-dot menu. Choose Small, Medium or Large to resize, Customize widget to change its content, or Unpin widget to remove it. Drag the header to rearrange.

How many widgets can I add to the lock screen?

Up to four small widgets. Remove one in Settings > Personalization > Lock screen before adding another.

Why don’t I see the Add widgets button?

On the newer board design, select Widgets in the left navigation bar first; the + button appears there. If it is still missing, update Windows and the Windows Web Experience Pack from the Microsoft Store.

Do widgets slow down Windows 11?

The board uses some memory while it runs and refreshes content in the background. On most modern PCs the impact is small. If you never use it, hide the Widgets button in Taskbar settings so the board does not open by accident, and keep only the widgets you actually read pinned.