How-To: Primp Your Phone with Cocoppa!

Hi lovelies! A while back I posted a photo on Twitter of my pretty-fied home screen and I had a ton of people asking me how I did it. And now that I just got a brand new iPhone, I figured this was the perfect time to demonstrate! The app I used to get these cute icons and background is called Cocoppa, and today I'll be sharing a complete guide on how to get your phone to look like this!


I do have a few important disclaimers before we get started, so please be sure to read them carefully:

- Cocoppa works for iPhones and iTouches (3rd generation or newer), as well as iPads. They also recently began expanding to Android phones. For more information on Cocoppa-compatible devices, click here.

- I am not a phone expert and I definitely do not claim to be. I can only speak from my experience with the app, and cannot diagnose any issues with your phone.

- The Cocoppa app can be very confusing and time-consuming to use. If you are not a patient person that is good with technology, I would not recommend attempting any of this.

With all that out of the way, let's get started!

1. Download Cocoppa from the app store.

2. Once the app is installed, open it up and create a free account.

3. Now that you have the app all ready to go, it's time to pick out some icons! You can find the icons in the top menu bar under "icons". I know, it's crazy stuff. It really does get a bit more complicated from here though.

Don't start attempting to install any icons at this point, just click on whichever ones you want to use and press the "like" button so you can find it later with all of your other icons and install them all at once. Trust me, it's much easier. Do keep in mind that Cocoppa does not support all apps, so you may want to start this process with only the bigger store apps like Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. and then go back in for more once you know how the whole process works.

There are a few different ways to browse the icons. The best way, in my opinion, is to look under the "Popular Icons" section that can be found if you scroll down a little on the page. Next to the Popular Icons heading, you'll see a white box with two arrows. Click in that box, and it will show you the 100 most-used icons for the day, week, or month. That's where I have found pretty much all of the icons I use.

However, if you're looking for something in particular, like icons with polka dots, scroll all the way down the main icon page until you see a search box and type in whatever your heart desires. Keep in mind that a lot of these icons are made by people that do not speak English and you may miss a lot of really great things by searching with English words. That is yet another reason why I prefer browsing the "Popular" section instead.

In my opinion, all the other ways to browse icons are pretty much pointless. The category search is just super random and not at all helpful, and searching by tags is even worse. I mean...is a "grandfather" tag really necessary? The colors search could be useful I suppose, if you're into color coordinating your icons.

4. So you think the hard part is over now that you've found all the icons you want, huh? Not so fast! Now you'll need to go to the "Mypage" section on the bottom menu bar and view all of your "liked" icons. Click on the icon you'd like to set up first, and then click "Set Up Link" on the icon details screen.

From there, you'll be taken to a page asking you to choose the type of link you want to assign the icon. For most apps (Mail, Messages, Music, and Phone being the primary exceptions which I'll get to later), you'll want to go the "App Search" and search for the app you'd like to create an icon for. If the app you want to use doesn't come up in a search, there is not a heck of a lot you can do other than find another similar app that is recognized by Cocoppa's app search system. This process will more than likely take you a while, which is why I only use Cocoppa icons for the first page of my home screen and have all my other apps in folders on the second page.

Once you do find the app you're looking for (or a Cocoppa-recognized replacement), click on the name of that app and you'll be taken to a "confirmation" page. From there, you'll decide whether or not you want to add "gloss" to your icon and change it's name. Then once you're done there and you've pressed "OK", Cocoppa will automatically open up Safari for you and set you up to install the new icon.

Their instructions are pretty self-explanatory, just click the little arrow in a box button at the bottom of the menu bar and then select "Add to Home Screen" from the options that pop up. And there you have your fancy new icon!

IMPORTANT: Do not delete any of your original apps once the new icons are installed. These pretty-fied icons are just shortcuts to your apps and if you delete the original icons, the apps will not work! Like I mentioned before, I recommend keeping all the originals tucked away in a folder somewhere on your phone.

5. As I mentioned before, some apps require a bit more work to install, and others will not work with Cocoppa at all. For instance, you cannot create an icon for the Phone app. You can, however, create speed-dial shortcuts for specific people. To do that, click on whatever icon you want to use and then "Set Up Link" just like before. The difference this time is that instead of doing an app search, you'll want to click the "Phone Call" option right below it. From there, you can either choose a phone number from your address book or type in a new one. Then you'll just press "Done" and finish up the process the same way you did with all your previous icons. You can also do the same thing for messages and emails to specific people.

6. A few apps, like Music, Mail, and Messages, require you to set up icons using a "URL", which is an option found under the same screen as the app search. When you click on the URL option, you'll be taken to a page where you'll enter one of the following shortcuts:

To open Messages- SMS:
To open Music- Music:
To open Videos- Videos:
To open Mail- Mailto:

Then you'll just continue the set-up process as you normally would.

7. The hard part is over! If you've made it this far without ripping all your hair out, congratulations! Now all you have to do is choose a cute background to go with your new icons. Head back to the Cocoppa home screen and click on the "Wallpaper" section in the top menu bar. I prefer to browse wallpapers in the "Popular" section, but you can also do a search by words or color just like you did with icons.

Once you've found one you like, click on it and you'll be directed to the details page. From there, all you need to do is press the "Save to Camera Roll" button, and you'll find your new wallpaper stored in your photos app ready for use.

And there you have it! I hope you all enjoy your new primped out home screens! If you have any questions or tips for using Cocoppa, feel free to comment down below!

For more recommendations, be sure to check out my new video showing my makeup collection and storage! Click the video link below to learn the unexpected places I buy makeup storage, the unique way I organize my eyeshadow palettes, and tons more!

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