If you are indeed talking about the standard Android Launcher rather than the metro launcher/desktop?
Try
Nova Launcher instead
. The free version has no ads at all & it's highly customisable too. You can keep it all as simple as you wish, or you can delve much deeper into the customisation for the exact layout you'd like to have.
You can specify the layout & number of icons on your desktop grid as well (the main upper part of your desktop), & you can also specify how many icons you can place in your dock, (the lower part).
It's always ran very well indeed on a number of my Android devices, past & present. You can even give older Android versions a more updated look to have the appearance of Android Oreo etc. if you wish.
It's one of the most popular 3rd party launchers & for good reason. Well worth giving it a look & see what you think
.