How to Make a Word Cloud: Beginner Tutorial

Learn how to generate beautiful and unique word clouds with WordCloud.app. Each word cloud you create is a personal, creative expression — a little work of art!

A notebook on a wooden table, with a purple word cloud on the cover, listing someone's hobbies, such as houseplants, photography, and rock climbing.

Easily create a word cloud for any purpose with just a few clicks.

How to Create a Word Cloud

Follow along with this interactive demo to create your own word cloud.

Follow these simple steps:

  1. Access the Dashboard: Sign in to your WordCloud.app account and navigate to the Dashboard to begin.

    Go to Dashboard

  2. Create a New Word Cloud: Click the 'Create a New Word Cloud' button to start.

  3. Start from Scratch, Choose a Preset, or Let AI Help: Choose from a range of presets for different occasions, let AI suggest some words, or start with a blank canvas to create something uniquely yours.

    Check out how to generate a list of words with AI in this tutorial.

  4. Generate Your Word Cloud: Watch as WordCloud.app magically creates a stunning word cloud for you.

  5. Customize Your Word Cloud:
    • Adjust Words: Add or remove words as needed. Pro Tip: drag words around to reorder them.
    • Add Pinned Words: Pin words in place by clicking on them. The other words will flow around it. Pro Tip: assign it a special color and font to highlight a pinned word or allow it to blend in.
    • Customize Colors: Play with colors to bring your word cloud to life. Stuck for ideas? Generate a random color palette for inspiration.
    • Add a Background: Select an image from the library, or add a personal photo as the word cloud background. Pro Tip: make it semi-transparent to blend with the background color.
    • Select Font Style: Choose from a variety of beautiful fonts.
    • Pick a Shape: Select from hundreds of shapes to frame your word cloud. Pro Tip: upload your own custom shape for a really unique result.

  6. Publish the Word Cloud: When your word cloud looks perfect, click 'Share' to copy the link. Send it to your friends or publish on social media!

  7. Print Your Picture: Click the 'Print' button to order prints directly from the app. Create a greeting card, a T-shirt, or even a framed piece of art.

What Can You Do with Word Clouds?

Word clouds turn text into visual designs that highlight your most important words. They can add personality, clarity, or emphasis to many types of projects. Here are some common uses:

  • Make a Greeting Card: Add a custom word cloud to a birthday, wedding, or holiday card to make it more personal and absolutely unique. Explore the guide.
  • Create Word Lists for Language Learning: Create a word cloud from your vocabulary list to help you remember and review words in a fun way. Check out this tutorial.
  • Improve Your CV: Add a word cloud of your skills to your CV to make it stand out to HR professionals and employers. See how.
  • Create a Business Card: Design a word cloud business card that highlights your key skills and professional strengths. Learn how.

More questions? Visit the FAQ for detailed answers.

Start now

Excited to design your own unique word cloud?

Head over to your Dashboard and start right now!

Go to Dashboard

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More questions? Visit the FAQ for detailed answers.