How to
How to make a word cloud
A word cloud shows which words come up most in a piece of text: the more often a word appears, the bigger it is drawn. It is a quick way to get a feel for open survey answers, meeting notes, a speech or a book chapter, and it makes a striking cover image for a report or a class project.
- Paste your text. Any length works, from a paragraph to a full essay. Words are counted as you type.
- Or give your own weights. Switch to Word list with weights when you already know how important each word is, for example the number of votes for each idea. Phrases like "customer service" stay together.
- Choose the layout. Horizontal words are the easiest to read. A few vertical words pack the cloud more tightly. Press Shuffle the layout until you like the arrangement.
- Pick colors and export. Choose a palette, then download PNG or SVG. The SVG keeps every word as live text you can edit.
Which words are skipped?
With the common words option on, short filler words such as "the", "and", "of", "is" and "you" are left out, along with plain numbers. That leaves the words that carry meaning. Turn the option off if you are analyzing style rather than content. Word forms are counted separately, so "chart" and "charts" are two words; merge them in your text first if you want one.
Tip
For survey answers, paste every response into the text box together. The cloud shows at a glance which themes people mention most often.
Reading a word cloud with care
A word cloud is great for a first impression and for decoration, but it is not precise. Long words look more important than short ones of the same size, and the exact ranking is hard to read. When the numbers matter, show the top words in a horizontal bar graph as well.
Privacy
Your text is analyzed in your browser and never uploaded. Long texts are kept in this browser only; short ones can also be shared with Copy link.
