Help and support

How to use WordItOut

What is a word cloud?

A word cloud is a visual representation of text where the size of each word indicates its importance or frequency. It is a fantastic way to summarise data, highlight themes, or create digital art.

Is WordItOut free to use?

Yes, WordItOut is free for everyone. You can create, customise, and save as many word clouds as you like without any cost.

Generating from the initial source text input

Is there a limit to how much text I can put in the initial source?

There is no limit at all. Extremely large texts may be a bit slower on some devices or browsers.

By default, no more than 100 words are put in the word cloud. You can increase this in the word list settings.

Can I keep phrases together instead of just single words?

You can keep words together by using a tilde (~) or an underscore (_) between them (e.g. word~cloud, word_cloud). The app will treat these as a single item and display them with a space between them in the final word cloud. These are the default characters to keep words together, you can change or add other characters to do the same thing.

If you click on ‘Examples’ you will see how this could work.

Other options are to add the initial source as a table, or to use the word list to modify the text of a word. In the word list item you could even customise the text with a space or other characters, and you can remove other words to prevent them from showing twice.

Does the app automatically detect common phrases?

No, repeated short combinations of words from the initial source are not automatically identified.

Which languages does WordItOut work with?

Every language should work, even if the default set up is for English.

When making a word cloud, you are able to remove any common words or characters yourself, either from the initial source settings or by directly editing the word list.

How do I remove common words like ‘the’, ‘and’, or ‘it’?

A word in the initial source text has disappeared, where has it gone?

This app includes an automatic filter for common English words (“stop words”). You can customise this list to include other words or languages, see the Settings menu when working with the Initial source.

Additionally, once you generate a cloud, you can manually edit the word list to remove specific words.

Why were all the numbers / punctuation marks removed from my initial text?

By default, characters and symbols are filtered from the source text. To stop this, click on ‘Settings’ for the source and clear the textbox with the characters to be removed.

Can I group similar words like “run” and “running” automatically?

This process, called “stemming,” is not currently automatic because it varies significantly by language. You can manually edit your word list after generation to combine the counts of similar words.

Customising how word clouds look

Can I make a word cloud in a specific shape like a heart or a star?

Currently, WordItOut generates clouds in a rectangular layout. Shapes are a highly requested feature and are being actively worked on for release soon.

How can I better control the size of words?

By default, the more frequently a word is found, the larger it appears in the word cloud. You could also add a table of words with a number corresponding to the size it should have. Either way, you can change a word’s frequency in the Word List menu and this will vary the size by default.

However if you directly type in a list of unique words, the word sizes are random. In this case, you could keep on regenerating until it looks how you want. Or go back to the beginning and repeat words you want to be larger several times, and then see the above paragraph. The remaining words will all have the same, smallest size.

Can I change the colours and fonts?

Absolutely. You have full control over the range of colours in the palette for the words, the colour of the background, and can a font from the range of options given.

Can I rotate words or make them vertical?

At this time, all words are arranged horizontally to ensure maximum readability. A future update that will introduce angled and vertical text options is being considered.

Why do some characters look different from the rest of the font?

Why are some letters or words missing in my downloaded image?

This usually occurs if the font you selected doesn’t support specific characters. If you see squares or missing letters, try switching to a font with broader character support, such as Gentium or sans.

In a web browser, missing characters are usually displayed with a simpler, default font from your computer. When downloading a word cloud as an image, only the selected font is used, so blanks may appear.

Privacy and security

See the Privacy and Cookie Policy for full details.

Why do you need my email address to save a word cloud?

Do I need to create an account or remember a password?

Your email address is only used to know who you are. Only important links and information on how to share and manage your new word cloud is sent to you.

This allows you to edit or delete your saved clouds in the future without the hassle of managing another username and password.

Your details will never be given to anybody else or used for anything not related to WordItOut. No spam and respect for your privacy.

Is it safe to use my private and confidential text here?

Yes. If you simply generate a cloud and do not click “Save,” your text never leaves your computer. If you do save a cloud, only how your word cloud looks and extra details that you give (like a description) are stored, never your original source text.

How can I stop my word cloud from being seen by the public?

Choose the ‘Private’ sharing option when you save your word cloud. You can set this option later (or change the private link) from your Secret Link you receive by email.

When Private, your word cloud page will have an almost impossible to guess link. You can then share this word cloud only with the people you choose to give it to.

Saved word clouds

How can I edit a saved word cloud?

For now, there isn’t a way to edit the content of an existing word cloud. The only changes you can apply are to make them public/private or delete them. You can do this with the ‘Secret link’ that is automatically sent to you by email when you save the word cloud.

This feature is being seriously considered for future releases.

How do I save or download my word cloud as an image?

To download your cloud as an image, you must first save it to create it’s own unique page. This can be private, and you will be asked for an email address so you can manage your clouds later (no password required). Once saved, a Download button will show on your cloud’s unique page.

Note: if you want to put a word cloud on your own website, you can choose to embed the word cloud, which will automatically resize as well.

What am I allowed to do with the word clouds I create?

Word clouds are licensed under a Creative Commons Licence, specifically an Attribution-Non-Commercial-NoDerivative Works Creative Commons Licence (4.0). You are free to share and embed them for personal or non-profit use, provided you give credit to WordItOut and include a link back to this website or the word cloud.

For the full details, see the Creative Commons Licence.

For commercial use, please use the form below to contact us for permission.

Printing a word cloud

I have a problem with something I ordered with Zazzle (T-shirt, mug, …).

Zazzle produces all physical merchandise, WordItOut is only responsible for generating the images that Zazzle uses for printing. If you have an issue with quality, shipping or returns, please contact Zazzle here.

The images Zazzle use are like those you download (without the watermark) and have some of the same font and language restrictions explained on this page. Zazzle’s website will show you a preview of the final product before you make a purchase.

How can I print my word cloud?

For the best print quality, try downloading the image to your computer first. Printing from your browser may have extra details from the page around it, or the colours and fonts can appear incorrectly.

How to embed a word cloud

How do I embed a word cloud on my own website?

To embed a word cloud, you need to copy the html code provided and paste it into your own (non-commercial) website. The word cloud will grow or shrink to fit the space you’ve put it in. Don’t forget that you need to mention WordItOut and put a link back to this website (there is some example code, you can customise if you wish).

How can I change the size of my embedded word cloud?

In the embed code, you will see the following:
<div style='width:auto;height:auto;'>.
You can simply change the auto (for either the height or width) to a number of pixels or a percentage e.g. 400px or 50%

I embedded the code, but the word cloud is missing and won’t display on my website.

This is often because your website host or software blocks JavaScript for security. Check your site’s settings to ensure “Custom HTML” or script tags are permitted.

Inappropriate content

How can I avoid seeing word clouds containing rude or inappropriate words?

Word clouds containing common rude words (in English) do not appear in the galleries. When removed, you will have an option to allow such word clouds to appear, as long as you confirm that you are old enough to do so. See this blog post for more information.

Current filter settings:

How can I prevent students from finding word clouds with adult content?

Word clouds containing rude word clouds are filtered out by default, but individuals can consent to view them. If you want a stronger control, please see your IT administrator and ask them to block the pages you don’t want students to see. Most networks have such a function.

How can I report an inappropriate word cloud?

If you find a word cloud that you believe is not allowed according to our Terms of Use, for example with offensive content or disclosing your personal information, please inform us using the form below and include a link to the word cloud.

Other ways to use WordItOut

Am I allowed to use your code for my own projects?

Do you have an API or SDK?

This is not currently being worked on due to priorities, but definitely possible. If you are interested please use the contact form below to explain your use case and see if we can come to an arrangement.

Does WordItOut have a mobile app?

There is not a standalone app. Instead, the WordItOut website is designed to be a fully responsive web app, functioning perfectly in your mobile browser without an app store download.