Prepare the source before customizing
Bring together passages that answer the same question or discuss the same subject. Mixing unrelated sources can highlight frequent but unhelpful words. Review abbreviations and decide whether singular and plural forms should remain separate.
Multiword names need attention: a generator mainly works with individual terms. If a phrase must stay together, replace spaces with hyphens before pasting the text.
Choose how many words to include
50 words
Immediate reading and a strong hierarchy.
100 words
A balance of summary and variety.
150 or more
Detailed exploration in larger formats.
Fifty terms often work well in slides and visuals seen briefly. A hundred provide a broader picture. Larger lists suit exploration on big screens but can reduce readability.
Color, font and contrast
Use a short palette whose colors remain distinct against the background. Medium or dark tones work well on white; use brighter tones on dark backgrounds. Color can create rhythm, but size is the main indicator of frequency.
Inter, Montserrat and Nunito support quick reading. Source Serif 4 and Playfair Display bring an editorial character; Caveat is expressive and needs more space. Do not treat a colored word as a category when colors are purely visual.
Dimensions and finishing touches
Plan the file for where it will be used. A 1200 × 630 image is a versatile landscape format; a square image can use 1080 × 1080. Increase both dimensions proportionally for a higher-resolution version.
A transparent background makes it easy to overlay a cloud on slides, but check the contrast against the final background.
Create a word cloud from text
Start with an article, transcript, survey responses or class notes. Paste the full content to see its initial distribution; then filter common words and shorten the list. Comparing versions helps you choose on substance as well as appearance.
To highlight manually selected concepts, switch to the list and assign a weight to each word. Text mode reflects observed frequency; a manual list lets you make an editorial composition. Review the meaning in either case.