Title: Circle Tag Cloud
Author: Edel Hearts
Published: <strong>December 23, 2025</strong>
Last modified: January 2, 2026

---

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![](https://ps.w.org/circle-tag-cloud/assets/icon-256x256.png?rev=3426540)

# Circle Tag Cloud

 By [Edel Hearts](https://profiles.wordpress.org/edelhearts/)

[Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/circle-tag-cloud.1.0.3.zip)

 * [Details](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/circle-tag-cloud/#description)
 * [Reviews](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/circle-tag-cloud/#reviews)
 *  [Installation](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/circle-tag-cloud/#installation)
 * [Development](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/circle-tag-cloud/#developers)

 [Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/circle-tag-cloud/)

## Description

Circle Tag Cloud is a lightweight and customizable plugin that displays your tags(
or any taxonomy) in a visually striking, packed layout. Unlike traditional tag clouds,
it uses a smart JavaScript packing algorithm to arrange terms tightly within a circle
or rectangle without overlapping.

It is designed with performance and accessibility in mind, featuring a built-in 
caching system (Transient API) and keyboard navigation support.

**Key Features:**

 * **Smart Packing:** Automatically arranges tags in a dense Circle or Rectangle
   shape.
 * **Color Palettes:** Choose from preset palettes (Warm, Cool, Vivid, Monochrome,
   Metallic Mix) or define your own **Custom Colors**.
 * **Smart Contrast:** Automatically adjusts text color (black or white) based on
   the background color for optimal readability.
 * **Text Outline:** Adds a “Glow” effect outline to text for better visibility 
   on any color.
 * **Motion Effect:** Optional subtle floating animation (respects “prefers-reduced-
   motion” settings).
 * **High Performance:** Uses Transient API caching to minimize database queries.
 * **Accessibility Ready:** Full keyboard navigation support with tooltips that 
   appear on focus.
 * **Easy Configuration:** Manage everything from a dedicated settings page or override
   via shortcode attributes.

**Usage:**

Simply add the shortcode `[circle_tag_cloud]` to any post, page, or widget.

You can also specify attributes directly in the shortcode:
 [circle_tag_cloud taxonomy
=”category” max=”30″ shape=”circle” palette=”metallic”]

## Installation

 1. Upload the `circle-tag-cloud` folder to the `/wp-content/plugins/` directory.
 2. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress.
 3. Go to **Settings > Circle Tag Cloud** to configure the default options.
 4. Use the shortcode `[circle_tag_cloud]` in your content.

## FAQ

### Can I use this with custom taxonomies?

Yes. You can select any public taxonomy (like Post Tags, Categories, or WooCommerce
Product Tags) from the settings page.

### How do I change the colors?

Go to the settings page and select a preset “Color Palette”. If you choose “Custom(
User Defined)”, you can enter your own comma-separated HEX color codes.

### The tag cloud is not updating after I added new tags.

The plugin uses caching to improve performance (default 1 hour). To see changes 
immediately, go to the settings page and click the “Clear Cache” button.

## Reviews

There are no reviews for this plugin.

## Contributors & Developers

“Circle Tag Cloud” is open source software. The following people have contributed
to this plugin.

Contributors

 *   [ Edel Hearts ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/edelhearts/)

[Translate “Circle Tag Cloud” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/circle-tag-cloud)

### Interested in development?

[Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/circle-tag-cloud/),
check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/circle-tag-cloud/),
or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/circle-tag-cloud/)
by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/circle-tag-cloud/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss).

## Changelog

#### 1.0.2

 * Added “Metallic Mix” color palette.
 * Added “Custom Colors” option for user-defined palettes.
 * Added “Text Outline” (Glow effect) feature.
 * Added “Clear Cache” button in the admin settings.
 * Improved text contrast calculation (auto black/white text).

#### 1.0.1

 * Implemented Transient API for better performance.
 * Added accessibility support (keyboard focus tooltips).
 * Fixed animation loop issue on window resize.
 * Changed tooltip rendering to avoid overflow issues.

#### 1.0.0

 * Initial release.

## Meta

 *  Version **1.0.3**
 *  Last updated **3 months ago**
 *  Active installations **20+**
 *  WordPress version ** 5.8 or higher **
 *  Tested up to **6.9.4**
 *  PHP version ** 7.4 or higher **
 *  Language
 * [English (US)](https://wordpress.org/plugins/circle-tag-cloud/)
 * Tags
 * [circle](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/circle/)[design](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/design/)
   [tag cloud](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/tag-cloud/)[tags](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/tags/)
   [taxonomy](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/taxonomy/)
 *  [Advanced View](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/circle-tag-cloud/advanced/)

## Ratings

No reviews have been submitted yet.

[Add my review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/circle-tag-cloud/reviews/#new-post)

[See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/circle-tag-cloud/reviews/)

## Contributors

 *   [ Edel Hearts ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/edelhearts/)

## Support

Got something to say? Need help?

 [View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/circle-tag-cloud/)