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
- Upload the
circle-tag-cloudfolder to the/wp-content/plugins/directory. - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress.
- Go to Settings > Circle Tag Cloud to configure the default options.
- Use the shortcode
[circle_tag_cloud]in your content.
FAQ
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Can I use this with custom taxonomies?
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Yes. You can select any public taxonomy (like Post Tags, Categories, or WooCommerce Product Tags) from the settings page.
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How do I change the colors?
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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.
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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
Translate “Circle Tag Cloud” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by 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.
