Title: Clouddy Author: JacLas Published: June 23, 2026 Last modified: June 23, 2026 --- Search plugins ![](https://ps.w.org/clouddy/assets/banner-772x250.png?rev=3583545) ![](https://ps.w.org/clouddy/assets/icon-256x256.png?rev=3583545) # Clouddy By [JacLas](https://profiles.wordpress.org/jaclas/) [Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/clouddy.0.5.4.zip) * [Details](https://wordpress.org/plugins/clouddy/#description) * [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/plugins/clouddy/#reviews) * [Installation](https://wordpress.org/plugins/clouddy/#installation) * [Development](https://wordpress.org/plugins/clouddy/#developers) [Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/clouddy/) ## Description Clouddy renders a visual tag cloud (`post_tag` or any other taxonomy) with dynamic sizing and a smooth color transition based on tag popularity. Configuration is global; embed the cloud with a block, a widget, or a shortcode. Sizing and color are computed in PHP only as a normalized weight; the actual font size and color are produced in CSS (custom properties + `calc()` + `color-mix()`), so you can override everything with plain CSS — no `!important` needed. Features: * Selection modes: most popular, rarest, random, and hybrid (some popular + some rare). * Display orders independent of selection: by count, alphabetical, random, and “ lens” orders (longest / most popular / rarest in the center). * Exclusion blocklist, configurable taxonomy, adjustable size range and colors. * Server-side cache (Transients) with invalidation on content and term changes. * Clean, override-friendly HTML; accessible navigation container with an aria-label. ## Installation 1. Upload the `clouddy` folder to `/wp-content/plugins/`, or install the plugin through the WordPress “Plugins” screen. 2. Activate the plugin through the “Plugins” screen in WordPress. 3. Go to Settings Clouddy to configure the cloud (the configuration is global). 4. Place the cloud with the `[clouddy]` shortcode, the Clouddy block, or the widget. 5. To customize a single cloud, pass attributes to the shortcode (e.g. `[clouddy mode ="hybrid" number="40"]`) — see the FAQ for the full list of supported attributes. ## FAQ ### How do I change the tag sizes? In Settings Clouddy set the minimum and maximum text size and the unit (rem/em/ px). Each tag’s size is interpolated between those values based on the tag’s popularity. ### Can I style the cloud with my own CSS? Yes. The default stylesheet only sets custom properties on the container; every value can be overridden with regular CSS, and the default stylesheet can be dequeued entirely. ### How do I embed the tag cloud? Three ways, all rendering the same cloud from the global settings (Settings Clouddy): * Block — add the “Clouddy — Tag Cloud” block in the block editor. * Shortcode — `[clouddy]` (accepts attributes, see below). * Widget — the “Clouddy — Tag Cloud” classic widget (themes with widget areas). ### Which shortcode attributes are supported? Every attribute is optional and overrides the global setting for that single cloud, e.g. `[clouddy mode="hybrid" number="40" order="name_asc"]`: * `mode` — which tags to include: `popular`, `rare`, `random`, `hybrid`. Default` popular`. * `number` — total number of tags (integer, min 1). Default `30`. * `order` — display order: `count_desc`, `count_asc`, `name_asc`, `name_desc`, ` random`, `length_center`, `count_center`, `rare_center`. Default `count_desc`. The `*_center` orders place the top-ranked tags in the middle (lens effect). * `rare_count` — hybrid mode only: how many of the total are the rarest (integer, capped at `number`). Default `5`. * `taxonomy` — source taxonomy. Default `post_tag`. * `exclude` — comma-separated term IDs to skip, e.g. `exclude="12,34"`. * `min_size` / `max_size` — smallest / largest text size (numbers). Defaults `0.8`/` 2.0`. * `unit` — size unit: `rem`, `em`, `px`, `pt`. Default `rem`. * `color_a` / `color_b` — hex colors of the rarest / most popular tags. Defaults`# 888888` / `#222222`. * `show_count` — append the post count to each tag (`true` / `false`). Default ` false`. * `aria_label` — accessibility label for the cloud container. Default `Tag cloud`. * `ttl_minutes` — cache lifetime in minutes. Default `720` (12 h). ### What is the cache lifetime (TTL) and what does it do? Clouddy caches the set of tags it queries (using the WordPress Transients API) so the database is not queried on every page load. The cache lifetime (`ttl_minutes`) is how long that cached set is kept before it is rebuilt from the database — default 720 minutes (12 hours). It is only a safety net: the cache is also refreshed automatically whenever content changes (a post is saved or deleted, or tags are added, edited or removed). You rarely need to change it; lower it only if you want a tighter upper bound on how stale the cloud can be. ### The “random” order does not change on every page reload. Why? The order is computed in PHP when the page is rendered — Clouddy uses no JavaScript. If you use a full-page caching plugin or a CDN (for example LiteSpeed Cache, WP Super Cache, W3 Total Cache, or a host/CDN cache), the generated HTML — including that one random order — is stored and served to visitors, so the order only changes when that page cache is regenerated. This is expected for any server-rendered random content. To reshuffle on every view despite caching you would need client-side randomization( JavaScript), which Clouddy intentionally avoids. Either exclude that page from full- page caching, or accept that the order refreshes when the cache does. ## Reviews There are no reviews for this plugin. ## Contributors & Developers “Clouddy” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin. Contributors * [ JacLas ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/jaclas/) [Translate “Clouddy” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/clouddy) ### Interested in development? [Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/clouddy/), check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/clouddy/), or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/clouddy/) by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/clouddy/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss). ## Changelog #### 0.5.4 * Fixed: the block editor preview is now styled correctly (tags are spaced and sized) — the stylesheet is also loaded in the editor, not only on the front end. #### 0.5.3 * Lowered the minimum requirements to WordPress 6.3 and PHP 8.0. * Documentation, readme and metadata cleanup in preparation for the WordPress.org plugin directory. #### 0.5.2 * Hybrid mode fix: when the rare share is 0 (or equals the total number of tags), the cloud now respects the limit instead of fetching all tags. #### 0.5.1 * The minimum and maximum text size fields now accept two decimal places (step 0.01). #### 0.5.0 * Internationalization: the interface base language is now English, with bundled Polish (pl_PL), French (fr_FR), German (de_DE) and Spanish (es_ES) translations. Added the Domain Path header. #### 0.4.0 * Three new “lens” display orders: “Longest in the center” (by name length), “Most popular in the center” and “Rarest in the center” (by post count) — the chosen ranking in the middle, the rest toward both ends. * Panel: the “Random” order option moved to the end of the list. #### 0.3.0 * Settings panel: clearer field names and a hint for each option. * Tag source (taxonomy) as a dropdown of registered taxonomies — no need to type the name from memory. * Exclusion blocklist as a tag search by name with chips — no manual IDs. * Cache lifetime given in minutes; the setting actually affects the cache TTL. #### 0.2.0 * Split tag selection and display order into two independent settings (new “Order” field: by count, alphabetical, random). #### 0.1.0 * Plugin skeleton: bootstrap, autoload, lifecycle hooks. ## Meta * Version **0.5.4** * Last updated **6 hours ago** * Active installations **Fewer than 10** * WordPress version ** 6.3 or higher ** * Tested up to **7.0** * PHP version ** 8.0 or higher ** * Tags * [tag cloud](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/tag-cloud/)[tags](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/tags/) [taxonomy](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/taxonomy/) * [Advanced View](https://wordpress.org/plugins/clouddy/advanced/) ## Ratings No reviews have been submitted yet. [Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/clouddy/reviews/#new-post) [See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/clouddy/reviews/) ## Contributors * [ JacLas ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/jaclas/) ## Support Got something to say? Need help? [View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/clouddy/)