You remember early 2022. It was weirdly quiet, everyone was staring at green and yellow squares on Twitter, and Josh Wardle had just accidentally become a millionaire. He built a simple prototype for his partner, Palak Shah, and suddenly the entire world was obsessed with five-letter words. Then the New York Times bought it. They didn't "ruin" it—the game is basically the same—but something shifted. The indie charm felt corporate. The words started feeling a little more... curated.
Honestly, that’s why creating your own Wordle is actually having a massive second wave right now.
It isn't just about the game anymore. People are using custom Wordles for inside jokes at weddings, niche vocabulary tests in classrooms, or just to mess with their friends using words like "MOIST" or "KYLIX." You don't need a computer science degree from MIT to do it. You don't even really need to know how to code, though knowing a little bit of JavaScript makes the possibilities basically infinite.
The No-Code Shortcut for the Rest of Us
If you just want to send a single link to your group chat and watch them suffer over a 5-letter word that refers to a specific brand of sparkling water you all drink, you shouldn't be building a website from scratch. That's overkill.
There are several "Wordle makers" out there that have survived the post-2022 hype. MyWordle and Wordle Together are the big ones. They are dead simple. You type in your word, it generates a unique URL, and you send it off. It’s ephemeral. It’s quick.
But there’s a downside to these free tools. Most of them are riddled with ads that make your phone feel like it’s catching a digital cold. Plus, they don't always save the "streak" data that makes the original game so addictive. If you’re trying to build something that lasts, or something that you actually own, you’ve got to look under the hood.
Taking Ownership: Forking the Source Code
Wait. Let’s talk about "forking."
In the developer world, when someone puts their code out there for free, you can "fork" it. This means you take a copy, change the name, and make it yours. Because Josh Wardle's original game was so simple, dozens of developers built open-source versions that look and feel exactly like the original.
Hannah Park’s Wordle Clone on GitHub is the gold standard here.
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If you go to GitHub and search for "React Wordle," you’ll find her repository. It’s clean. It’s built using React, which is a popular JavaScript library. If you have a GitHub account, you can "fork" her project, change the word list in the code, and host it for free on a platform like Vercel or Netlify.
- Create a GitHub account.
- Search for "cwackerfuss/react-wordle" or "hannahcode/wordle."
- Click "Fork."
- Edit the
constants/wordlist.tsfile.
This is where it gets fun. You can delete the entire dictionary and replace it with 5-letter names of obscure 80s synth-pop bands. Or medical terminology. Or just words that are intentionally difficult because they use rare letters like X, Z, and Q.
The Math of a Good Wordle Word
You can't just pick any word. Well, you can, but your friends will hate you.
There is a reason the NYT Wordle doesn't use words like "XYLYL." It’s technically a word (it relates to a chemical group), but it’s miserable to play. When creating your own Wordle, you have to balance the "Aha!" moment with the "Are you kidding me?" moment.
Experts like Tyler Hinman, a champion crossword constructor, often talk about "fairness" in puzzles. A fair puzzle provides enough common letters (the RSTLN E of the world) to give the player a foothold. If your custom word is "QAJAQ" (a variant of kayak), and the player guesses "STARE" and gets zero hits, they aren't having fun. They're just guessing.
The best custom Wordles use words that are common enough to be in a person's "passive vocabulary" but rare enough that they aren't the first thing you think of. Think "SNAFU" or "GLYPH."
Why Bother? The Psychology of the Niche Wordle
Why would anyone spend twenty minutes setting up a custom game when the official one is right there?
It’s about community.
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I’ve seen high school chemistry teachers create a weekly Wordle using elements from the periodic table (which is tough, because most elements are more than five letters). I’ve seen a guy propose to his girlfriend via a custom Wordle where the answer was "MARRY."
It’s a communication tool.
The original Wordle was a love letter. Literally. Josh Wardle made it for his partner. By creating your own Wordle, you’re stripping away the mass-market appeal and making something that only a few people—your people—will truly understand. That is a level of intimacy that a global app can’t replicate.
Breaking the Rules: 6-Letter Wordles and Beyond
Who says it has to be five letters?
Once you start hosting your own version via GitHub, you can change the logic. You can make a 7-letter Wordle. You can give people ten guesses instead of six. You can even change the colors. Maybe instead of green and yellow, you want the boxes to turn neon pink and electric blue because you’re obsessed with a vaporwave aesthetic.
There is a version called Absurdle that is basically an "adversarial" Wordle. It changes the target word after every guess to avoid giving you the answer for as long as possible. It is a masterpiece of programming cruelty. When you build your own, you get to decide if you are a benevolent creator or a chaotic one.
A Note on Hosting and Costs
Let's get practical for a second.
Hosting a simple website in 2026 is basically free if you aren't getting millions of hits. If you use Vercel or GitHub Pages, it costs you $0. You don't need to buy a .com domain. You’ll get a URL like my-custom-wordle.vercel.app.
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It’s enough.
The only thing you need to watch out for is the "Wordle" trademark. The New York Times is notoriously protective. They’ve gone after several clones and "le" derivatives. If you're just making a game for your family, you’re fine. If you’re trying to launch a commercial product called "Best Wordle Ever," expect a cease and desist letter in your inbox faster than you can guess "LEGAL."
Steps to Get Your Custom Wordle Live Today
Stop overthinking it. Start small.
If you want the "fast" way, use a tool like Strive Math’s Wordle Customizer. It lets you pick a word, a hint, and gives you a link in under thirty seconds. It’s perfect for a quick joke.
If you want the "real" way:
- Clone a Repository: Go to GitHub and find a React-based Wordle clone.
- Customize the Dictionary: Open the JSON or TS file containing the word list.
- Deploy: Connect your GitHub to Vercel. It will auto-deploy every time you save a change.
- Share: Send the link to your most competitive friend and don't tell them what the word is.
The beauty of the internet is that we can take back the things we love. Wordle started as a private gift. By making your own, you’re just bringing it back to its roots. You’re making a puzzle for a person, not an audience.
Go break some brains.
Next Steps for Your Custom Puzzle
First, decide on your "Seed Word." This is the word that will be the answer. Avoid words with triple letters (like "LULLS") unless you want to be truly mean. Once you have your word, navigate to a site like MyWordle.strivemath.com for an instant version, or if you're feeling adventurous, download Visual Studio Code and start poking around an open-source clone. If you choose the coding route, focus on the wordlist.js file first; it's the easiest thing to change without breaking the entire game's logic.