How to curve text in Word with WordArt, and when to use a picture instead

To curve text in Word, insert WordArt, select it, then go to Shape Format > Text Effects > Transform and pick a shape: Follow Path runs the text along an arch or around a circle, Warp bends the whole word. It works in Word for Windows and Mac; Word for the web shows WordArt that is already in a document but cannot add new WordArt.

Steps (Windows and Mac)

1. On the Insert tab, select WordArt and pick a style.
2. Replace the placeholder with your own text.
3. With the WordArt selected, open the Shape Format tab, select Text Effects, then Transform.
4. Pick a shape. Under Follow Path, Circle wraps the text round a circle; under Warp are the bent shapes.
5. Drag the sizing handles until the WordArt is the size and shape you want.

To straighten it, open Transform again and choose No Transform.

The same steps work in PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook, which share WordArt with Word.

Where WordArt falls short

• Word for the web cannot add WordArt; you need the desktop app.
• Getting it out of Word. WordArt lives inside a document. To use the same curved word on a website, in Canva, on a shirt transfer or on a cutting machine, you need it as an image or an outline file, and Word is not made for that.
• Shapes. Follow Path and Warp are a fixed gallery adjusted by dragging, so matching a curve exactly from one document to the next is guesswork.

A curved picture instead

1. Type your words in the generator below, pick Arc (or Arch to keep the letters upright), choose a font and drag the Bend slider.
2. Download the PNG. The background is transparent.
3. In Word, choose Insert > Pictures and insert the PNG. Set its Layout Options to In Front of Text to place it anywhere on the page.

The curve lives in the share link, so the same design comes back exactly for the next document. For a Cricut or a Silhouette, download the SVG instead: it opens at its real size in Design Space and Silhouette Studio.