How to Use Spin the Wheel — Complete Step-by-Step Guide (2025)

Quick Start — Spin in Under 30 Seconds

SpinAWheel is designed to be instant. You can be up and spinning in under 30 seconds without any setup, sign-up, or download. Here's the fastest way to get started:

How to Add and Edit Entries

The entries panel on the right side of the screen is where you manage everything on your wheel. There are two ways to add entries:

Using the List Tab

The List tab gives you full control over each individual entry. Click the List tab icon (the checkmark icon) to switch to it. Here you can:

• Edit any entry inline — click directly on an entry's name to rename it
• Delete a single entry — click the red trash icon next to any entry
• Adjust individual weights — click the weight number to increase or decrease probability
• Assign a custom color — click the colored dot to open the color picker for that segment

Using the Text Tab

The Text tab (the document icon) lets you bulk-edit entries as plain text — one item per line. This is the fastest way to paste a large list of names from Excel, Google Sheets, or any other source. Simply:

1. Click the Text tab in the panel
2. Select all existing text and delete it (or add to it)
3. Paste or type your items, one per line
4. Click anywhere outside the text box — the wheel updates instantly

How to Add Weights to Entries

Weights let you give certain entries a higher probability of being picked. For example, if you're running a raffle where someone bought 3 tickets, give them a weight of 3. Here's how:

1. Switch to the List tab
2. Find the entry you want to weight
3. Click the weight number (default is 1) next to that entry
4. Type the new weight value — higher numbers = bigger segment on wheel = higher chance

The percentage column (%) updates automatically to show each entry's exact probability.

How to Remove Duplicates, Shuffle, or Sort Entries

Click the three-dot (⋯) More Actions button at the top of the entries panel to access powerful bulk operations:

• 🔀 Shuffle — randomly reorder all entries for a fresh wheel layout
• ↕️ Sort A–Z — sort entries alphabetically
• 🧹 Remove duplicates — automatically find and remove duplicate entries
• ⚖️ Reset all weights — set all weights back to 1 (equal probability)
• 🎨 Reset all colors — remove custom colors and return to palette colors
• 🗑️ Clear all entries — remove everything and start fresh

How to Change Wheel Colors

One of the most popular questions is "how do I change the color of the wheel?" There are two ways: choosing a full palette, or setting custom colors per entry.

Step 1: Open the Style Tab

Click the Style tab (the paint palette icon) in the entries panel on the right side of the screen.

Step 2: Choose a Color Palette

SpinAWheel comes with 10 curated color palettes. Click any palette swatch to apply it instantly to the wheel:

• Classic — Google-inspired blue, red, yellow, green (default)
• Sunset — warm oranges, reds, and ambers
• Ocean — cool teals, blues, and cyans
• Neon — bright electric colors for high-impact displays
• Pastel — soft pinks, blues, and lavenders
• Forest — earthy greens and naturals
• Candy — vibrant multi-color rainbow of 10 colors
• Rainbow — classic pride flag colors
• Midnight — deep purples and blues for a night aesthetic
• Tropical — coral, peach, and teal combinations

Step 3: Set Custom Per-Entry Colors

You can override the palette and give any individual segment its own color:

1. Switch to the List tab
2. Find the entry you want to color
3. Click the colored dot on the right side of that entry's row
4. A color picker grid appears — click any color to apply it
5. The wheel segment updates immediately

To remove a custom color and return to the palette, click the "Reset to auto" button at the bottom of the color picker.

How to Change the Text Size on the Wheel

If your text is too small or too large, you can adjust it easily:

1. Click the Style tab in the entries panel
2. Find the "Wheel Text Size" slider
3. Drag it left for smaller text or right for larger text

There are 3 size options:

• Small — best for wheels with 15+ entries so text fits in each narrow segment
• Medium — the default, works great for 6–14 entries
• Large — best for 2–5 entries, very readable on projectors and big screens

How to Change the Spin Speed

You can control how long the wheel spins before stopping:

1. Click the Style tab
2. Find the "Spin Speed" slider
3. Drag to select: Slow, Normal, or Fast

When to use each setting:

• Slow — dramatic, suspenseful effect. Perfect for raffles, live events, and giveaways where you want to build excitement in front of an audience
• Normal — the default. Balanced spin duration ideal for everyday classroom and decision use
• Fast — quick result in under 3 seconds. Best for rapid-fire classroom questions or when you need many quick decisions back-to-back

How to Use Sound Effects

SpinAWheel has two types of sound effects: a tick sound while the wheel is spinning, and a win sound when the winner is revealed.

Changing the Tick Sound

1. Click the Sound tab (the music note icon) in the entries panel
2. Under "Tick Sound (while spinning)", click any preset button to preview and select it
3. Spin the wheel to hear your new tick sound in action

Changing the Win Sound

1. In the Sound tab, find the "Win Sound (on result)" section
2. Click any preset to hear a preview
3. The selected sound plays automatically when the winner popup appears

Adjusting the Volume

Use the Volume slider at the bottom of the Sound tab to set your preferred volume level from 0% to 100%.

Quickly Muting All Sounds

Click the 🔊 Sound button in the top navigation bar to instantly mute or unmute all sounds. Your preference is saved automatically.

How to Use Multiple Wheels Simultaneously

SpinAWheel supports up to 6 wheels running at the same time, each with its own independent entries, colors, and results. This is a unique and powerful feature for tournaments, multi-category selections, and team activities.

Adding a New Wheel

1. Scroll to the bottom of the entries panel
2. Click the "+ Add wheel" button
3. A new blank wheel appears alongside your existing one
4. Click the new wheel's tab to switch to it and add entries

Spinning All Wheels at Once

Click the "🔄 Spin all wheels" button to spin every wheel simultaneously. All results appear at the same time. This is ideal for:

• Tournament brackets — spin two wheels to determine match-ups
• Multi-category raffles — one wheel per prize category
• Team splits — spin two wheels to create two random teams
• Classroom groups — assign students and topics simultaneously

Renaming or Removing a Wheel

• Click "✏️ Rename" to give the active wheel a meaningful name (e.g., "Team A", "Prize 1")
• Click "🗑️ Remove" to delete the active wheel (requires at least 2 wheels)

How to Save and Load Your Wheels

SpinAWheel automatically saves your entries in your browser's local storage — so even if you close the tab and come back later, your wheel will still be there. But for permanent storage and quick access, use the Library feature:

Saving a Wheel to Your Library

1. Click the 💾 Save button in the top navigation bar
2. Give your wheel a name (e.g., "Class 5B Students", "Office Raffle 2025")
3. Click Save — the wheel is stored in your personal library

Loading a Saved Wheel

1. Click the 📂 Library button in the navigation bar
2. A list of all your saved wheels appears
3. Click any saved wheel to load it instantly

This is especially useful for teachers who reuse the same class lists every day, or for event organizers who need to quickly switch between different participant groups.

How to Share Your Wheel with Others

You can generate a unique shareable link that contains all your wheel entries. Anyone who opens the link sees your exact wheel — no account or sign-up needed.

1. Set up your wheel entries exactly as you want them
2. Click the 🔗 Share button in the top navigation
3. A unique URL is generated and shown in a popup
4. Click "📋 Copy" to copy the link to your clipboard
5. Paste and send the link to anyone via email, WhatsApp, Slack, etc.

The link encodes all your entries directly in the URL — nothing is stored on our servers.

How to Pick a Random Winner for a Giveaway or Raffle

SpinAWheel is perfect for running transparent, fair giveaways in front of a live audience. Here's the recommended step-by-step process:

1. Click the Text tab in the panel
2. Clear any existing entries
3. Paste all participant names — one per line (copy directly from your spreadsheet or comment list)
4. If someone has multiple entries (bought more tickets), add their name multiple times or increase their weight in the List tab
5. Click the wheel to spin and pick the first winner
6. When the winner popup appears, click "Remove" so they can't win again
7. Spin again for 2nd place, 3rd place, etc.
8. Use the Results tab to see all winners in the order they were picked

You can share the wheel link with your audience before spinning so they can see the full list of participants — this adds transparency to your giveaway.

How to Use Spin the Wheel in the Classroom

Teachers are one of the biggest groups of SpinAWheel users. Here are the most popular classroom uses and how to set them up:

Random Student Picker

1. Add all your students' names to the wheel
2. Click 💾 Save and name it "Class [Name] Students"
3. Each day, load it from Library and spin to call on students
4. Click "Remove" after each student so everyone gets a turn before any repeats
5. When all students have been called, reload from Library to reset

Assigning Group Projects or Topics

1. Add topic names or project titles to the wheel
2. Spin once per student to assign each person a topic
3. Check the Results tab to see who got what

Gamifying Quizzes

• Add question numbers (1–20) to the wheel and spin to pick questions randomly
• Add student names and spin to pick who answers each question
• Use two simultaneous wheels — one for students, one for questions — and spin both at once!

Team Building Activities

1. Add all student names to the wheel
2. Spin once — the result goes to Team A
3. Remove that name and spin again — the result goes to Team B
4. Alternate teams until all students are assigned

Keyboard Shortcuts

SpinAWheel has built-in keyboard shortcuts to speed up your workflow:

Frequently Asked Questions & Troubleshooting