Getting Started With Keycap Layout Planning
Most people building their first mechanical keyboard have no idea how their keycaps will actually look until they unbox them. I've spent years watching friends spend hundreds on sets only to realize the legend printing is wrong for their layout, or the color distribution makes the board look like a spilled rainbow. That's why tools like Keycaps Planner Simple exist — they let you map out exactly what you're getting before money changes hands. The tool works by letting you select a keyboard layout — 60%, 65%, 75%, TKL, full-size, whatever you're going with — and then drag and drop keycap profiles onto individual positions. You can set the stem type, see which keys use which profiles, and preview the full set before ordering. It's not the fanciest planner out there, but it gets the job done without requiring you to sign up for anything or install software.
Keycaps Planner Simple walkthrough
Open the site, pick your layout from the dropdown on the left side. That part trips people up — make sure you're selecting the exact layout your board uses. The difference between a 65% and a 60% is just a few keys, but picking wrong means your arrow keys end up somewhere they shouldn't. Once the grid loads, click individual keys to assign profiles. The default set usually comes pre-loaded with standard Cherry profile placements, which is fine as a starting point but almost nobody leaves it like that. Here's what most guides don't tell you: mixing profiles within a single set is where things get interesting. A common setup I've seen work well is Cherry for the home row, SA for the spacebar and larger modifier keys, and OEM or XDA for the number row and function keys. The height transition isn't dramatic, but it gives the board some visual rhythm. Keep in mind that profile mixing only works cleanly if all your chosen profiles share the same stem type — MX-compatible stems, obviously. Trying to mix Kailh box stems with Cherry stems in the same set is a recipe for frustration, and the planner won't always warn you about that. I hit a specific issue last year when planning a set for a custom 65% build. I wanted to use a mixed-profile set but the planner was showing my spacebar as conflicting because I'd accidentally selected a profile from a different manufacturer's compatibility list. The workaround was to filter by MX stem first, then narrow by profile shape, and ignore anything that said "low profile" or "universal" unless I specifically needed those. Once I did that, the planner rendered the layout correctly and I caught the problem before ordering. Saved me about $80 and two weeks of waiting.
After you've configured your layout, the planner gives you a save or export option. Some versions let you download a PDF of your configuration, which is useful if you want to reference it while shopping. Others just let you share a link. Either way, take a screenshot before you close the tab — I've lost configurations twice because the session didn't persist and I assumed it had saved.
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When this tool falls apart
Keycaps Planner Simple is fine for basic layouts and standard MX-stem keyboards. It is not going to handle offset layouts, split keyboards, or anything with non-standard stem configurations. If you're building a keyboard with gateron yellow stems that happen to have a slightly different profile tolerance, the planner won't flag that for you. You need to check compatibility yourself. Another limitation: the tool doesn't account for legend placement variations between manufacturers. Two sets might both be labeled "Cherry profile" but one has legends centered and the other is slightly offset. The planner treats them identically because it doesn't have that level of granularity. If legend alignment matters to you — and it should, especially on mixed-case sets — you need to read the product descriptions or ask the seller directly. For anything beyond a straightforward standard layout, I'd recommend pairing this with actual community reviews and photos. Reddit's r/mechanicalkeyboards and the various Discord servers have people posting real-life shots of these planners alongside the actual products, and that comparison is worth more than any tool output. The planner shows you an idealized view. Reality is messier.
If you're doing something really unusual — a split ergo with staggered columns, or a columnar layout — skip this tool and move to a more detailed planner like Keycap Planner or kprepublic's built-in configurator. Those handle edge cases better, though they come with their own learning curve. Keycaps Planner Simple is best used for what it is: a quick, no-frills way to visualize a standard keyboard keycap layout before you pull the trigger on a purchase.
