SHADOW LAYERS
Hello World
// CSS OUTPUT
text-shadow: 2px 2px 4px rgba(0,0,0,0.5);
// build text shadows layer by layer in one click
Build crisp or decorative CSS text shadows with live preview. Add multiple layers, control offset, blur and color, then copy the CSS instantly.
text-shadow: 2px 2px 4px rgba(0,0,0,0.5);
Enter the text you want to preview and pick a background color.
Tweak X/Y offset, blur radius and color for each shadow layer. Add more layers for complex effects.
Hit "Copy CSS" and paste the text-shadow rule directly into your stylesheet.
The CSS text-shadow property lets you attach one or more shadow effects to text. Each shadow is defined by a horizontal offset, vertical offset, optional blur radius, and color. This tool gives you a visual editor so you can design complex multi-layer shadows without writing CSS by hand.
You can add as many layers as you like. CSS supports an unlimited number of comma-separated shadows on text-shadow. For performance, keep it under 10 layers on production pages.
Yes. Each layer has a color picker plus an opacity (alpha) slider so you can create translucent shadows. The generated CSS uses rgba() syntax automatically when alpha is less than 1.
text-shadow has universal support across all modern browsers including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. It is safe to use without any prefix or fallback.
The blur radius is the third value in a text-shadow definition. A value of 0 gives a hard, crisp edge. Higher values spread and soften the shadow, creating glow or diffuse effects.
They produce similar results but work differently. text-shadow only affects text characters. The CSS filter: drop-shadow() function applies to the entire element box including images and SVGs.
Completely free, browser-based, and requires no sign-up. All processing happens client-side — your text never leaves your device.
The text-shadow CSS property adds one or more shadow effects to text. Introduced in CSS2 and widely supported since CSS3, it is one of the most versatile typographic tools available to web designers. Each shadow is described by four values: a horizontal offset (offset-x), a vertical offset (offset-y), a blur radius, and a color. Multiple shadows can be stacked by separating each definition with a comma.
A basic declaration looks like this: text-shadow: 2px 4px 6px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4);. This places a shadow 2px to the right, 4px downward, with a 6px blur, at 40% opacity. Remove the blur value to get a hard, sharp shadow: text-shadow: 3px 3px 0 #000;.
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One of the most powerful features of text-shadow is the ability to layer multiple shadows on a single element. Each additional shadow is appended after a comma. The first shadow in the list is rendered on top (closest to the text), and subsequent shadows sit below it. This stacking order enables rich effects like 3D extrusion, neon glow halos, and retro print-style offsets.
For example, a classic long-shadow effect that creates the illusion of depth uses 40 or more incrementally shifted shadows at a 45-degree angle. Our generator handles this automatically with the "Long Shadow" preset, sparing you from writing dozens of manual lines.
Crisp shadow — Set blur to 0 and use a solid dark color. Ideal for bold display headings where you want depth without softness. Works beautifully on dark or photographic backgrounds.
Glow effect — Use a bright color matching or contrasting your text color, set blur high (10–30px), and keep offsets near zero. Layering two or three glow shadows at different blur radii creates a more organic luminous effect.
Neon effect — A white or desaturated text color combined with two to three shadows in a vivid hue (cyan, magenta, chartreuse) at progressively larger blur radii simulates electroluminescent signage. This is a staple of synthwave and retro-futurist design.
3D / embossed — Stack multiple 1px-offset shadows in progressively darker shades to build the illusion of extruded or chiselled typography. A white highlight shadow at a negative offset and a dark shadow at a positive offset creates a pressed or raised appearance.
Legibility shadow — White text on a complex background is notoriously hard to read. A single soft black shadow with low opacity and a moderate blur dramatically improves contrast without visually heavy styling. This is the preferred technique for overlaying headings on hero images.
Developers sometimes confuse text-shadow with the filter: drop-shadow() function. Although the visual output can look similar, they serve different purposes. The text-shadow property is specific to text — it targets individual letter shapes and ignores whitespace. The drop-shadow() filter applies to the computed alpha channel of the entire element, including images, SVGs, and transparent elements. If you want a shadow that follows the outline of a logo or icon, use drop-shadow(). For typographic styling, text-shadow offers more granular control.
Text shadows are composited by the browser's rendering engine. A single crisp shadow has negligible performance cost. However, high blur-radius shadows, especially on frequently repainted elements like animated headings or scrolling text, can impact paint performance. The browser must calculate Gaussian blur for each shadow layer. Keep blur values moderate on animated text, avoid stacking more than 5–6 layers on mobile-heavy pages, and use will-change: transform or GPU-promoted layers sparingly.
For decorative effects on static headings, such as a page title or hero text, complex multi-layer shadows are fine because they are painted once and cached. The real cost comes with dynamic effects, so test with browser DevTools paint profiler when in doubt.
text-shadow is supported in every modern browser — Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and Opera — with no vendor prefix required. Even Internet Explorer 10+ supports it. You can use this property today without any fallback concern for the overwhelming majority of users.
box-shadow, text-shadow does not support inset, but you can simulate it with carefully crafted layering.