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CSS text shadow generator

Build beautiful text shadow effects visually. Stack up to 4 shadow layers, apply presets, and copy production-ready CSS.

Layer 1
Hello World
css
text-shadow: 2px 2px 4px #00d4ff;

What is CSS Text Shadow Generator?

The CSS text-shadow property adds shadow effects to text elements, creating depth, glow, emboss, neon, and 3D effects that make headings and display text visually striking. This generator lets you build text shadows visually by stacking up to four independent shadow layers, each with its own horizontal offset, vertical offset, blur radius, and color. The live preview shows your text exactly as it will appear on your page, rendered on a dark background so shadow effects are clearly visible. Six built-in presets — Subtle, 3D, Neon, Fire, Retro, and Emboss — provide starting points you can customize further. The tool outputs the complete text-shadow CSS declaration ready to paste into your stylesheet. Multiple shadow layers are comma-separated in a single property value, which is how browsers composite them. All rendering happens in your browser using standard CSS, so the preview is pixel-accurate to what users will see. No fonts are uploaded and no server processing occurs.

How to Use CSS Text Shadow Generator

  1. 1

    Choose a preset or start from scratch

    Click any of the six presets to load a pre-configured shadow effect, or work with the default single layer. Each preset sets the optimal number of layers with tuned offsets, blur, and colors for that style.

  2. 2

    Adjust shadow layers

    For each layer, drag the X and Y offset sliders (-50 to 50px), set the blur radius (0-50px), and pick a color. Add up to 4 layers for complex effects, or remove layers you do not need. The preview updates in real-time.

  3. 3

    Customize and copy

    Type your own preview text and adjust the font size (24-96px) to match your actual heading size. When satisfied, click Copy CSS to place the text-shadow declaration on your clipboard for immediate use in your project.

Features

  • Stack up to 4 independent shadow layers
  • 6 built-in presets: Subtle, 3D, Neon, Fire, Retro, Emboss
  • Per-layer offset, blur, and color controls
  • Custom preview text and adjustable font size (24-96px)
  • Live dark-background preview for accurate rendering
  • One-click CSS copy with no server upload

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many text-shadow layers can I use?+
The CSS specification has no hard limit on text-shadow layers — you can stack as many as you want. This tool caps at 4 layers because that covers virtually all real-world effects. More layers increase rendering cost with diminishing visual returns.
Does text-shadow affect accessibility?+
Text shadow itself does not affect screen readers since they read the text content, not its visual style. However, ensure your text-shadow does not reduce contrast below WCAG minimum ratios. Avoid shadows that blur text into the background color.
What is the difference between text-shadow and box-shadow?+
Text-shadow applies to the letterforms of text content, following each glyph shape. Box-shadow applies to the rectangular bounding box of an element. Use text-shadow for typographic effects and box-shadow for card elevations, buttons, and container depth.
Can I use RGBA or HSLA colors for shadows?+
Yes. The color picker outputs hex values, but you can type any valid CSS color into the text input — rgba(0, 212, 255, 0.5), hsla(190, 100%, 50%, 0.4), or named colors like cyan. Semi-transparent colors create softer, more natural shadow effects.
Will text-shadow work in all browsers?+
Text-shadow is supported in all modern browsers and has been since IE10. It is one of the oldest CSS3 properties with universal support. The multi-layer syntax with comma-separated values is equally well supported.
How do I create a neon glow effect?+
Click the Neon preset to see how it works: multiple layers with zero offset and increasing blur radius in the same color family create a radiating glow around the text. The inner layer has a small blur for sharpness while outer layers use larger blur values for the soft glow.