CSS Text Shadow Generator

Design text shadows, outlines and glow effects.

Sample text

Preset

Shadow colour

Font size48px

Horizontal offset2px

Vertical offset2px

Blur4px

Opacity40%

Text Shadow

CSScss

text-shadow: 2px 2px 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.40);

Heavy shadows reduce the effective contrast between the glyph and its background. Keep body text plain and reserve effects for large display headings.

What does CSS Text Shadow Generator do?

Build CSS text-shadow effects visually — subtle depth, hard outlines, neon glow or layered retro styles — with live preview on your own sample text and copy-ready output.

How to Use CSS Text Shadow Generator

1
Type your sample textPreview with the actual words you will use.
2
Adjust the shadowOffset, blur and colour.
3
Add layers if neededOutlines need four shadows, one per direction.
4
Copy the CSSReady to paste.

Key Features

Offset, blur and colour controls with live preview
Multiple layered shadows for outline and neon effects
Editable sample text, font size and weight
Presets: subtle depth, hard outline, neon glow, retro and letterpress
Contrast warning when the effect would hurt readability

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I create a text outline?

Layer four shadows with zero blur, offset one pixel in each direction. The modern alternative is -webkit-text-stroke, which is cleaner but renders inside the glyph rather than around it.

How do I make a neon glow?

Stack several shadows of the same bright colour with increasing blur and no offset. Three or four layers from 5px up to 40px gives a convincing glow, especially on a dark background.

Does text-shadow hurt readability?

It can. Heavy shadows reduce the effective contrast between the glyph and its background, which matters for accessibility. Keep body text plain and reserve effects for large display headings.

What is the difference from box-shadow?

text-shadow follows the glyph outlines and has no spread parameter. box-shadow follows the element box. They take similar values but are not interchangeable.

Runs in your browser

Everything is generated in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server, so results are private and the tool keeps working offline.

How the rest of the site handles data