CSS Text Shadow Generator
Create CSS text-shadow effects with multiple layers: glows, outlines, retro 3D and embossed text. Live preview with your own text and copyable code.
Presets
Layers
Preview settings
Preview
Shadow
text-shadow: 2px 2px 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5);
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View AllWhat is Text Shadow Generator?
This tool builds the CSS text-shadow property from one or more layers. Each layer has a horizontal and vertical offset, blur, colour and opacity, and the preview renders your own sample text with the result.
How to use Text Shadow Generator
- Start from a preset such as Glow, Retro, Outline or Emboss, or keep the default shadow.
- Select a layer and set Horizontal offset, Vertical offset, Blur, Shadow color and Opacity.
- Add more layers for outlines or stacked 3D effects; remove layers you do not need.
- Type your own Sample text and choose the text and background colours to check legibility.
- Copy the CSS code.
Example
x 3px, y 3px, blur 0, color #ff0000, opacity 1
text-shadow: 3px 3px 0 #ff0000;
When to use Text Shadow Generator
Use it for headings, hero text, neon or retro effects and subtle shadows that improve contrast over images. For a real outline on large text, -webkit-text-stroke gives sharper results than stacked shadows; avoid heavy shadows on body text because they reduce readability.
How Text Shadow Generator works
Every layer is written as x y blur color (text-shadow has no spread or inset). Offsets and blur are px values, opacity is applied to the colour's alpha, giving hex for opaque colours and rgba() otherwise. Layers are separated by commas; the first one is drawn on top. The outline preset uses four 1px offsets in each diagonal direction, which is the usual pure-CSS way to fake a text stroke.
Common Use Cases
- Neon glow headings
- Readable white text over photos
- Retro stacked 3D titles
- Fake text outlines without SVG
- Embossed or letterpress labels
FAQs
Why is there no spread option?
The CSS text-shadow property only accepts offsets, blur and colour. To make a shadow look thicker, stack several layers with small offsets.
Can I create a neon glow?
Yes: use zero offsets and two or three layers with increasing blur in the same bright colour, as in the Glow preset.
Does text-shadow affect layout?
No. Shadows are painted outside the text without taking up space, so they never move surrounding elements.