Free CSS Text Shadow Generator
Design a CSS text-shadow with live preview.
What is the CSS Text Shadow Generator?
A well-judged text shadow does a lot of quiet work — lifting a heading off a busy background, adding depth, or making white text readable over a photo. But dialing in the offset, blur and opacity by editing CSS and refreshing is slow.
This CSS text shadow generator lets you design the effect visually and copy the exact code.
Last updated: Aug 14, 2026
What does this tool do?
You adjust sliders for horizontal and vertical offset, blur and opacity, and pick the shadow, text and background colors, all with a live preview.
It builds the matching CSS text-shadow declaration for you to copy straight into your styles.
Key features
Live preview
See the shadow update instantly.
Full control
Offset, blur, color and opacity.
Background test
Preview on any background color.
Copy-ready CSS
rgba color for precise opacity.
Private
Runs in your browser.
Example
Common use cases
- Web developers — Style headings and labels.
- Designers — Prototype text effects.
- Bloggers — Make hero text readable.
- Front-end learners — Understand text-shadow.
- Email builders — Add subtle depth.
- Theme makers — Set consistent shadows.
- Marketers — Polish banner text.
- Anyone writing CSS — Skip trial and error.
Benefits
- It replaces edit-refresh cycles with a live preview.
- It tests the shadow on your real background.
- It outputs precise rgba opacity.
- It's instant and private.
Tips
- Keep shadows subtle — low opacity usually looks best.
- For readability over photos, use a soft dark shadow.
- A small blur softens the shadow; zero blur makes it crisp.
- Match the shadow color to your design, not always black.
- Test on both light and dark backgrounds.
- Avoid heavy shadows on body text — reserve them for headings.
- You can layer multiple shadows in CSS by comma-separating them.
- Use rem or em sizing in production for scalability.
Common mistakes to avoid
Overdoing the shadow
Fix: Strong, dark shadows look dated — keep offset and opacity modest.
Shadowing body text
Fix: Reserve text shadows for headings and overlays; they hurt readability on small text.
Ignoring the background
Fix: Preview on your actual background color so contrast holds up.
Zero contrast
Fix: Pick a shadow color that actually stands out from the text and background.
How it works
- 1
Adjust the sliders
Offset, blur and opacity.
- 2
Pick colors
Shadow, text and background.
- 3
Copy the CSS
Paste it into your styles.
Frequently asked questions
A ready-to-copy CSS text-shadow declaration with your horizontal and vertical offset, blur radius and an rgba color for opacity.
Yes. Set the text and background colors to see the shadow exactly as it'll appear on your design.
A ready-to-copy CSS text-shadow declaration with your horizontal and vertical offset, blur radius and an rgba color for opacity.
Yes. Set the text and background colors to see the shadow exactly as it'll appear in your design.
Increase the blur and lower the opacity; reduce the offset for a tighter effect.
The tool generates a single shadow, but CSS lets you comma-separate several text-shadow values to layer them.
Pixels for the preview and output; switch to rem or em in production if you prefer scalable units.
No. Everything runs in your browser.
Conclusion
A text shadow generator lets you design a CSS text effect by eye and copy the exact code. Pair it with the box shadow and gradient generators to build a complete set of styles.