Text Shadow Generator

Build CSS text-shadow effects visually. Drag offset, blur, and color sliders; stack multiple shadows for letterpress, neon, or 3D effects. Live preview shows the effect on real text at the size you choose. Copy ready-to-paste CSS.

When text-shadow earns its place

Text-shadow is one of the most overused effects on the web. Most modern designs avoid it entirely. The cases where it adds value:

• Hero text on busy backgrounds — a subtle dark shadow improves contrast without changing the typography
• Logos and titles — a refined letterpress or 3D effect adds personality
• Game UI / retro aesthetics — neon and stacked-shadow effects are part of the visual language
• Accessibility on uncontrolled backgrounds — a 1-2px shadow ensures legibility when foreground meets unpredictable images

For body copy, design systems, dashboards — skip it.

Recipes

Letterpress (light on dark):

text-shadow: 0 1px 1px rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.1);

Subtle drop shadow:

text-shadow: 0 2px 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);

Neon glow:

text-shadow:
  0 0 4px currentColor,
  0 0 8px currentColor,
  0 0 16px currentColor;

3D extrusion:

text-shadow:
  1px 1px 0 #ddd,
  2px 2px 0 #ccc,
  3px 3px 0 #bbb;

Common workflows

Improve hero readability. Image background bleeds through text. Add a subtle dark shadow until contrast hits AA. Less invasive than darkening the image overlay.

Brand a logo. A single deliberate text-shadow (offset 0, low blur, brand-tinted) makes a wordmark feel set rather than typed.

Build a glow effect. Triple-stack shadows of the same color with increasing blur. Adjust alpha per layer for depth.

Accessibility caveat

Text shadow does not increase WCAG contrast — the contrast measurement is between text color and background color, not what the shadow does to perceived contrast. If your foreground/background contrast fails, fix the colors, not the shadow.

Last updated: 2025-01-15