Box Shadow Designer
Visualize and fine-tune CSS box shadows easily.
Box Shadow Designer
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.shadow-box { box-shadow: 10px 10px 30px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); }What is a CSS Box Shadow Generator?
A CSS box shadow generator is a visual tool for creating and previewing CSS box-shadow declarations. The box-shadow property adds shadow effects around an element's frame, and its syntax: offset-x, offset-y, blur-radius, spread-radius, color, and inset: can be tricky to write by hand without seeing the result.
CodeHelper's Box Shadow Designer gives you interactive sliders for every parameter, a live preview on a real element, and a one-click copy of the final CSS code.
Box Shadow Parameters
- Offset X / Y: Move the shadow horizontally and vertically relative to the element.
- Blur Radius: Soften the shadow edges: higher values create a more diffuse, realistic shadow.
- Spread Radius: Expand or contract the shadow size beyond the element's bounds.
- Color: Set shadow color with opacity (rgba) for subtle, layered depth effects.
- Inset: Render the shadow inside the element, creating a pressed or embossed appearance.
How to design a CSS box shadow
- Adjust the offset sliders to position the shadow.
- Set blur and spread to control shadow softness and size.
- Pick a shadow color with the color picker.
- Toggle inset for an inner shadow effect.
- Copy the generated CSS and paste it into your stylesheet.
Common box-shadow patterns
- Subtle card shadow:
0 2px 8px rgba(0,0,0,0.12): a light elevation for cards and panels. - Material elevation 4dp:
0 4px 6px -1px rgba(0,0,0,0.1), 0 2px 4px -1px rgba(0,0,0,0.06): Tailwind's shadow-md. - Neumorphism: Two shadows with opposite offsets: one light, one dark: to simulate a raised or pressed surface.
- Focus ring: An inset shadow with a vibrant color to replace outline for accessible focus indicators.
- Glow effect: A blurred shadow with a colored (not black) value to create a neon glow around an element.
Whether you are creating Material Design elevation shadows, subtle card lifts, neumorphism effects, or deep dramatic shadows, this free CSS box-shadow generator makes it visual and effortless.
Building a whole component layer? The UI components directory lists component collections and headless libraries, with their license and maintenance status.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the CSS box-shadow syntax?
box-shadow: offset-x offset-y blur-radius spread-radius color. For example, box-shadow: 0 4px 12px rgba(0,0,0,0.15) draws a shadow 4px below the element with a 12px blur. Add the inset keyword for an inner shadow, and separate multiple shadows with commas.
How do I make a box shadow look natural?
Use low opacity (0.1 to 0.2), a vertical offset larger than the horizontal one, and generous blur. Layering two or three shadows of increasing size and decreasing opacity mimics real light much better than one dark shadow.
Can I apply a box shadow to only one side?
Yes, with a negative spread radius. For a bottom-only shadow use box-shadow: 0 6px 8px -6px rgba(0,0,0,0.3): the negative spread pulls the shadow in so it does not leak around the other edges.
Does box-shadow affect performance?
Static shadows are cheap. Animating box-shadow directly forces repaints every frame, so animate opacity on a pseudo-element carrying the shadow instead, or use transform to fake elevation changes. Large blur values on many elements can also slow scrolling on low-end devices.
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