Box Shadow Generator
Web & SEO Tools
Generate CSS box shadows
Preview
box-shadow: 0px 4px 6px 0px #0000001a;Introduction
The Box Shadow Generator is a powerful, free online CSS tool that creates professional box-shadow effects to add visual depth, dimension, and realistic shadows to website elements. CSS box shadows create the illusion of elevation and separation from the page, making UI components like cards, modals, buttons, and image containers appear layered and three-dimensional. This professional box shadow CSS generator provides intuitive, real-time controls for horizontal offset, vertical offset, blur radius, spread radius, shadow color, and opacity. Web designers, UI/UX specialists, and front-end developers use this tool to create modern, polished designs without trial-and-error CSS value guessing. The tool includes pre-built shadow patterns based on popular design systems like Material Design, Bootstrap, and Tailwind CSS. Real-time preview shows exactly how your shadows will appear on different colored backgrounds and element sizes. Generate production-ready CSS code instantly with a single click. CSS box shadows are essential for modern web design—they guide visual hierarchy, separate elements, create focus areas, and significantly improve user experience without adding any image files or extra HTTP requests. Unlike drop shadow images, CSS shadows scale perfectly, load instantly, and allow for multiple layered effects.
Key Features
- Complete box-shadow property controls with sliders and inputs
- X and Y offset adjustment for shadow positioning
- Blur and spread radius sliders for shadow softness and size
- Color picker with hex, rgb, and hsl support
- Opacity/alpha channel control for transparency
- Inset shadow toggle for inner shadow effects
- Multiple shadow layer support for complex layered shadows
- Pre-built shadow patterns (Material Design, Bootstrap, Tailwind)
- Real-time preview on various background colors
- One-click code copy functionality
- Shadow preset templates for quick setup
Example / Use Case
Create Material Design Card Shadow Effect
A UI designer building a design system needs to create card components following Material Design principles. They generate layered shadows for proper elevation levels.
Input
Layer 1: X=0, Y=2, Blur=4, Spread=0, Color=rgba(0,0,0,0.1) | Layer 2: X=0, Y=4, Blur=8, Spread=0, Color=rgba(0,0,0,0.1)
Output
box-shadow: 0 2px 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1), 0 4px 8px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);
How It Works
CSS box-shadow adds shadow effects around an element's entire frame to create depth illusions. The complete syntax: box-shadow: [inset] h-offset v-offset [blur-radius] [spread-radius] color. The h-offset (horizontal) and v-offset (vertical) position the shadow relative to the element—positive values move right/down, negative move left/up. The blur-radius (optional) controls softness—zero creates sharp edges, higher values create gradual fading. The spread-radius (optional) expands (+) or shrinks (-) the shadow before applying blur. The color uses any CSS color format (hex, rgb, rgba, hsl, hsla). The inset keyword (optional) places shadow inside instead of outside. Multiple shadows enable complex effects by comma-separating them. Popular shadow systems: Material Design uses specific elevation levels with specific shadow combinations. Bootstrap and Tailwind use preset shadow classes. For consistent shadows, establish 3-5 standard shadow patterns in your design system. Shadows should be subtle (typically using rgba black with low opacity) to create realistic depth without overwhelming the design. For additional CSS tools, combine with our Gradient Generator for colored backgrounds and CSS Button Generator for styled elements.
How to Use
- 1Adjust the X-offset (horizontal shadow position) using the slider or input field
- 2Set the Y-offset (vertical shadow position) for depth direction
- 3Control blur-radius to determine shadow softness (0 = sharp edges, 20+ = very soft)
- 4Adjust spread-radius to expand or contract the shadow size (negative values shrink)
- 5Choose your shadow color using the color picker (typically black or dark gray)
- 6Set opacity/alpha channel (0% = invisible, 100% = fully opaque)
- 7Toggle inset option to create inner shadows instead of outer shadows
- 8For complex effects, add multiple shadow layers by comma-separating values
- 9Watch the real-time preview update as you adjust all values
- 10Copy the generated box-shadow CSS and paste into your stylesheet
Benefits and Use Cases
- Create depth and dimension instantly without design software
- No trial and error with CSS values—see preview in real-time
- Professional shadow effects that improve UI appearance
- Enhance card components and modal dialogs with realistic depth
- Improve visual hierarchy and element separation
- Free unlimited shadow generation
- Production-ready code that works in all modern browsers
- Faster design process—copy and implement instantly
- No image files needed—shadows are pure CSS
- Create complex layered effects easily
- Add subtle depth to card components in design systems
- Create elevated modal dialogs that appear above content
- Enhance button hover effects with shadow increases
- Style image containers with floating effect shadows
- Build floating action buttons with shadow depth
- Create inset shadows for pressed/engraved button effects
- Add layered shadows for Material Design elevation system
- Enhance focus states for keyboard navigation visibility
Frequently Asked Questions
box-shadow: offset-x offset-y blur-radius spread-radius color inset. Example: 0 4px 6px -1px rgba(0,0,0,0.1) means: 0px right, 4px down, 6px blur, -1px spread, black transparent. This creates a subtle bottom shadow.