Box Shadow Generator

What is Box Shadow Generator?

Box Shadow Generator provides a visual editor for creating CSS box-shadow effects with real-time preview. It supports multiple shadow layers, with individual controls for horizontal offset, vertical offset, blur radius, spread radius, color, opacity, and inset mode. The tool outputs clean CSS including vendor prefixes and provides preset templates for common shadow styles like material elevation levels.

UI developers implementing design system elevation tokens, web designers creating visual depth effects, and CSS artists building creative shadow compositions. The tool runs entirely in your browser — your data never leaves your device.

How to Use Box Shadow Generator

1. Adjust the horizontal and vertical offset sliders to position the shadow
2. Set the blur radius for shadow softness and spread radius for shadow size
3. Pick a shadow color and adjust opacity using the color picker
4. Add multiple shadow layers for complex effects using the Add Shadow button
5. Copy the generated CSS box-shadow property from the code output panel

Common Use Cases

• Creating subtle elevation shadows for card components following Material Design guidelines
• Building layered shadow effects that simulate realistic depth and soft lighting
• Designing neumorphic (soft UI) shadow effects using a combination of light and dark shadows
• Creating focus ring shadows for accessible interactive elements without affecting layout
• Generating inset shadows for depressed button states and input field styling

Pro Tips

• Layer multiple shadows at different sizes for realistic depth — a small tight shadow for the near edge plus a large soft shadow for ambient occlusion looks much more natural than a single shadow
• Use rgba() colors instead of hex for shadows — rgba(0,0,0,0.1) creates a transparent black that blends naturally with any background color
• For neumorphic effects, use two shadows — a light one at negative offsets and a dark one at positive offsets against a background that matches neither color

Why Use This Tool?

• Privacy-first: All processing happens locally in your browser. No data is transmitted to any server.
• No installation required: Works in any modern browser on desktop or mobile.
• Completely free: No account, no credit card, no usage caps.
• Fast and reliable: Powered by modern Web APIs for near-instant results.

Related Concepts

Learn more about related topics: CSS elevation, Material Design, Neumorphism, filter: drop-shadow.

Frequently Asked Questions