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How CSS gradients work
A gradient is a CSS-generated image, not a solid color. You can use it anywhere CSS accepts an image, including a background, without creating a separate raster image for the color transition. Gradients are useful for backgrounds, highlights, stripes, and rings.
The main choices are the direction or shape of the transition and the position of each color stop. Two colors make a simple gradient; adding stops gives you more control over how colors change.
Linear gradients
linear-gradient() transitions along a straight line. Its default direction is top to bottom. Set an explicit direction such as to right, or use an angle such as 70deg.
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/* Left to right, with three color stops. */
.banner {
background: linear-gradient(to right, #3157d5, #8b5cf6, #f4a261);
}
/* An explicit angle. */
.banner-angled {
background: linear-gradient(70deg, #3157d5, #8b5cf6, #f4a261);
}
Color stops can include positions to control where each color appears. Adjusting those positions can spread a transition across more of the element or create a sharper boundary between colors.
Radial and conic gradients
radial-gradient() transitions outward from a center. You can specify a shape, size, and center as well as the colors. This example places a circular highlight at the top left:
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.card {
background: radial-gradient(circle at top left, #fff, #dbeafe);
}
conic-gradient() transitions around a center. Its starting angle, center, and color stops help shape the result. Repeating gradient functions create repeated patterns; they are useful for effects such as stripes or rings when the stop positions define the repeat interval.
Choose a gradient for the effect
| Effect | CSS function | Controls to tune |
|---|---|---|
| Transition along a straight line | linear-gradient() |
Direction or angle; color-stop positions |
| Transition from a center | radial-gradient() |
Shape, size, center, and color stops |
| Transition around a center | conic-gradient() |
Starting angle, center, and color stops |
| Repeated stripes or rings | A repeating gradient function | Repeat interval and stop positions |
For a smooth blend, position stops to give the colors room to transition. For hard bands, place neighboring stops close together. The gradient’s shape and direction determine where that transition appears on the element.
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Add depth with box-shadow
Use box-shadow to cast a shadow around an element’s box or to add an inner shadow. Its values commonly specify horizontal offset, vertical offset, optional blur radius, optional spread radius, and color. The inset keyword makes the shadow appear inside the box. Multiple shadows are separated by commas.
.panel {
box-shadow: 0 8px 20px rgb(0 0 0 / 18%),
inset 0 1px rgb(255 255 255 / 60%);
}
In this example, the first layer is an outer shadow; the second is an inset highlight. Adjust the offsets to change its direction, blur to soften it, spread to change its reach, and color to change its strength or hue.
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Add a shadow to text
text-shadow applies a shadow to text glyphs. It requires horizontal and vertical offsets, accepts an optional blur length, and can take a color. Specify the color for a predictable appearance. Multiple shadows are comma-separated; the first listed shadow is on top.
.heading {
text-shadow: 0 2px 4px rgb(0 0 0 / 30%);
}
Keep the shadow subordinate to the text itself: offsets and blur that are too strong can make letters harder to read. If you layer multiple text shadows, remember that their order affects which one appears in front.
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Build and check a complete style
- Choose the transition. Use a linear gradient for a directional blend, radial for a center-out highlight, or conic for a transition around a center.
- Set the stops. Start with two colors, then add stops or positions to control where the colors change.
- Add a box shadow if needed. Set offsets and color first; add blur or spread only when the design calls for them. Use
insetfor an inner effect. - Add a text shadow only where it helps. Set explicit offsets and color, then tune blur while checking legibility.
- Inspect the result in the page. Gradients and shadows depend on the element’s dimensions, background, and surrounding content, so check the rendered design rather than judging a declaration in isolation.
Common problems and fixes
- The gradient appears to run the wrong way: set its direction explicitly, for example
to right, instead of relying on the default top-to-bottom direction. - The result looks like abrupt color bands: review the stop positions. Stops close together make a boundary sharper; give them more room for a gradual transition.
- The gradient is not visible: check that the declaration is applied to the intended element and that the element has visible dimensions. A background image can only be seen where that element is rendered.
- The box shadow appears inside instead of outside: remove
insetfrom that shadow layer. It changes the shadow to an inner one. - The text shadow reduces legibility: reduce its offset or blur and use a less prominent explicit color.
- One shadow layer seems to cover another: check the comma-separated order. For
text-shadow, the first listed shadow is on top.
Compatibility and references
MDN labels text-shadow Baseline Widely available. The cited references describe gradients and box shadows as established CSS features, but they do not provide complete browser-version tables for every gradient subtype or syntax variation. Check the relevant compatibility information if a particular browser or newer syntax variation is a requirement. The associated specifications are CSS Images Module Level 4 for gradients, CSS Backgrounds and Borders Module Level 3 for box-shadow, and CSS Text Decoration Module Level 3 for text-shadow; a specification reference alone does not guarantee uniform implementation of every feature.
References: MDN: Advanced styling effects; MDN: text-shadow; MDN: <gradient>; MDN: Using CSS gradients; MDN: box-shadow.
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