What’s the difference between box-shadow and drop-shadow?

Both box-shadow and drop-shadow are CSS properties used to create shadows behind an element, but there are some differences between them.

box-shadow creates a shadow around the entire box of an element, including any padding and border. It has four required values: horizontal offset, vertical offset, blur radius, and spread radius. It also allows you to specify a color for the shadow. Here’s an example:

box-shadow: 2px 2px 5px #888888;

drop-shadow creates a shadow behind an element that appears to lift it off the page. It only applies to the actual shape of the element, ignoring any padding and border. drop-shadow has two required values: horizontal offset and vertical offset, and allows you to specify blur radius, spread radius, and a color for the shadow. Here’s an example:

drop-shadow(2px 2px 5px #888888);

So, in summary, box-shadow applies a shadow to the entire box of an element, while drop-shadow only applies a shadow to the shape of the element.

So what’s best to use “drop-shadow” or “box-shadow”?

Determining whether to use box-shadow or drop-shadow ultimately depends on the specific design needs and context of your project.

If you need to create a shadow around an element that includes padding and borders, box-shadow is the better choice. On the other hand, if you want to create a shadow that appears to lift an element off the page, and you don’t want the shadow to include padding and borders, then drop-shadow is the way to go.

It’s important to note that drop-shadow is not supported by all browsers and requires the use of the -webkit prefix for Safari and older versions of Chrome. So, if you need to support older browsers or want to ensure cross-browser compatibility, box-shadow may be the safer option.

In conclusion, both box-shadow and drop-shadow have their own unique strengths and uses, and the best choice depends on the specific design requirements of your project.