How to Apply Outline Effect to Text in CSS

Step 1: Select the Text Element
Step 2: Set the Outline Color
Step 3: Specify the Outline Width
Step 4: Set the Outline Style
Example
Alternative Approach
Best Practices

Table of Contents

To apply an outline effect to text in CSS, you can use the text-outline property. This property allows you to add a visible outline around the edges of the text, making it stand out from the background. Here are the steps to apply the outline effect:

Step 1: Select the Text Element

First, you need to select the text element that you want to apply the outline effect to. This can be done using CSS selectors. For example, if you have a <h1> heading with the class “outline-text”, you can select it with the following CSS rule:

h1.outline-text {
  /* CSS properties here */
}

Related Article: How to Use the CSS Parent Selector

Step 2: Set the Outline Color

Next, you need to specify the color of the outline using the outline-color property. This property accepts color values such as hexadecimal, RGB, or color names. For example, to set the outline color to red, you can use the following CSS rule:

h1.outline-text {
  outline-color: red;
}

Step 3: Specify the Outline Width

After setting the outline color, you can specify the width of the outline using the outline-width property. This property accepts values in pixels, ems, or other length units. For example, to set the outline width to 2 pixels, you can use the following CSS rule:

h1.outline-text {
  outline-color: red;
  outline-width: 2px;
}

Step 4: Set the Outline Style

Finally, you can set the style of the outline using the outline-style property. This property accepts values such as solid, dashed, dotted, or double. For example, to set the outline style to dashed, you can use the following CSS rule:

h1.outline-text {
  outline-color: red;
  outline-width: 2px;
  outline-style: dashed;
}

Example:

Here’s an example that combines all the steps to apply an outline effect to a heading:

h1.outline-text {
  outline-color: red;
  outline-width: 2px;
  outline-style: dashed;
}

This CSS rule will apply a red dashed outline with a width of 2 pixels to any <h1> element with the class “outline-text”.

Alternative Approach:

Instead of using the text-outline property, you can also achieve a similar effect using the text-shadow property. By specifying a shadow color that matches the desired outline color and adjusting the shadow position and blur radius, you can create an outline effect. Here’s an example:

h1.outline-text {
  text-shadow: -1px -1px 0 red, 1px -1px 0 red, -1px 1px 0 red, 1px 1px 0 red;
}

In this example, the text-shadow property is used to create a shadow that appears as an outline around the text. The shadow is positioned at various offsets from the text to achieve the desired outline effect.

Best Practices:

When applying an outline effect to text in CSS, it’s important to consider the following best practices:

1. Use contrasting colors: Ensure that the outline color contrasts well with the background color to ensure readability and accessibility.

2. Avoid excessive width: Keep the width of the outline reasonable to prevent it from overpowering the text or causing visual distractions.

3. Consider the font size: Adjust the outline width and color based on the font size to maintain proportional visual balance.

4. Test across different browsers: As with any CSS property, it’s important to test the outline effect across different browsers to ensure consistent rendering.