Create a Glitch Text Effect with Pure CSS

If you want your website to stand out, one of the most effective ways is to use creative typography. Modern web design often relies on subtle animations and unique text effects to grab attention. Among these effects, the glitch text style has become a favorite in tech-inspired designs. It looks dynamic, futuristic, and gives the impression of digital interference or distorted signals.

The best part is that you can build this entire effect using only CSS. You do not need JavaScript, extra markup, or complex libraries. Just a few lines of CSS can turn a static title into an eye-catching animated headline.

The Concept Behind the Glitch Effect

A glitch effect works by playing with visual displacements and color contrasts.
In digital media, a “glitch” usually means a visual error or distortion that happens when a video signal breaks. In web design, we mimic that look using text shadows and color offsets.

The simplest way to simulate this distortion is by applying multiple shadows of different colors on the same text and slightly shifting them horizontally or vertically. When done right, it looks like the text is splitting into red and cyan layers, creating that digital interference feel.

The illusion becomes more convincing when it reacts to user actions or runs in short bursts through CSS animations. It adds just enough motion to make the text feel alive without overwhelming the page.

How It Works

The core CSS property used for this effect is text-shadow. This property allows you to add multiple shadows to text by separating each shadow definition with a comma. You can set each shadow’s color, horizontal and vertical offset, and blur radius.

For the glitch effect, we usually skip the blur and just offset the shadows in opposite directions.
Here is the simplest version of the glitch CSS:

h1:hover {
  text-shadow:
    red -3px 0,
    cyan 3px 0;
}

When the user hovers over the text, the red and cyan shadows appear on each side, creating a visual split. The clean white text in the middle makes the colored edges pop, resulting in that classic glitch vibe.

If you want to understand how text-shadow works in detail, you can read more on MDN’s official documentation.

Adding More Depth

You can expand this effect by introducing more layers or slight diagonal offsets. For example, by adding a magenta shadow or shifting one layer vertically, you can make the glitch look richer and more complex.

Here’s an example with multiple layers:

h1:hover {
  text-shadow:
    #ff0066 -2px 0,
    #00ffff 2px 0,
    #ff00ff -1px 1px;
}

The third shadow adds an extra diagonal accent that simulates misalignment, giving your text a noisy, imperfect appearance. This subtle randomness is what makes a glitch look realistic.

Enhancing the Effect with Animation

Static glitch effects already look great, but adding animation takes it to another level.
You can use CSS keyframes to make the colored shadows move back and forth quickly, simulating the visual flicker of a broken digital screen.

The animation does not need to be smooth. In fact, sharp jumps between positions look more authentic. Here’s a small example:

@keyframes glitch {
  0% { text-shadow: red -2px 0, cyan 2px 0; }
  50% { text-shadow: red 2px 0, cyan -2px 0; }
  100% { text-shadow: red -2px 0, cyan 2px 0; }
}

h1:hover {
  animation: glitch 0.3s infinite;
}

When the user hovers over the text, the colors flicker between different sides, creating a strong digital effect that looks like an old monitor trying to stabilize.

Customization Ideas

You can personalize the glitch effect to fit your design. Here are a few ideas to try:

• Color themes – Use your brand’s color palette instead of the standard red and cyan.
• Text size – Big bold text works best because the color separation becomes more visible.
• Layered timing – Combine slow transitions with quick glitches for contrast.
• Hover vs. permanent – You can make the effect appear on hover or run continuously using animation without any event.
• Blend modes – Experiment with mix-blend-mode to merge shadows in interesting ways.

The beauty of this approach is that it is fully CSS-based and lightweight. It works perfectly in modern browsers and can be customized endlessly.

Why Use CSS for This

Creating small effects like this with CSS keeps your site fast and efficient. There is no JavaScript event listener or DOM manipulation, which means less CPU usage and smoother animations.
For developers, it also means simpler code maintenance and fewer potential bugs.

Because CSS handles the entire animation on the compositor thread, the browser can render these effects efficiently, even on mobile devices. You can also combine them with CSS transitions, transformations, or filters for even more advanced visuals.

Wrap-up

The glitch text effect is a perfect example of how much modern CSS can do without JavaScript.
It is simple, lightweight, and very effective in adding life to your headings or hero sections.

With just a few shadows and a bit of movement, you can make your typography stand out from the crowd. Try playing with different colors, distances, and animation speeds until you find a style that matches your design.

Small details like this can turn an ordinary website into something memorable. And the best part is that it’s all done with pure CSS.