One of the most exciting developments in web design is the new rendering power of modern browsers. Web designers can add new instructions to style sheets that produce drop shadows, rounded corners, smooth transitions and other effects — all without the coding burden required before. The latest stylesheet standard — CSS3 — gives you more elegance and visual appeal without the extra code and images used to get these results before.

Get Fast-loading, rich visual effects with CSS3

To use the new design features, all you have to do is know how to write the rules correctly in your stylesheet.

This can be a steep learning curve. So, people like Randy Jensen have jumped in to help us with free tools to test and write the code snippets we need.

Check out the CSS3 Generator at css3generator.com

Jensen gives us a way to select the visual effect we’re looking for, and a form to try out different settings. Using the simple preview area, you can check for the results you want, and then copy and paste the code snippet for your stylesheet.

What a great tool. Whether you’re a professional or a dabbler, this code generator will help you quickly add more elegance and visual appeal to your web design without the bloat of images and bulky instructions.

Other helpful resource for CSS3

Even with the CSS3 generator, you’ll need to check different browsers to make sure the results are ok. Also, you may want to look at the markup from the experts. Chris Coyier is one, at CSS-Tricks.com. His shadow markup includes a rule that isn’t created by the CSS3 Generator. You can find out more here:
CSS-Tricks: a wealth of tutorials and blogs to help you master techniques and use them wisely.