Do you want to create fancy headings without rendering each heading with Photoshop? Here is a simple CSS trick to show you how to create gradient text effect with a PNG image (pure CSS, no Javascript or Flash). All you need is an empty <span> tag in the heading and apply the background image overlay using the CSS position:absolute property. This trick has been tested on most browsers: Firefox, Safari, Opera, and even Internet Explorer 6. Continue to read this article to find out how.

CSS Gradient Text Effect

Benefits

This is pure CSS trick, no Javascript or Flash. It works on most browsers including IE6 (PNG hack required).

It is perfect for designing headings. You don’t have to render each heading with Photoshop. This will save you time and bandwidth.

You can use on any web fonts and the font size remains scalable.

How does this work?

The trick is very simple. Basically we are just adding a 1px gradient PNG (with alpha transparency) over the text.