A drop cap — an oversized, stylized first letter at the start of a paragraph, spanning several lines of text — is a classic typographic technique from print publishing that adds visual interest to the opening of an article or chapter.
Enter your paragraph text and customize the drop cap's size and color, see it rendered live using the CSS `::first-letter` pseudo-element, then copy the exact CSS needed to apply the same effect to your own article openings.
This uses the standard `::first-letter` pseudo-element technique, which is well-supported across browsers and requires no extra markup — the drop cap styling applies automatically to whatever the first letter of the paragraph happens to be.
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Frequently asked questions
Does this work automatically on any paragraph, or do I need special markup?
The `::first-letter` pseudo-element technique applies automatically to a paragraph's first letter without any special markup — just apply the CSS class to your paragraph element.
Can I use a custom font for just the drop cap letter?
Yes, add a font-family declaration to the `::first-letter` rule in the generated CSS to give the drop cap a distinct decorative font from the rest of the paragraph.