Table of Contents
Basic Spinner Using Borders
Custom Spinner with Multiple Dots
Adding Animation to Buttons
Tips for Customization
Home Web Front-end CSS Tutorial CSS tutorial for creating loading spinners and animations

CSS tutorial for creating loading spinners and animations

Jul 07, 2025 am 12:07 AM
css

There are three ways to create a CSS loading rotator: 1. Use the basic rotator of borders to achieve simple animations through HTML and CSS; 2. Use a custom rotator of multiple points to achieve the jump effect through different delay times; 3. Add a rotator in the button and switch classes through JavaScript to display the loading status. Each approach emphasizes the importance of design details such as color, size, accessibility and performance optimization to enhance the user experience.

CSS tutorial for creating loading spinners and animations

Creating loading spinners with CSS is a straightforward way to enhance user experience while content loads. You don't need JavaScript for simple animations — just HTML and CSS. Below are practical methods to build basic and customized spinners.

CSS tutorial for creating loading spinners and animations

Basic Spinner Using Borders

One of the simplest ways to create a spinner is by using a bordered element and rotating it with CSS animation.

CSS tutorial for creating loading spinners and animations

HTML:

 <div class="spinner"></div>

CSS:

CSS tutorial for creating loading spinners and animations
 .spinner {
  width: 40px;
  height: 40px;
  border: 4px solid #ccc;
  border-top-color: #333;
  border-radius: 50%;
  animation: spin 1s linear infinite;
}

@keyframes spin {
  to { transform: rotate(360deg); }
}
  • The border creates the ring shape.
  • border-top-color gives the "loading" effect with a contrasting color.
  • The spin keyframe rotates the element infinitely.

This method works well for small, subtle loaders.


Custom Spinner with Multiple Dots

If you want something more visual than a rotating circle, consider animating multiple dots that appear one after another.

HTML:

 <div class="dot-spinner">
  <div class="dot"></div>
  <div class="dot"></div>
  <div class="dot"></div>
</div>

CSS:

 .dot-spinner {
  display: flex;
  gap: 5px;
}

.dot {
  width: 8px;
  height: 8px;
  background-color: #333;
  border-radius: 50%;
  animation: bounce 1.2s infinite ease-in-out;
}

.dot:nth-child(1) { animation-delay: -0.32s; }
.dot:nth-child(2) { animation-delay: -0.16s; }

@keyframes bounce {
  0%, 80%, 100% { transform: scale(0); }
  40% { transform: scale(1); }
}
  • Each dot scales in and out at slightly different times.
  • This staggered animation gives a pulsing or bouncing effect.
  • You can change the number of dots or adjust timing for different styles.

This type of spinner is great for modern UIs where subtle motion adds personality.


Adding Animation to Buttons

Sometimes you want to show a spinner inside a button when an action is processing.

HTML:

 <button class="loading-btn">
  <span class="btn-text">Submit</span>
  <span class="spinner"></span>
</button>

CSS (partial):

 .loading-btn .spinner {
  display: none;
  width: 16px;
  height: 16px;
  border: 2px solid #fff;
  border-top-color: transparent;
  border-radius: 50%;
  animation: spin 0.8s linear infinite;
  margin-left: 8px;
}

.loading-btn.loading .spinner {
  display: inline-block;
}

.loading-btn.loading .btn-text {
  opacity: 0;
}
  • When the button has a loading class, the spinner appears and the text fades out.
  • You'd toggle the class using JavaScript when triggering an async action.

This approach keeps your interface responsive and give feedback during actions like form submission.


Tips for Customization

Here are some quick tips to make your spinners work better:

  • Use semantic colors : Match the spinner color to your theme or brand.
  • Keep it small : Spinners shouldn't dominate the screen unless necessary.
  • Consider accessibility : Add ARIA attributes if needed ( aria-busy , role="status" ).
  • Optimize performance : Avoid overcomplicated animations that may slow down rendering.

You can mix these techniques or layer them depending on your project's needs.


That's basically how you create and customize spinners with just CSS. It's not complicated, but getting the details right makes a difference in how smooth and professional your interface feels.

The above is the detailed content of CSS tutorial for creating loading spinners and animations. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

Statement of this Website
The content of this article is voluntarily contributed by netizens, and the copyright belongs to the original author. This site does not assume corresponding legal responsibility. If you find any content suspected of plagiarism or infringement, please contact admin@php.cn

Hot AI Tools

Undress AI Tool

Undress AI Tool

Undress images for free

Undresser.AI Undress

Undresser.AI Undress

AI-powered app for creating realistic nude photos

AI Clothes Remover

AI Clothes Remover

Online AI tool for removing clothes from photos.

Clothoff.io

Clothoff.io

AI clothes remover

Video Face Swap

Video Face Swap

Swap faces in any video effortlessly with our completely free AI face swap tool!

Hot Tools

Notepad++7.3.1

Notepad++7.3.1

Easy-to-use and free code editor

SublimeText3 Chinese version

SublimeText3 Chinese version

Chinese version, very easy to use

Zend Studio 13.0.1

Zend Studio 13.0.1

Powerful PHP integrated development environment

Dreamweaver CS6

Dreamweaver CS6

Visual web development tools

SublimeText3 Mac version

SublimeText3 Mac version

God-level code editing software (SublimeText3)

How to use PHP to develop a Q&A community platform Detailed explanation of PHP interactive community monetization model How to use PHP to develop a Q&A community platform Detailed explanation of PHP interactive community monetization model Jul 23, 2025 pm 07:21 PM

1. The first choice for the Laravel MySQL Vue/React combination in the PHP development question and answer community is the first choice for Laravel MySQL Vue/React combination, due to its maturity in the ecosystem and high development efficiency; 2. High performance requires dependence on cache (Redis), database optimization, CDN and asynchronous queues; 3. Security must be done with input filtering, CSRF protection, HTTPS, password encryption and permission control; 4. Money optional advertising, member subscription, rewards, commissions, knowledge payment and other models, the core is to match community tone and user needs.

How to use PHP to build social sharing functions PHP sharing interface integration practice How to use PHP to build social sharing functions PHP sharing interface integration practice Jul 25, 2025 pm 08:51 PM

The core method of building social sharing functions in PHP is to dynamically generate sharing links that meet the requirements of each platform. 1. First get the current page or specified URL and article information; 2. Use urlencode to encode the parameters; 3. Splice and generate sharing links according to the protocols of each platform; 4. Display links on the front end for users to click and share; 5. Dynamically generate OG tags on the page to optimize sharing content display; 6. Be sure to escape user input to prevent XSS attacks. This method does not require complex authentication, has low maintenance costs, and is suitable for most content sharing needs.

PHP creates a blog comment system to monetize PHP comment review and anti-brush strategy PHP creates a blog comment system to monetize PHP comment review and anti-brush strategy Jul 25, 2025 pm 08:27 PM

1. Maximizing the commercial value of the comment system requires combining native advertising precise delivery, user paid value-added services (such as uploading pictures, top-up comments), influence incentive mechanism based on comment quality, and compliance anonymous data insight monetization; 2. The audit strategy should adopt a combination of pre-audit dynamic keyword filtering and user reporting mechanisms, supplemented by comment quality rating to achieve content hierarchical exposure; 3. Anti-brushing requires the construction of multi-layer defense: reCAPTCHAv3 sensorless verification, Honeypot honeypot field recognition robot, IP and timestamp frequency limit prevents watering, and content pattern recognition marks suspicious comments, and continuously iterate to deal with attacks.

How to style the first letter or first line of a paragraph? How to style the first letter or first line of a paragraph? Jul 19, 2025 am 02:58 AM

To beautify the beginning of a paragraph to enhance visual appeal, a common practice is to use pseudo-elements of CSS or manually style the document. In web development, p::first-letter can be used to set the first letter style, such as enlarging, bolding, and discoloring, but it should be noted that it is only suitable for block-level elements; if you want to highlight the entire first line, use p::first-line to add styles; in document software such as Word, you can manually adjust the first letter format or create style templates, and InDesign has a built-in "first-sinking" function suitable for publishing and design; when applying, you need to pay attention to details, such as avoiding complex styles affecting reading and ensuring compatibility and format consistency.

Free entrance to Vue finished product resources website. Complete Vue finished product is permanently viewed online Free entrance to Vue finished product resources website. Complete Vue finished product is permanently viewed online Jul 23, 2025 pm 12:39 PM

This article has selected a series of top-level finished product resource websites for Vue developers and learners. Through these platforms, you can browse, learn, and even reuse massive high-quality Vue complete projects online for free, thereby quickly improving your development skills and project practice capabilities.

What is the purpose of the CSS `will-change` property? What is the purpose of the CSS `will-change` property? Jul 23, 2025 am 03:47 AM

will-change is a CSS property that is used to inform browser elements in advance of possible changes to optimize performance. Its core function is to enable the browser to create layers in advance to improve rendering efficiency. Common values include transform, opacity, etc., and can also be separated by multiple attribute commas; it is suitable for non-standard attribute animations, complex component transitions and user interaction triggered animations; but it must be avoided abuse, otherwise it will lead to excessive memory usage or increased GPU load; the best practice is to apply before the change occurs and remove it after it is completed.

Describe the structure of a CSS rule set Describe the structure of a CSS rule set Jul 20, 2025 am 02:49 AM

The CSS rule set consists of selectors and declaration blocks to define the style of HTML elements. 1. The selector specifies the target element, such as a tag, class, or ID; 2. Declare the block to contain attributes and values to control the appearance of the element. For example: p{color:blue;font-size:16px;} means selecting the paragraph and setting the text color and font size. Master these two parts to write effective CSS styles.

Explain the different CSS positioning schemes: static, relative, absolute, fixed, sticky Explain the different CSS positioning schemes: static, relative, absolute, fixed, sticky Jul 19, 2025 am 03:19 AM

There are five ways to locate CSS: static, relative, absolute, fixed and sticky. static is the default positioning, following the document flow and does not support offset; relative moves relative to its original position and is still in the document flow; absolute is separated from the document flow, and is positioned relative to the nearest non-static positioning and ancestor positioning; fixed relative to the browser window, and is often used to fix the navigation bar; sticky is between relative and fixed, scrolling to a specific position and fixed, suitable for sticky heads. Mastering their behavioral differences is key to layout.

See all articles