Scroll Line Indicator Button: CSS Button Style & Animation

Scroll Line Indicator Button

The quiet hero hint: a small Scroll to explore caption above a hairline track where a bead of light keeps sliding down. Hover dips the caption and the track brightens. One gradient bead, one keyframe.

Also known as: scroll down button css, scroll to explore indicator, scroll indicator line animation, hero scroll hint.

Color Base size 18px Dark background Hold hover state

HTML

<button class="btn-scroll-line" type="button">
  <span class="btn-scroll-line-label">Scroll to explore</span>
  <span class="btn-scroll-line-track" aria-hidden="true"></span>
</button>

CSS

.btn-scroll-line {
  --c: var(--btn-color, #3b82f6);
  display: inline-flex;
  align-items: center;
  justify-content: center;
  gap: 0.5em;
  padding: 0.75em 1.6em;
  border: 0;
  border-radius: 0.6em;
  font: 600 var(--btn-size, 18px)/1.1 system-ui, sans-serif;
  cursor: pointer;
  -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;
  flex-direction: column;
  gap: 0.8em;
  padding: 0.7em 1em 0.4em;
  border-radius: 0.8em;
  background: transparent;
  color: var(--c);
  transition: background-color 0.25s ease;}
.btn-scroll-line-label {
  font-size: 0.66em;
  font-weight: 600;
  letter-spacing: 0.22em;
  margin-right: -0.22em;
  text-transform: uppercase;
  transition: transform 0.35s cubic-bezier(0.34, 1.56, 0.64, 1);
}
.btn-scroll-line-track {
  position: relative;
  width: 0.1em;
  height: 3.4em;
  border-radius: 0.1em;
  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--c) 22%, transparent);
  clip-path: inset(0 -1em);
  transition: background-color 0.25s ease;
}
.btn-scroll-line-track::after {
  content: "";
  position: absolute;
  left: 0;
  right: 0;
  top: 0;
  height: 45%;
  border-radius: 0.1em;
  background: linear-gradient(transparent, var(--c) 75%, color-mix(in srgb, var(--c) 30%, #fff));
  box-shadow: 0 0.3em 0.5em -0.1em color-mix(in srgb, var(--c) 60%, transparent);
  animation: btn-scroll-line-drop 2s cubic-bezier(0.65, 0, 0.35, 1) infinite;
}
.btn-scroll-line:is(:hover, :focus-visible) { background-color: color-mix(in srgb, var(--c) 8%, transparent); }
.btn-scroll-line:is(:hover, :focus-visible) .btn-scroll-line-label { transform: translateY(0.2em); }
.btn-scroll-line:is(:hover, :focus-visible) .btn-scroll-line-track { background-color: color-mix(in srgb, var(--c) 40%, transparent); }
.btn-scroll-line:focus-visible {
  outline: 2px solid var(--c);
  outline-offset: 0.15em;
}
.btn-scroll-line:active .btn-scroll-line-label { transform: translateY(0.35em); }
@keyframes btn-scroll-line-drop {
  0%   { transform: translateY(-100%); }
  100% { transform: translateY(225%); }
}
@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  .btn-scroll-line-track::after { animation: none; top: 55%; }
  .btn-scroll-line-label { transition: none; }
}

@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  .btn-scroll-line, .btn-scroll-line *, .btn-scroll-line::before, .btn-scroll-line::after, .btn-scroll-line *::before, .btn-scroll-line *::after {
    animation-duration: 0.01ms !important;
    animation-iteration-count: 1 !important;
    transition-duration: 0.01ms !important;
  }
}

Customizing this snippet

Color: set --btn-color on the element or a parent. Currently previewing #3b82f6.
Base size: set --btn-size. Every other dimension is in em, so the whole thing scales together. Currently previewing 18px.
Speed: change the duration on the transition or animation shorthand. Staggered delays are relative, so they keep their rhythm.
Reduced motion: the rule at the end of the CSS turns the motion off for people who asked their OS for less of it. Keep it.

Scroll Line Indicator Button

HTML

CSS

Customizing this snippet

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