Circle Dots Spinner
Eight dots around a circle swell and fade in sequence, giving a rotation without anything actually rotating. Very cheap to render and reads well even at 16px.
Also known as: dots in a circle loader, Google dots spinner.
HTML
<div class="ldr-circle-dots" role="status" aria-label="Loading"> <span></span><span></span><span></span><span></span> <span></span><span></span><span></span><span></span> </div>
CSS
.ldr-circle-dots {
--s: var(--ldr-size, 48px);
--c: var(--ldr-color, #3b82f6);
position: relative;
width: var(--s);
height: var(--s);
}
.ldr-circle-dots span {
position: absolute;
top: 0;
left: calc(50% - var(--s) / 14);
width: calc(var(--s) / 7);
height: calc(var(--s) / 7);
border-radius: 50%;
background: var(--c);
transform-origin: 50% calc(var(--s) / 2);
animation: ldr-circle-dots-pulse 1.2s ease-in-out infinite;
}
.ldr-circle-dots span:nth-child(1) { --r: 0deg; animation-delay: -1.05s; }
.ldr-circle-dots span:nth-child(2) { --r: 45deg; animation-delay: -0.9s; }
.ldr-circle-dots span:nth-child(3) { --r: 90deg; animation-delay: -0.75s; }
.ldr-circle-dots span:nth-child(4) { --r: 135deg; animation-delay: -0.6s; }
.ldr-circle-dots span:nth-child(5) { --r: 180deg; animation-delay: -0.45s; }
.ldr-circle-dots span:nth-child(6) { --r: 225deg; animation-delay: -0.3s; }
.ldr-circle-dots span:nth-child(7) { --r: 270deg; animation-delay: -0.15s; }
.ldr-circle-dots span:nth-child(8) { --r: 315deg; animation-delay: 0s; }
@keyframes ldr-circle-dots-pulse {
0%, 100% { transform: rotate(var(--r)) scale(0.4); opacity: 0.35; }
50% { transform: rotate(var(--r)) scale(1); opacity: 1; }
}
@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
.ldr-circle-dots, .ldr-circle-dots *, .ldr-circle-dots::before, .ldr-circle-dots::after {
animation-duration: 3s;
}
}Customizing this loader
- Color: set
--ldr-coloron the element or a parent. Currently previewing#3b82f6. - Size: set
--ldr-size. Every dimension in the snippet is derived from it. Currently previewing64px. - Speed: change the duration on the
animationshorthand. Delays on the children are relative, so they keep their rhythm. - Accessibility: the root carries
role="status"and anaria-labelso screen readers announce the wait. The reduced-motion rule at the end slows the animation for users who asked for less motion.