Our Faves: 12 Pure CSS Demos to Ignite Your Imagination

Great coding is all about using the right tool for the job. CSS is an awesome tool and you can get CSS to do some pretty amazing things without a single line of JavaScript. Check out these demos to see how you can push the limit with pure CSS. They are sure to get you thinking about what you can do.

Pure CSS for Website Designs

Put the full power of CSS to work on your website. From buttons, to form labels and navigation, to animation, pure CSS can be pure genius. Don’t believe us? Check out these useful applications:

Navigation, Menus, and Tabs Oh My! This pen from the CSS Only playground uses pure CSS to create a hamburger style menu, carousel, tabs, accordions, hover effects, and more. And by more we mean much, much more! You’ve got to check this one out. You could add JavaScript, but why would you?

See the Pen CSS Only Playground by ekrof (@ekrof) on CodePen.15206

3D Toggle Switch. We don’t know which is cooler: the 3D effect, the color animation, or the fact that this toggle switch demo was made with pure CSS. There are so many places you could incorporate this!

See the Pen Daily UI #11 | Switch | CSS only by Håvard Brynjulfsen (@havardob) on CodePen.15206

One Button, Many Functions. Now here’s an innovative approach to the age old UI problem of presenting options. This pen creates a multifunction button out of a single button with just a single click. What a great idea!

See the Pen Material Multi-Button Pure CSS by Bryce Snyder (@brycesnyder) on CodePen.15206

Button Animations. Pure CSS is used to create button animations. The animation clearly lets the user know their vote has been cast and counted. We vote “Yes” for most creative use of pure CSS.

See the Pen Animated vote buttons (pure css) by Valeriya (@wwwebneko) on CodePen.15206

Floating Labels. Forms are easier for users to fill out with tips. Pure CSS makes the code easier to maintain. It’s a match made in heaven when CSS is used to create these floating text fields. This is one cool effect with many applications.

See the Pen Pure CSS Floating Label Textfield by Matthias Benkort (@KtorZ) on CodePen.15206

Preloading Animations. Keep users engaged with one of these animated preloaders. Preloaders only last seconds (hopefully!) but they deserve your full attention. This demo includes six preloaders styled and animated with pure CSS.

See the Pen Preloaders – styled & animated with pure CSS by Yinxi Chen (@kaylolo) on CodePen.15206

One Mixin Many Effects. Flat design is so last week. Just one Sass mixin and pure CSS gives you the ability to create trendy long shadows with different effects. This is great for websites, newsletters, and more.

See the Pen Variable Longshadow with Gradients Mixin by Dario Corsi (@dariocorsi) on CodePen.15206

Pure CSS Demos to Spark Creativity

Stuck in a rut? Summer heat and humidity can sap those creative juices. Here are some demos that show what you can create with pure CSS. They are as refreshing and inspiring as a cold drink on a hot day. It’s virtual lemonade for your creativity.

Background Cinema Effect. Ditch the static background and go for this subtle animation. Low opacity and animations applied to a couple of pseudo elements with background images give you a cinema affect that reminds you of when films were actually on film.

See the Pen Pure CSS Cinema Effect by Brad Colthurst (@bullerb) on CodePen.15206

Inspiring Animation. Pure CSS drives 3 animations in one design. Barber poles, window shades, and clouds are all powered by CSS animations. Look ma – no JavaScript! If this doesn’t get you inspired then it’s time for a break.

See the Pen Pure CSS Barber Shop by Alexandr (@alexandrshy) on CodePen.15206

Circle Animation. This animation demo was inspired by the recent Android firmware update. It’s a great example of what you achieve with pure CSS, keyframes, and a little creativity.

See the Pen Android Nougat update animation by Stove (@stevn) on CodePen.15206

3D Animation. Use CSS to create animation in a flash without using Flash. It’s pure CSS powered by the transform-style property. This stunning 3D demo was coded in a mere 20 minutes; imagine what you could do in half an hour.

See the Pen yummy ? ? (pure CSS 3D) by Ana Tudor (@thebabydino) on CodePen.15206

Rotating Sphere. Who says disco is dead? This rotating 3D sphere is pure magic. No black magic involved; just the magic of pure CSS keyframes.

See the Pen Pure CSS sphere by Louis Hoebregts (@Mamboleoo) on CodePen.15206

We hope these demos show you the power of pure CSS. Just add your own creativity and you can make some amazing things for the web. What have you created with pure CSS? Comment and let us know.