26 CSS Link Effects10 / 26

Pure CSSMIT licensed

CSS Circle / Encircled Outline Hover Effect

The hand-annotated look: hover and a pencil loop draws itself around the link, like a margin note from a good editor. One wobbly inline-SVG path and the stroke-dasharray draw-on trick — plus a double-scribble variant and a soft ellipse highlight that stamps in behind the word. The pathLength attribute makes the dash math trivial.

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The code

<section class="cle-10" aria-label="Encircled link hover demo">
  <div class="cle-10__stage">
    <p class="cle-10__prose">The judges shortlisted <a href="#a" class="cle-10__loop">fourteen entries<svg viewBox="0 0 160 56" preserveAspectRatio="none" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M8 28 C10 12 62 5 102 7 C140 9 155 17 152 30 C149 45 106 53 60 50 C22 48 5 41 8 26 C9 21 14 17 22 14" pathLength="1"/></svg></a>, argued for an hour about <a href="#b" class="cle-10__scribble">two of them<svg viewBox="0 0 160 56" preserveAspectRatio="none" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M10 30 C12 14 70 6 108 9 C142 12 153 20 150 31 C147 44 100 52 58 49 C24 47 8 40 10 28 C12 13 76 3 116 7 C146 10 157 20 154 32 C150 46 96 55 52 51 C26 49 12 44 12 36" pathLength="1"/></svg></a>, and quietly agreed the winner had been <a href="#c" class="cle-10__stamp">obvious all along<svg viewBox="0 0 160 56" preserveAspectRatio="none" aria-hidden="true"><ellipse cx="80" cy="28" rx="74" ry="24"/></svg></a>.</p>
    <div class="cle-10__legend"><small class="cle-10__cap">A · pencil loop</small><small class="cle-10__cap">B · double scribble</small><small class="cle-10__cap">C · stamped ellipse</small></div>
  </div>
</section>
.cle-10,
.cle-10 *,
.cle-10 *::before,
.cle-10 *::after {
  box-sizing: border-box;
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
}

.cle-10 {
  width: 100%;
  min-height: 100vh;
  --ink: oklch(0.28 0.03 60);
  --pen: oklch(0.6 0.19 30);
  font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif;
}

.cle-10__stage {
  width: 100%;
  height: 100vh;
  display: grid;
  align-content: center;
  justify-items: center;
  gap: 44px;
  border: 1px solid oklch(0.9 0.02 80);
  background: linear-gradient(175deg,oklch(0.985 0.01 85),oklch(0.955 0.02 80));
  padding: 44px 36px;
  color: var(--ink);
}

.cle-10__prose {
  max-width: 46ch;
  font-size: 22px;
  line-height: 2;
  text-wrap: pretty;
}

.cle-10__legend {
  display: flex;
  gap: 36px;
}

.cle-10__cap {
  font-size: 10.5px;
  font-weight: 600;
  letter-spacing: .14em;
  text-transform: uppercase;
  color: oklch(0.55 0.04 60);
  font-family: 'Segoe UI',system-ui,sans-serif;
}

.cle-10 a {
  position: relative;
  color: var(--ink);
  text-decoration: none;
  font-style: italic;
  font-weight: 600;
  white-space: nowrap;
}

.cle-10 a:focus-visible {
  outline: 2px solid var(--pen);
  outline-offset: 4px;
  border-radius: 3px;
}

.cle-10 svg {
  position: absolute;
  inset: -.4em -.65em;
  width: calc(100% + 1.3em);
  height: calc(100% + .8em);
  overflow: visible;
  pointer-events: none;
}

.cle-10 svg path,
.cle-10 svg ellipse {
  fill: none;
  stroke: var(--pen);
  stroke-width: 2.2;
  stroke-linecap: round;
  vector-effect: non-scaling-stroke;
}

.cle-10__loop path {
  stroke-dasharray: 1 1.5;
  stroke-dashoffset: 1.2;
  transition: stroke-dashoffset .45s ease-in;
}

.cle-10__loop:hover path,
.cle-10__loop:focus-visible path {
  stroke-dashoffset: 0;
  transition: stroke-dashoffset .55s cubic-bezier(.4,0,.3,1);
}

.cle-10__scribble path {
  stroke-dasharray: 1 1.5;
  stroke-dashoffset: 1.2;
  transition: stroke-dashoffset .6s ease-in;
}

.cle-10__scribble:hover path,
.cle-10__scribble:focus-visible path {
  stroke-dashoffset: 0;
  transition: stroke-dashoffset .9s cubic-bezier(.4,0,.3,1);
}

.cle-10__stamp ellipse {
  fill: oklch(0.75 0.15 55 / .3);
  stroke: none;
  transform-box: fill-box;
  transform-origin: center;
  scale: .8;
  opacity: 0;
  transition: scale .3s cubic-bezier(.3,1.5,.4,1),opacity .25s;
}

.cle-10__stamp:hover ellipse,
.cle-10__stamp:focus-visible ellipse {
  scale: 1;
  opacity: 1;
}

@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  .cle-10 * {
    transition-duration: .01s !important;
  }
}
Paste this into ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, or any coding assistant. The block below is pre-framed with everything the AI needs to integrate this demo into your project — markup, styles, scoping notes, and the source URL. Hit Copy and paste straight into your chat.
Here's a working CSS Link Effect from CodeFronts. Use it as-is or adapt to your framework. All classes are scoped under a unique prefix so the code won't collide with your existing styles. MIT licensed.
Demo: CSS Circle / Encircled Outline Hover Effect
Source: https://codefronts.com/motion/css-link-effects/encircled/

The hand-annotated look: hover and a pencil loop draws itself around the link, like a margin note from a good editor. One wobbly inline-SVG path and the stroke-dasharray draw-on trick — plus a double-scribble variant and a soft ellipse highlight that stamps in behind the word. The pathLength attribute makes the dash math trivial.
## HTML
```html
<section class="cle-10" aria-label="Encircled link hover demo">
  <div class="cle-10__stage">
    <p class="cle-10__prose">The judges shortlisted <a href="#a" class="cle-10__loop">fourteen entries<svg viewBox="0 0 160 56" preserveAspectRatio="none" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M8 28 C10 12 62 5 102 7 C140 9 155 17 152 30 C149 45 106 53 60 50 C22 48 5 41 8 26 C9 21 14 17 22 14" pathLength="1"/></svg></a>, argued for an hour about <a href="#b" class="cle-10__scribble">two of them<svg viewBox="0 0 160 56" preserveAspectRatio="none" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M10 30 C12 14 70 6 108 9 C142 12 153 20 150 31 C147 44 100 52 58 49 C24 47 8 40 10 28 C12 13 76 3 116 7 C146 10 157 20 154 32 C150 46 96 55 52 51 C26 49 12 44 12 36" pathLength="1"/></svg></a>, and quietly agreed the winner had been <a href="#c" class="cle-10__stamp">obvious all along<svg viewBox="0 0 160 56" preserveAspectRatio="none" aria-hidden="true"><ellipse cx="80" cy="28" rx="74" ry="24"/></svg></a>.</p>
    <div class="cle-10__legend"><small class="cle-10__cap">A · pencil loop</small><small class="cle-10__cap">B · double scribble</small><small class="cle-10__cap">C · stamped ellipse</small></div>
  </div>
</section>
```
## CSS
```css
.cle-10,
.cle-10 *,
.cle-10 *::before,
.cle-10 *::after {
  box-sizing: border-box;
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
}

.cle-10 {
  width: 100%;
  min-height: 100vh;
  --ink: oklch(0.28 0.03 60);
  --pen: oklch(0.6 0.19 30);
  font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif;
}

.cle-10__stage {
  width: 100%;
  height: 100vh;
  display: grid;
  align-content: center;
  justify-items: center;
  gap: 44px;
  border: 1px solid oklch(0.9 0.02 80);
  background: linear-gradient(175deg,oklch(0.985 0.01 85),oklch(0.955 0.02 80));
  padding: 44px 36px;
  color: var(--ink);
}

.cle-10__prose {
  max-width: 46ch;
  font-size: 22px;
  line-height: 2;
  text-wrap: pretty;
}

.cle-10__legend {
  display: flex;
  gap: 36px;
}

.cle-10__cap {
  font-size: 10.5px;
  font-weight: 600;
  letter-spacing: .14em;
  text-transform: uppercase;
  color: oklch(0.55 0.04 60);
  font-family: 'Segoe UI',system-ui,sans-serif;
}

.cle-10 a {
  position: relative;
  color: var(--ink);
  text-decoration: none;
  font-style: italic;
  font-weight: 600;
  white-space: nowrap;
}

.cle-10 a:focus-visible {
  outline: 2px solid var(--pen);
  outline-offset: 4px;
  border-radius: 3px;
}

.cle-10 svg {
  position: absolute;
  inset: -.4em -.65em;
  width: calc(100% + 1.3em);
  height: calc(100% + .8em);
  overflow: visible;
  pointer-events: none;
}

.cle-10 svg path,
.cle-10 svg ellipse {
  fill: none;
  stroke: var(--pen);
  stroke-width: 2.2;
  stroke-linecap: round;
  vector-effect: non-scaling-stroke;
}

.cle-10__loop path {
  stroke-dasharray: 1 1.5;
  stroke-dashoffset: 1.2;
  transition: stroke-dashoffset .45s ease-in;
}

.cle-10__loop:hover path,
.cle-10__loop:focus-visible path {
  stroke-dashoffset: 0;
  transition: stroke-dashoffset .55s cubic-bezier(.4,0,.3,1);
}

.cle-10__scribble path {
  stroke-dasharray: 1 1.5;
  stroke-dashoffset: 1.2;
  transition: stroke-dashoffset .6s ease-in;
}

.cle-10__scribble:hover path,
.cle-10__scribble:focus-visible path {
  stroke-dashoffset: 0;
  transition: stroke-dashoffset .9s cubic-bezier(.4,0,.3,1);
}

.cle-10__stamp ellipse {
  fill: oklch(0.75 0.15 55 / .3);
  stroke: none;
  transform-box: fill-box;
  transform-origin: center;
  scale: .8;
  opacity: 0;
  transition: scale .3s cubic-bezier(.3,1.5,.4,1),opacity .25s;
}

.cle-10__stamp:hover ellipse,
.cle-10__stamp:focus-visible ellipse {
  scale: 1;
  opacity: 1;
}

@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  .cle-10 * {
    transition-duration: .01s !important;
  }
}
```

How this works

Each link contains an absolutely-positioned inline SVG with a slightly wobbly ellipse path. The magic attribute is pathLength="1": it tells the browser to treat the whole path as 1 unit long, so you never measure real path lengths —

<path d="M8 28 C10 12 …" pathLength="1"/>

path{ stroke-dasharray: 1 1.5; stroke-dashoffset: 1.2; } /* hidden, with slack */
a:hover path{ stroke-dashoffset: 0; transition: stroke-dashoffset .55s ease; }

Offsetting a full-length dash by its own length hides the stroke; transitioning the offset to 0 'draws' it from the pen's start point. Why the 1.5 gap and 1.2 offset instead of an exact 1/1 pairing? Browsers map the dash pattern onto the real path length with floating-point rounding — exact values can leak a round-capped dot of ink at the pen's start. The slack absorbs the rounding. The double scribble (B) is the same trick on a two-revolution path — still pathLength=1, just a longer draw time. C skips strokes entirely: a filled ellipse behind the text scales from 0.8 and fades in like a rubber stamp. vector-effect="non-scaling-stroke" keeps line weight constant even though preserveAspectRatio="none" stretches the SVG to hug each word's box.

Make it yours

  • Pen weight: stroke-width (non-scaling, so it's true pixels).
  • Draw speed: the .55s/.9s dashoffset transitions; un-draw is automatic on mouse-out.
  • Ink color: stroke uses currentColor-adjacent tokens — swap --pen.
  • Re-wobble the loop: nudge the C control points in the d attribute; imperfection is the aesthetic.

Gotchas — read before shipping

  • Mark the SVG aria-hidden="true"; it's decoration, and without it some readers announce 'image' inside the link name.
  • The ellipse is sized to the link's box (inset:-0.35em -0.7em) — very short words look cramped; give one-word links a touch of padding-inline.
  • Draw-on requires a stroked path; fills can't dash. That's why C animates scale/opacity instead.

Browser support

ChromeSafariFirefoxEdge
114+17.5+121+114+

Floor set by oklch(), text-wrap as this demo is written. The core technique itself goes back further — Chrome 111+.

stroke-dasharray/dashoffset transitions are universal SVG; pathLength normalization works in all modern engines (and IE-era quirks are long gone). oklch sets the stated floor.

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