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Pure CSSMIT licensed

Ripple Pulse Ring Spinner

Four concentric rings expand outward from a solid azure dot in sequence, each fading from full opacity to invisible as it reaches its maximum radius — like rings in water.

Published

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The code

<div class="sp-12">
  <div class="sp-12__ripple">
    <div class="sp-12__ring"></div>
    <div class="sp-12__ring"></div>
    <div class="sp-12__ring"></div>
    <div class="sp-12__ring"></div>
    <div class="sp-12__dot"></div>
  </div>
</div>
.sp-12,
.sp-12 *,
.sp-12 *::before,
.sp-12 *::after {
  box-sizing: border-box;
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
}

.sp-12 {
  --bg: #060810;
  --c: #29b6f6;
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
  justify-content: center;
  min-height: 100vh;
  background: var(--bg);
}

.sp-12__ripple {
  position: relative;
  width: 80px;
  height: 80px;
}

.sp-12__ring {
  position: absolute;
  border-radius: 50%;
  border: 2px solid var(--c);
  opacity: 0;
  animation: sp-12-ripple 2s ease-out infinite;
}

.sp-12__ring:nth-child(1) {
  inset: 0;
  animation-delay: 0s;
}

.sp-12__ring:nth-child(2) {
  inset: 0;
  animation-delay: 0.5s;
}

.sp-12__ring:nth-child(3) {
  inset: 0;
  animation-delay: 1s;
}

.sp-12__ring:nth-child(4) {
  inset: 0;
  animation-delay: 1.5s;
}

.sp-12__dot {
  position: absolute;
  inset: 30px;
  border-radius: 50%;
  background: var(--c);
  box-shadow: 0 0 12px var(--c),0 0 24px rgba(41,182,246,0.4);
}

@keyframes sp-12-ripple {
  0% {
    transform: scale(0.1);
    opacity: 1;
  }

  100% {
    transform: scale(1.8);
    opacity: 0;
  }
}

@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  .sp-12__ring {
    animation: none;
    opacity: 0.3;
    transform: scale(1);
  }
}
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 Spinner 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: Ripple Pulse Ring Spinner
Source: https://codefronts.com/motion/css-spinner-designs/ripple-pulse-ring-spinner/

Four concentric rings expand outward from a solid azure dot in sequence, each fading from full opacity to invisible as it reaches its maximum radius — like rings in water.
## HTML
```html
<div class="sp-12">
  <div class="sp-12__ripple">
    <div class="sp-12__ring"></div>
    <div class="sp-12__ring"></div>
    <div class="sp-12__ring"></div>
    <div class="sp-12__ring"></div>
    <div class="sp-12__dot"></div>
  </div>
</div>
```
## CSS
```css
.sp-12,
.sp-12 *,
.sp-12 *::before,
.sp-12 *::after {
  box-sizing: border-box;
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
}

.sp-12 {
  --bg: #060810;
  --c: #29b6f6;
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
  justify-content: center;
  min-height: 100vh;
  background: var(--bg);
}

.sp-12__ripple {
  position: relative;
  width: 80px;
  height: 80px;
}

.sp-12__ring {
  position: absolute;
  border-radius: 50%;
  border: 2px solid var(--c);
  opacity: 0;
  animation: sp-12-ripple 2s ease-out infinite;
}

.sp-12__ring:nth-child(1) {
  inset: 0;
  animation-delay: 0s;
}

.sp-12__ring:nth-child(2) {
  inset: 0;
  animation-delay: 0.5s;
}

.sp-12__ring:nth-child(3) {
  inset: 0;
  animation-delay: 1s;
}

.sp-12__ring:nth-child(4) {
  inset: 0;
  animation-delay: 1.5s;
}

.sp-12__dot {
  position: absolute;
  inset: 30px;
  border-radius: 50%;
  background: var(--c);
  box-shadow: 0 0 12px var(--c),0 0 24px rgba(41,182,246,0.4);
}

@keyframes sp-12-ripple {
  0% {
    transform: scale(0.1);
    opacity: 1;
  }

  100% {
    transform: scale(1.8);
    opacity: 0;
  }
}

@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  .sp-12__ring {
    animation: none;
    opacity: 0.3;
    transform: scale(1);
  }
}
```

How this works

Four rings are stacked absolutely at inset:0 (matching the wrapper size) with only a border for visual weight. The sp-12-ripple keyframe drives each ring from scale(0.1) to scale(1.8) while simultaneously fading opacity from 1 to 0, creating the illusion that each ring expands outward from the centre dot.

Starting at scale(0.1) rather than 0 avoids the sharp pop at the centre. The four rings are offset by 0.5s each (0s, 0.5s, 1s, 1.5s) so at any point in the 2s cycle there is always a ring expanding at each quartile, maintaining a continuous ripple appearance.

Make it yours

  • Edit --c to change both the dot and ring colour simultaneously.
  • Increase ring count to 6 by adding two more .sp-12__ring elements and extending delays to 2.0s and 2.5s (with a matching animation-duration:3s).
  • Change scale(1.8) to scale(2.5) for larger ripple spread — useful when the spinner is placed over larger UI areas.
  • Replace the border ring with a filled circle using background:var(--c) and reducing opacity start to 0.3 for a filled-disc ripple like a sonar ping.
  • Add animation-timing-function:cubic-bezier(0.2,0.6,0.4,1) for a slow-start fast-expand ripple that mimics water more accurately.

Gotchas — read before shipping

  • The outer scale reaches 1.8× the wrapper size — ensure the parent container has overflow:hidden if you need to contain the rings within a specific bounding box.
  • Four simultaneous transform:scale + opacity animations can create four separate compositor layers — profile on mobile if embedding multiple ripple spinners on a single page.
  • At very fast durations (under 0.8s), the four rings may visually merge and lose the distinct ripple rhythm — keep at 1.5s minimum for clarity.

Browser support

ChromeSafariFirefoxEdge
60+12+60+60+

Compositor-friendly transform/opacity only; broad browser support.

Techniques used in this demo

@keyframesMDN ↗

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