CSS arrows transform ordinary web navigation into intuitive user experiences. When implemented strategically, these UI directional cues enhance both functionality and aesthetics across responsive design elements.
Ever clicked through a website and noticed those subtle triangles guiding your journey? These aren’t just decorative frontend design patterns—they’re powerful visual indicators that improve user engagement and accessibility.
CSS arrows offer web designers remarkable flexibility:
- Create them with pure CSS triangles using border techniques
- Implement them across frontend frameworks like Bootstrap or Tailwind CSS
- Animate them for enhanced user interaction
- Optimize them for mobile-first approaches
The beauty lies in their simplicity. Using CSS3 shape generation with pseudo-elements eliminates the need for extra images, improving page load times while maintaining cross-browser compatibility.
Whether you’re creating dropdown indicators, scroll pointers, or carousel navigation, mastering CSS arrow implementation unlocks new dimensions in UI/UX design. The techniques we’ll explore work seamlessly within modern web development workflows, from basic HTML5 structures to complex arrow components.
CSS Arrows You Can Use
This article is a list of CSS arrows for websites and apps.
It also highlights the arrow animations featured in some of the options. The code for each example is simple and customizable.
CSS Arrow Buttons For Websites
Effective CSS arrows serve as critical UI directional elements that guide users through your website’s interface. When properly implemented with HTML5 and CSS3, these visual cues dramatically improve user experience while maintaining accessibility standards across devices.
Winery slider arrows
This implementation showcases how CSS triangle shapes integrate with slider navigation elements. The smooth transitions demonstrate proper use of CSS animation keyframes within a responsive framework. These directional indicators work especially well in Bootstrap and Material Design interfaces.
CSS Arrow with Hover
Author: Chris Heuberger
Made with: HTML, CSS
This border-right arrow utilizes pseudo-element triangles for a clean, lightweight implementation. The hover effect demonstrates how CSS transforms can create engaging user interactions without JavaScript dependencies.
Key frontend development aspects:
- Implements proper hover states for enhanced interaction
- Uses border techniques instead of images
- Maintains cross-browser compatibility
- Follows WCAG guidelines for accessible navigation
nice responsive arrow
Author: Nir Segev
Made with: HTML, CSS, JS
This CSS shape manipulation example creates directional pointers using the four border properties:
- Border bottom
- Border right
- Border top
- Border left
CSS Arrow LESS Mixin (v.1 – pseudo masking)
Author: Peter Varga
Made with: HTML, CSS
This CSS arrow generator uses CSS preprocessors to create reusable components. Compatible with modern browsers and IE10+, it demonstrates how LESS mixins streamline frontend arrow implementation for pagination elements.
Mouse scroll animation
Author: Yurij Rightblog.ru
Made with: HTML, CSS
A scroll indicator that combines CSS triangles with animated transitions to improve user engagement. This pattern addresses a common UI/UX design challenge by providing visual cues for vertical scrolling.
Arrow Mixin (With Borders)
Author: Jerry Low
Made with: HTML, CSS
This web pointer implementation offers flexibility in positioning, allowing developers to place arrows outside or inside content boxes. The border-based technique creates clean, scalable directional cues.
CSS Arrow Blocks
Author: F. Stephen Kirschbaum
Made with: HTML, CSS
These segment arrows function similar to PowerPoint elements, using display inline-block to position each arrow relative to content. This pattern is particularly effective for step-by-step navigation or process flows.
Arrow animation
Author: Hektor Wallin
Made with: HTML, CSS
A solid transparent arrow-right option with animation effects that help indicate content position. This technique uses CSS transforms and transitions to create smooth directional indicators.
Spinin’ load arrow
Author: Yusuf
Made with: HTML, CSS
This animated down arrow transforms into a loading button when clicked. The technique combines CSS shapes with interactive states to provide user feedback during asynchronous operations.
CSS arrow down bouncing animation
Author: Jens Lettkemann
Made with: HTML, CSS
A simple implementation that uses keyframe animations to create a bouncing effect. This form submission indicator helps draw attention to important content below the fold.
The technique works particularly well within W3C-compliant layouts and maintains consistent behavior across different browsers.
Sliding arrow CSS animations
Author: Alian Morales
Made with: HTML, CSS
Four distinct arrow animations with background color transitions that rotate or point border-right. This collection demonstrates different approaches to directional UI elements.
Animated Arrow
Author: Conor Morrison
Made with: HTML, CSS, JS
The arrow animation activates with a smooth transition effect. A unique option built with the CSS and Javascript frameworks.
Vertical arrow-navigation
Author: Johannes
Made with: HTML, CSS
This CSS arrow icon has a solid-transparent design and was made with pseudo-elements. This is an arrow right option positioned at the top border of the page
Arrow animation
Author: Giorgio Acquati
This arrow animation activates when hovered over. The icon head points towards the top border of the screen.
CTA Arrow Hover Effect
Author: Shawn Looi
Made with: HTML, CSS
This CSS arrow points to the right with an animation effect that activates when hovered over.
animated CSS arrows
Author: Ed Tschoepe
Made with: HTML, CSS
This option features 4 border-left arrows. Each arrow is in a position relative to the other, but disappears and appears in series.
css-arrow
Author: Gaojunie
Made with: HTML, CSS, JS
The border width of this CSS arrow button is set to 4 px, while the arrow size is set to 30 px. This template is best suited for a content box.
It features 4 arrow positions:
- Border left
- Border right
- Border top
- Border bottom
Arrow (CSS transitions)
Author: Ivan Bogachev
Made with: HTML, CSS
A unique CSS arrow animation to call attention to the site content.
3 arrows become 1
Author: John Urbank
Made with: HTML, CSS
With this design 3 arrows become 1. This feature activates on hover.
CSS only animated arrow
Author: Marek Zeman
Made with: HTML, CSS
A margin-right arrow animated with CSS3. The arrow animations of this design fit easily in any part of a website.
Like the design, the code is simple and customizable.
CSS Arrow Buttons For Apps And Websites
Simple pure Arrow Button
Author: Melissa Cabral
Made with: HTML, CSS
This solid transparent CSS arrow animation places a triangle within a circle, creating a versatile directional element.
- Position absolute
- Display inline-block
- Border radius etc.
CSS Line Arrow
Author: Ivan Pik
Made with: HTML, CSS
A minimalist line-arrow that demonstrates how CSS transform properties can create simple yet effective directional cues. This approach reduces page weight compared to icon fonts while maintaining sharp rendering at any resolution.
Pure CSS Arrow
Author: Robin Brons
Made with: HTML, CSS
Perfect for “next” and “previous” buttons in carousels or paginated content. The HTML div class provides six color options that can be customized to match your design system.
CSS Animated Arrow Icon
Author: Matt Braun
Made with: HTML, CSS, JavaScript
A position-relative implementation that changes direction when clicked. This pattern excels in accordion interfaces and expandable sections where users need clear visual feedback about state changes.
Arrow @keyframes Animation
Author: Carlo Flores
Made with: HTML, CSS
This checkbox-based arrow state demonstrates how CSS can create interactive elements without JavaScript.
Arrow with border
Author: Maciekmp
Made with: HTML, CSS
A solid transparent border-bottom option. This CSS arrow is suitable for a text or content box.
Arrows
Author: Christian Brassat
Made with: HTML, CSS
Here are a set of arrow buttons with solid transparent border color. The arrow animation on a box’s side is adjustable to suit the developer’s needs.
Arrow down bouncing
Author: dodozhang21
Made with: HTML, CSS
This bouncing, solid transparent arrow button draws the user’s attention. The animation is perfectly timed, so it bounces smoothly against a black background.
Arrowed CSS
Author: Krar
Made with: HTML, CSS
A great call-to-action arrow design for a submit button. The animation effect is smooth, so users won’t have to wait to see the content.
Arrow Button
Author: HJ
Made with: HTML, CSS
CSS arrows are set against a black background. The arrow icons have an attractive color activated by hovering.
These arrows will get the user’s attention.
3 Arrows animation cta
Author: TOMAZKI
Made with: HTML, CSS
The 3 Arrows Animation style has a font weight of 700 and a font size of 12px. The font family is Arial while the padding is set to 20 px.
Arrow with Shadow
Author: Maciekmp
Made with: HTML, CSS
Use this down arrow to tell users there is more content below.
CodePen Home Fancy arrow-type progress bar
Author: Grygorii Pilnovskyi
Made with: HTML, CSS
These segment arrows resemble a type of progress bar. This CSS arrow template is the most cross-browser variant of its kind made with pseudo-elements.
Double Arrow Button
Author: Manel Roig
Made with: HTML, CSS
Use this arrow animation style to point users to the next page. It can also function as a button that activates by clicking or hovering.
Bounce Scroll Down Arrow
Author: Yannick Bisaillon
Made with: HTML, CSS
A simple bouncing scroll-down CSS arrow icon.
Arrow Top / Bottom
Author: Stefano Fois
Made with: HTML, CSS
There are two arrows at the top of the screen in this template. One points downward and the other upward.
box with arrow
Author: David
Made with: HTML, CSS
This is a solid transparent CSS box with an arrow. Featured data within the code includes:
- Transform rotate 45deg
- Border radius 20px
- Justify content center
Message Box with Arrow (transparent background)
Author: Trevor Nestman
Made with: HTML, CSS
Here is a text box and a border-bottom arrow with a solid transparent background.
SASS arrow mixin
Author: Jack Westbrook
Made with: HTML, CSS
A SASS mixin based on the work of Simon Højberg.
Single SASS @mixin for CSS Arrows
Author: Jon Daiello
Made with: HTML, CSS
This CSS arrow demo has 4 box options. These include content boxes with a right, left, top, and bottom arrow.
LESS Mixins
Author: Jason Davis
Made with: HTML, CSS
Users can adjust the border size, the border-bottom color, and the box shadow. This will result in a different animation style.
Use the text box for questions and comments on a website.
CSS falling arrow and scroll down animation effects
Author: Ramachandra
Made with: HTML, CSS
A CSS falling arrow button with scroll-down animation effects.
An arrow always point to a certain position
Author: Pamcy
Made with: HTML, CSS
This option uses the CSS techniques Calc and Border Radius. Resize the window and the arrow will change its body length, but still points to the coded position.
CSS Arrow Shape
Author: Oyozu
Made with: HTML, CSS
Use this arrow to indicate content direction.
Scroll Down Arrow
Author: Jermaine
Made with: HTML, CSS
An attention-grabbing scroll-down arrow animation for apps and websites.
Arrow down bouncing
Author: Shane Pfaffly
Made with: HTML, CSS
This is a fork of dodozhang21’s CSS arrow Pen called ‘Down Bouncing’.
Arrow #2
Author: Naoya
Made with: HTML, CSS
Here is a CSS arrow demo with 10 arrow icons.
scroll down arrow
Author: Pryanka
Made with: HTML, CSS
This template consists of 10 scroll-down arrow examples.
Gooey Scroll Arrow
Author: Simone
Made with: HTML, CSS
The smooth water droplet animation of this border-radius style gives an authentic look to the demo. Though the animation looks complicated, the code script is easy to customize.
Arrowhead Shapes
Author: Mattias Hagberg
Made with: HTML, CSS
Eight colorful arrow icons.
Arrow down bouncing
Author: Sherin
Made with: HTML, CSS
A bouncing scroll-down arrow animation.
CSS Arrows
Author: Andres Gatjens
Made with: HTML, CSS
A multi-style arrow demo. With display inline-block arrows ranging from margin-right to border-left and more.
Pure CSS Scroll Animation Arrow
Author: Jakub Honisek
Made with: HTML, CSS
A nice scroll-down CSS arrow animation for websites and apps.
Segment Arrows (CSS vs. SVG)
Author: Jase
Made with: HTML, CSS, JS
A demo that compares arrows built with CSS to arrows built with SVG.
SVG Arrow next previous animation
Author: Karim
Made with: HTML, CSS
This CSS arrow activates when hovered. It is useful for:
- Slideshows
- Image gallery pages
- Product pages
Pure CSS Arrow
Author: Olivier Gorzalka
Made with: HTML, CSS
A CSS arrow with a text fallback for older browsers.
css-arrow mixin for sass/scss
Author: Erin Keeffe
Made with: HTML, CSS
A CSS arrow icon built to easily create CSS arrows in SASS/ SCSS using pseudo-element classes.
Scroll down – Call to action animation
Author: Pavel der Schleifer
Made with: HTML, CSS
An animated call-to-action CSS arrow that is great for an app or web designer. It is a scroll-down button that feels natural for both computer and smartphone users.
Arrow Animation
Author: James Muspratt
Made with: HTML, CSS
With this design, the creator has animated the arrows to show the scroll direction. Although the arrow points down, users can edit the code so the arrow points in any direction or angle.
Animated – ‘Back to Top’ arrows
Author: Eric Porter
Made with: HTML, CSS
Your web page will be quick loading with this minimal HTML and SCSS arrow design. The arrow has been set in an animated box.
FAQs on CSS arrows
How do you create a basic CSS arrow?
Creating a CSS triangle requires using the border property creatively. The simplest approach uses a div with zero width/height and carefully set border values:
.arrow-down {
width: 0;
height: 0;
border-left: 20px solid transparent;
border-right: 20px solid transparent;
border-top: 20px solid #333;
}
This technique works across all modern browsers including Chrome, Firefox, and Safari, making it ideal for cross-browser compatibility.
Can CSS arrows be animated?
Yes! CSS arrow animations can create engaging user interfaces through:
- Transition effects (color changes, size adjustments)
- Transform properties (rotation, scaling)
- Keyframe animations (bouncing, pulsing, sliding)
These animations help with user engagement and can guide attention to important UI elements. Framework integration with React, Angular or Vue.js components is straightforward.
What’s the use of the ::before and ::after pseudo-elements in making CSS arrows?
Pseudo-element triangles are key to modern arrow implementation:
- They don’t require additional HTML markup
- They separate presentation from content
- They allow for multiple shapes on a single element
- They follow best practices for frontend development
This approach is recommended by the Mozilla Developer Network and adheres to W3C standards for web components.
How can CSS arrows enhance user navigation?
Directional UI elements improve user experience by:
- Providing visual cues for scrolling (scroll indicators)
- Showing available interactions (dropdown indicators)
- Creating intuitive navigation patterns (next/previous buttons)
- Supporting wayfinding through multi-step processes
Research shows that clear visual direction reduces cognitive load and improves conversion rates in e-commerce applications.
Do CSS arrows require additional images or assets?
No. Pure CSS triangles eliminate the need for images, which:
- Reduces HTTP requests
- Improves page load times
- Maintains sharpness at any screen resolution
- Works better with responsive design approaches
This aligns with Google’s Core Web Vitals metrics for performance optimization and mobile-first design principles.
How do you make CSS arrows responsive?
For responsive arrow designs, use:
- Relative units (em, rem) instead of pixels
- Viewport-based units (vw, vh) for scaling
- Media queries to adjust sizes and positions
- CSS variables for consistent proportions
Bootstrap and Tailwind CSS frameworks include utilities that make implementing responsive arrows easier within their grid systems.
Can CSS arrows adapt to different browsers?
Yes, but with considerations:
- Older browsers (IE9 and below) may need fallbacks
- Vendor prefixes may be necessary for certain CSS3 properties
- Testing across browsers is essential for consistent rendering
- Frontend tooling like Autoprefixer can help manage compatibility
Tools like Chrome DevTools and browser testing platforms help identify and resolve cross-browser issues.
What are some creative uses for CSS arrows in web design?
Beyond basic navigation, UI directional cues can:
- Create accordion toggles that indicate expanded/collapsed states
- Design breadcrumb navigation with separators
- Build custom select dropdowns with status indicators
- Create tooltips that point to specific page elements
- Develop progress indicators for multi-step forms
These implementations improve accessibility when combined with appropriate ARIA attributes.
How do CSS properties like ‘border’ and ‘transform’ factor into arrow creation?
Border techniques form the foundation of CSS arrows:
/* Border-based triangle */
.triangle {
width: 0;
height: 0;
border-style: solid;
border-width: 0 10px 15px 10px;
border-color: transparent transparent #007bff transparent;
}
/* Transform-based arrow */
.arrow {
width: 10px;
height: 10px;
border-right: 2px solid #333;
border-top: 2px solid #333;
transform: rotate(45deg);
}
Transform properties often create more geometric shapes, while border manipulation creates traditional triangles.
What about accessibility when designing with CSS arrows?
Web accessibility considerations include:
- Providing sufficient color contrast (WCAG 2.1 guidelines)
- Using appropriate aria-labels for screen readers
- Ensuring keyboard navigability for interactive arrows
- Avoiding animations that could trigger vestibular disorders
Meeting these criteria helps ensure your interface works for all users regardless of ability, which is a core principle of inclusive design.
Conclusion
CSS arrows stand as powerful UI/UX design elements that significantly improve website navigation and user engagement. Throughout this guide, we’ve explored various implementation techniques using HTML5 and CSS3.
The benefits of mastering CSS triangle creation extend beyond aesthetics:
- Performance improvements – Pure CSS triangles eliminate the need for image assets, reducing HTTP requests and improving page load times
- Responsive design integration – CSS shape manipulation scales seamlessly across devices, supporting mobile-first approaches
- Accessibility enhancements – When implemented with proper ARIA attributes, directional indicators improve navigation for all users
- Framework compatibility – These techniques work consistently across React, Angular, Vue.js, Bootstrap, and Tailwind CSS
Technical Takeaways
Frontend developers can implement these directional UI elements through several methods:
/* Border technique */
.arrow-right {
width: 0;
height: 0;
border-top: 10px solid transparent;
border-bottom: 10px solid transparent;
border-left: 10px solid #3498db;
}
/* Transform technique */
.chevron-right {
width: 8px;
height: 8px;
border-right: 2px solid #333;
border-top: 2px solid #333;
transform: rotate(45deg);
}
These CSS properties create flexible, lightweight solutions that maintain cross-browser compatibility while adhering to W3C standards.
Practical Applications
The web pointer examples demonstrated throughout this article serve real-world purposes:
- Guiding users through multi-step forms
- Indicating expandable/collapsible content
- Highlighting active carousel slides
- Creating intuitive pagination controls
- Developing accordion menu toggles
Each implementation demonstrates how subtle visual cues can dramatically improve interaction patterns without sacrificing performance or accessibility.
Modern frontend tooling and CSS preprocessors like SASS and LESS further streamline arrow implementation through reusable mixins and variables, allowing for consistent design system integration across complex applications.
If you liked this article about CSS arrows, you should check out this article about CSS progress bars.
There are also similar articles discussing CSS select styles, CSS loaders, CSS login forms, and CSS background patterns.
And let’s not forget about articles on CSS image effects, CSS dropdown menus, CSS border animations, and CSS cards.
