Skip to content

Hover Effects Collection

When to Use

Use this guide when you need the right hover/active/focus effect for a specific UI element. This is the cookbook companion to Micro-Interactions, which covers the underlying principles and easing tokens.

Decision

Element Recommended Effect Why
Button (primary) Lift + shadow increase + brightness Feels clickable, provides feedback
Button (secondary/ghost) Background fill on hover Reveals affordance without being heavy
Card (clickable) Lift + shadow + slight scale Clearly interactive
Card (non-clickable) None or very subtle shadow Don't imply clickability
Navigation link Underline reveal or background slide Clear focus indication
Image Zoom in container + overlay Shows interactivity, reveals action
Icon button Background circle reveal Common pattern (MD3, GitHub, etc.)
Table row Background highlight Helps track across columns
Tag/chip Brightness change Lightweight for small elements

Pattern

Button Lift

.btn {
  transition: transform var(--duration-fast) var(--ease-standard),
              box-shadow var(--duration-fast) var(--ease-standard),
              filter var(--duration-fast) var(--ease-standard);
}

.btn:hover {
  transform: translateY(-2px);
  box-shadow: 0 4px 12px oklch(0% 0 0 / 0.15);
  filter: brightness(1.08);
}

.btn:active {
  transform: translateY(0) scale(0.97);
  box-shadow: 0 1px 4px oklch(0% 0 0 / 0.1);
  transition-duration: var(--duration-instant);
}

Ghost Button Background Fill

.btn--ghost {
  background: transparent;
  transition: background var(--duration-fast) var(--ease-standard),
              color var(--duration-fast) var(--ease-standard);
}

.btn--ghost:hover {
  background: color-mix(in oklch, var(--color-primary) 10%, transparent);
}

.btn--ghost:active {
  background: color-mix(in oklch, var(--color-primary) 16%, transparent);
}

Card Hover (Lift + Border + Image Zoom)

.card {
  transition: transform var(--duration-medium1) var(--ease-standard),
              box-shadow var(--duration-medium1) var(--ease-standard),
              border-color var(--duration-fast) var(--ease-standard);
  border: 1px solid oklch(90% 0 0);
}

.card:hover {
  transform: translateY(-4px);
  box-shadow: 0 8px 24px oklch(0% 0 0 / 0.12);
  border-color: oklch(80% 0 0);
}

.card__image { overflow: hidden; }

.card__image img {
  transition: transform var(--duration-medium2) var(--ease-standard);
}

.card:hover .card__image img { transform: scale(1.05); }

.link {
  text-decoration: none;
  background-image: linear-gradient(currentColor, currentColor);
  background-size: 0% 2px;
  background-position: left bottom;
  background-repeat: no-repeat;
  transition: background-size var(--duration-fast) var(--ease-standard);
  padding-bottom: 2px;
}

.link:hover { background-size: 100% 2px; }

/* Slide from center variant */
.link--center { background-position: center bottom; }

Image Overlay on Hover

.image-card { position: relative; overflow: hidden; }

.image-card__overlay {
  position: absolute;
  inset: 0;
  background: oklch(0% 0 0 / 0);
  display: grid;
  place-content: center;
  transition: background var(--duration-medium1) var(--ease-standard);
}

.image-card:hover .image-card__overlay { background: oklch(0% 0 0 / 0.5); }

.image-card__overlay-text {
  color: white;
  opacity: 0;
  transform: translateY(8px);
  transition: opacity var(--duration-fast) var(--ease-decel),
              transform var(--duration-fast) var(--ease-decel);
}

.image-card:hover .image-card__overlay-text {
  opacity: 1;
  transform: translateY(0);
}

Icon Button Circle Reveal

.icon-btn {
  width: 40px;
  height: 40px;
  border-radius: 50%;
  display: grid;
  place-content: center;
  background: transparent;
  transition: background var(--duration-fast) var(--ease-standard);
}

.icon-btn:hover { background: color-mix(in oklch, currentColor 8%, transparent); }
.icon-btn:active { background: color-mix(in oklch, currentColor 16%, transparent); }

Table Row Highlight

.table tbody tr {
  transition: background var(--duration-instant) var(--ease-standard);
}

.table tbody tr:hover { background: oklch(97% 0 0); }

@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  .table tbody tr:hover { background: oklch(20% 0 0); }
}

Performance Rules

  1. Safe to animate on hover: transform, opacity, filter, box-shadow, background-color, border-color, clip-path
  2. Avoid on hover: width, height, top, left, margin, padding — causes layout reflow
  3. Duration: hover-in 150–200ms, hover-out 100–150ms (faster out feels snappier)
  4. Active press: always ≤75ms with scale(0.97) feedback

Common Mistakes

  • Wrong: Adding hover effects to decorative elements → Right: Only add to interactive elements — hover implies clickability
  • Wrong: Hover effect with no focus-visible equivalent → Right: Every hover effect needs a keyboard :focus-visible match
  • Wrong: translateY(-8px) on card hover → Right: Keep to 2-4px maximum; more feels cartoonish
  • Wrong: Same transition duration for enter and exit → Right: Hover-out should be 25-50% shorter than hover-in
  • Wrong: Movement effects with no reduced-motion fallback → Right: Replace movement with opacity/color changes under prefers-reduced-motion

See Also