Skeleton

Skeleton skeleton link

Full documentation: https://webawesome.com/docs/components/skeleton

<wa-skeleton> Stable Since 2.0

Skeletons show placeholder shapes where content will appear once it finishes loading, reducing perceived wait time and preventing layout shift.

These are simple containers for scaffolding layouts that mimic what users will see when content has finished loading. This prevents large areas of empty space during asynchronous operations.

Skeletons try not to be opinionated, as there are endless possibilities for designing layouts. Therefore, you’ll likely use more than one skeleton to create the effect you want. If you find yourself using them frequently, consider creating a template that renders them with the desired arrangement and styles.

<div class="skeleton-overview">
  <header>
    <wa-skeleton effect="sheen"></wa-skeleton>
    <wa-skeleton effect="sheen"></wa-skeleton>
  </header>

  <wa-skeleton effect="sheen"></wa-skeleton>
  <wa-skeleton effect="sheen"></wa-skeleton>
  <wa-skeleton effect="sheen"></wa-skeleton>
</div>

<style>
  .skeleton-overview header {
    display: flex;
    align-items: center;
    margin-bottom: 1rem;
  }

  .skeleton-overview header wa-skeleton:last-child {
    flex: 0 0 auto;
    width: 30%;
  }

  .skeleton-overview wa-skeleton {
    margin-bottom: 1rem;
  }

  .skeleton-overview wa-skeleton:nth-child(1) {
    float: left;
    width: 3rem;
    height: 3rem;
    margin-right: 1rem;
    vertical-align: middle;
  }

  .skeleton-overview wa-skeleton:nth-child(3) {
    width: 95%;
  }

  .skeleton-overview wa-skeleton:nth-child(4) {
    width: 80%;
  }
</style>

Examples examples link

Effects effects link

There are two built-in effects, sheen and pulse. Effects are intentionally subtle, as they can be distracting when used extensively. The default is none, which displays a static, non-animated skeleton.

<div class="skeleton-effects">
  <wa-skeleton effect="none"></wa-skeleton>
  None

  <wa-skeleton effect="sheen"></wa-skeleton>
  Sheen

  <wa-skeleton effect="pulse"></wa-skeleton>
  Pulse
</div>

<style>
  .skeleton-effects {
    font-size: var(--wa-font-size-s);
  }

  .skeleton-effects wa-skeleton:not(:first-child) {
    margin-top: 1rem;
  }
</style>

Paragraphs paragraphs link

Use multiple skeletons and some clever styles to simulate paragraphs.

<div class="skeleton-paragraphs">
  <wa-skeleton></wa-skeleton>
  <wa-skeleton></wa-skeleton>
  <wa-skeleton></wa-skeleton>
  <wa-skeleton></wa-skeleton>
  <wa-skeleton></wa-skeleton>
</div>

<style>
  .skeleton-paragraphs wa-skeleton {
    margin-bottom: 1rem;
  }

  .skeleton-paragraphs wa-skeleton:nth-child(2) {
    width: 95%;
  }

  .skeleton-paragraphs wa-skeleton:nth-child(4) {
    width: 90%;
  }

  .skeleton-paragraphs wa-skeleton:last-child {
    width: 50%;
  }
</style>

Avatars avatars link

Set a matching width and height to make a circle, square, or rounded avatar skeleton.

<div class="skeleton-avatars">
  <wa-skeleton></wa-skeleton>
  <wa-skeleton></wa-skeleton>
  <wa-skeleton></wa-skeleton>
</div>

<style>
  .skeleton-avatars wa-skeleton {
    display: inline-flex;
    width: 3rem;
    height: 3rem;
    margin-right: 0.5rem;
  }

  .skeleton-avatars wa-skeleton:nth-child(1)::part(indicator) {
    border-radius: 0;
  }

  .skeleton-avatars wa-skeleton:nth-child(2)::part(indicator) {
    border-radius: var(--wa-border-radius-m);
  }
</style>

Custom Shapes custom shapes link

Set a border-radius on the indicator part to make circles, squares, and rectangles. For more complex shapes, you can apply clip-path to the indicator part. Try Clippy if you need help generating custom shapes.

<div class="skeleton-shapes">
  <wa-skeleton class="square"></wa-skeleton>
  <wa-skeleton class="circle"></wa-skeleton>
  <wa-skeleton class="triangle"></wa-skeleton>
  <wa-skeleton class="cross"></wa-skeleton>
  <wa-skeleton class="comment"></wa-skeleton>
</div>

<style>
  .skeleton-shapes wa-skeleton {
    display: inline-flex;
    width: 50px;
    height: 50px;
  }

  .skeleton-shapes .square::part(indicator) {
    border-radius: var(--wa-border-radius-m);
  }

  .skeleton-shapes .circle::part(indicator) {
    border-radius: var(--wa-border-radius-circle);
  }

  .skeleton-shapes .triangle::part(indicator) {
    border-radius: 0;
    clip-path: polygon(50% 0, 0 100%, 100% 100%);
  }

  .skeleton-shapes .cross::part(indicator) {
    border-radius: 0;
    clip-path: polygon(
      20% 0%,
      0% 20%,
      30% 50%,
      0% 80%,
      20% 100%,
      50% 70%,
      80% 100%,
      100% 80%,
      70% 50%,
      100% 20%,
      80% 0%,
      50% 30%
    );
  }

  .skeleton-shapes .comment::part(indicator) {
    border-radius: 0;
    clip-path: polygon(0% 0%, 100% 0%, 100% 75%, 75% 75%, 75% 100%, 50% 75%, 0% 75%);
  }

  .skeleton-shapes wa-skeleton:not(:last-child) {
    margin-right: 0.5rem;
  }
</style>

Custom Colors custom colors link

Set the --color and --sheen-color custom properties to adjust the skeleton’s color.

<wa-skeleton effect="sheen" style="--color: tomato; --sheen-color: #ffb094;"></wa-skeleton>

Importing importing link

If you’re using the autoloader or a hosted project, components load on demand — no manual import needed. To cherry-pick a component manually, use one of the following snippets.

**CDN**

Import this component directly from the CDN:

import 'https://ka-f.webawesome.com/webawesome@3.7.0/components/skeleton/skeleton.js';

**npm**

After installing Web Awesome via npm, import this component:

import '@awesome.me/webawesome/dist/components/skeleton/skeleton.js';

**Self-Hosted**

If you’re self-hosting Web Awesome, import this component from your server:

import './webawesome/dist/components/skeleton/skeleton.js';

**React**

To import this component for React 18 or below, use the following code:

import WaSkeleton from '@awesome.me/webawesome/dist/react/skeleton/index.js';

Attributes & Properties attributes properties link

Learn more about attributes and properties.

Name	Description	Reflects
`css`	`CSSResultGroup \\| undefined` One or more CSSResultGroup to include in the component’s shadow root. Host styles are automatically prepended. Type Default styles
`effect` effect	`‘pulse’ \\| ‘sheen’ \\| ‘none’` Determines which effect the skeleton will use. Type Default ‘none’

CSS custom properties css custom properties link

Learn more about CSS custom properties.

Name	Description
`–color`	The color of the skeleton.
`–sheen-color`	The sheen color when the skeleton is in its loading state.

CSS parts css parts link

Learn more about CSS parts.

Name	Description	CSS selector
`indicator`	The skeleton’s indicator which is responsible for its color and animation.	`::part(indicator)`

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