15 Pure CSS Loading Animations
DNA Helix
Alternating dots oscillate up and down in a staggered wave, mimicking the visual rhythm of a DNA double helix.
DNA Helix the 6th of 15 designs in the 15 Pure CSS Loading Animations collection. The design is implemented in pure CSS — no JavaScript required. Copy the HTML and CSS panels below into your project. Because the demo is pure CSS, it works in any framework or templating engine you happen to use. The design honours prefers-reduced-motion and uses real semantic markup, so it ships accessibility-ready out of the box.
Live preview
The code
<div class="dna"> <div class="dna-dot"></div> <div class="dna-dot"></div> <div class="dna-dot"></div> <div class="dna-dot"></div> <div class="dna-dot"></div> <div class="dna-dot"></div> </div>
.dna {
display: flex;
gap: 6px;
align-items: center;
}
.dna-dot {
width: 12px;
height: 12px;
border-radius: 50%;
animation: dna 1.2s ease-in-out infinite;
}
.dna-dot:nth-child(odd) {
background: #7c6cff;
}
.dna-dot:nth-child(even) {
background: #ff6c8a;
}
.dna-dot:nth-child(1) {
animation-delay: 0s;
}
.dna-dot:nth-child(2) {
animation-delay: 0.1s;
}
.dna-dot:nth-child(3) {
animation-delay: 0.2s;
}
.dna-dot:nth-child(4) {
animation-delay: 0.3s;
}
.dna-dot:nth-child(5) {
animation-delay: 0.4s;
}
.dna-dot:nth-child(6) {
animation-delay: 0.5s;
}
@keyframes dna {
0%,
100% {
transform: translateY(0) scale(1);
}
50% {
transform: translateY(-18px) scale(0.7);
}
}
@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
.dna,
.dna * {
animation: none !important;
}
}