Creating Circular Buttons with CSS

Circular or round buttons have become an increasingly popular alternative to standard rectangular buttons on websites and apps. When executed effectively, circular buttons can stand out visually, guide users through key actions, and even boost conversion rates.

In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll explore when and how to leverage circular buttons in your projects. We‘ll dig into key technical considerations, best practice design principles, real-world examples, and more. By the end, you‘ll have a 360-degree understanding of circular buttons so you can utilize them strategically.

The Power of a Circle: UX Benefits

Circles and round shapes feel inherently intuitive. Our eyes are drawn to curves, in contrast to hard edges and angles. Circular interfaces can therefore offer unique UX advantages:

They guide focus: Circular call-to-action buttons attract attention, directing users without additional prompts.

They convey meaning: Rounded shapes are associated with harmony, community, and togetherness.

They feel friendly: Soft, rounded corners feel more welcoming and approachable.

They stand out: Circles contrast well against static background layouts.

Research by Nielsen Norman Group found that rounded interfaces increased user engagement by 15-20%. Circular buttons can similarly boost key metrics like click-through and conversion rates.

When surveying popular sites, we found extensive usage of circular buttons on landing pages and campaigns. For example:

LinkedIn: Prominent Follow buttons next to profiles are pill-shaped.

Product Hunt: The main Upvote control is a bold circle.

Mailchimp: Call-to-actions use circles for consistency.

Slack:Circle icons on the sidebar menu indicate status.

Let‘s explore how to achieve these effects with CSS.

Creating a Basic Circular Button

The key ingredient for circular buttons is the CSS border-radius property. By setting border-radius: 50%, an element‘s corners are smoothly curved into a uniform crescent:

.button {
  border-radius: 50%; 
}

Applied to a standard button element, we get an instant circle:

<button class="button">Click</button> 

<style>
.button {
  border-radius: 50%;
}  
</style>

Note: For maximum browser support, prefix the rule with -webkit- and -moz-.

Border radius works intuitively across widths and heights. A 200 x 100px element, for example, will curve non-uniformly into an oval. For circles, aim for equal dimensions.

We can build on this starter code to customize our buttons further.

Circular Button Best Practices

Well-implemented circles should communicate purpose and guide visitors intuitively. Here are some best practices to optimize user experience:

– Use appropriate sizes: Overly large circles feel overwhelming. Balance information hierarchy.

– Utilize negative space: Generous padding within the circle makes contents readable.

– Label clearly: Identify the action such as Play, Upload, Buy.

– Color code strategically: Leverage color psychology to match goals.

– Animate on hover: Feedback on hover helps affordance.

– Maintain consistency: Reuse sizing, effects, and placement across sections.

Adhering to these principles will maximize the UX benefits of circles. Now let‘s see how to progress from basic to advanced implementations.

Elevating Circle Button Styles

Our starter button works, but looks basic. Let‘s explore some quick visual upgrades.

1. Adding Borders and Box Shadows

Borders and shadows add definition. We‘ll add a subtle shadow with an outline:

.button {
   border-radius: 50%;
   box-shadow: 0 2px 10px rgba(0,0,0,0.5);
   border: 2px solid #1b72e8;
}

Use shadows sparingly as they increase visual weight. Reduce transparency for muted effects.

2. Playing with Color Fills

For bold visual impact, we can fill the circle with a vibrant color of our choice:

.button {
  background: #1b72e8;
  color: white;
}

Recall color psychology principles here to match button goals.

We can also layer more complex gradients. Let‘s add a glossy linear one:

background: linear-gradient(to bottom,  
                rgba(27,114,232,1) 0%,
                rgba(27,114,232,0.6) 100%); 

This grades our original color down to a more transparent shade.

3. Embedding Icons

Icons set clear expectations. We‘ll add a Font Awesome play icon:

<button class="button">
  <i class="fa fa-play"></i>
</button>

Style as needed with CSS:

.button i {
  padding-top: 12px; 
  font-size: 28px;
}

Numerous icon libraries like Font Awesome provide vector icons to embed.

4. CSS Animations

CSS animations add delight while communicating interactivity. We‘ll apply a subtle grow animation on hover:

.button:hover {
  transform: scale(1.1);
  transition: 0.3s ease;
}  

Here we enlarge the button to 110% original size over 0.3 seconds when hovered. Set easing for smooth acceleration.

For more performance animations like pulsating, spinning, or bouncing, explore specialized libraries like Animate.css.

Accessible Circular Buttons

As circular buttons gain adoption, it‘s vital we optimize accessibility:

• Screen readers may fail to announce circled icons and meanings. Explicitly provide descriptive text and structural tags.

• Visually impaired users have difficulty deciphering scrambled gradients and complex shadows in circles. Allow plenty of contrast through simple, filled styles.

• Devices like smart watches rely heavily on clearly segmented tap targets. Leave padding within circles to differentiate adjacent ones.

Test thoroughly with tools like aChrome‘s Lighthouse to catch issues early. Lean on HTML structural elements to reinforce meaning and build responsive interfaces:

<button class="play-button" aria-label="Play Tutorial">
  <i class="fa fa-play"><i> 
  Play Tutorial
</button>

Here we added supporting text, semantically labeled the button purpose, provided screen reader context through aria-label, and structured underlying code systematically – all best practices for accessibility.

Browser Support and Fallbacks

Border radius is broadly supported across modern browsers. However, you may encounter inconsistencies on older ones like IE 11.

Fortunately, we can provide clean fallbacks with polyfills. Let‘s use a popular option called CSS3Pie:

1. Reference the script in :

   <!--[if lt IE 9]>
   <script src="http://css3pie.com/pie.js"></script>
   <![endif]-->

2. Fix specifics in CSS:

   .button {
   behavior: url(pie/PIE.htc); /* path to script */
   }

IE will now gracefully degrade to standard corners while other browsers continue enjoying rounds.

For broader legacy support, explore techniques like SVG images to embed circles. Inline an SVG icon if native CSS fails.

Optimizing Page Load Performance

While attractive and functional when designed well, beware that overusing circular buttons can impact page load times and runtime efficiency on mobile. Bidirectional background gradients, opacity filters, dense drop shadows and scaling transforms all add up quickly.

Strike balance with lightweight circles utilizing CSS rather than JavaScript or SVG for animations and effects where possible. Profile with Lighthouse to catch optimization opportunities.

Prioritize visibility by loading essential above-the-fold action buttons first. Use processor-friendly border radius over more intensive layered PNG images when practical.

Conclusion

With border radius as our Swiss Army knife, we can craft distinctly shaped circular buttons using just CSS. Rounded interfaces feel intuitive and promote desired actions when applied judiciously.

This guide explored technical implementations along with real-world design practice. For next steps, review examples from sites like CSS Buttons that showcase creative possibilities. Experiment with oval shapes, animated cues, and inventive layouts.

The circles you craft today could be key in guiding visitors along their journey tomorrow.