Simple Toggle Button With Pure HTML CSS (Free Download)

Welcome to a tutorial on how to create a simple custom toggle button with pure HTML and CSS. Want to create a custom toggle button without loading an entire 3rd party framework? Yes, it is possible with some clever CSS -Read on for an example!

ⓘ I have included a zip file with all the source code at the start of this tutorial, so you don’t have to copy-paste everything… Or if you just want to dive straight in.

 

 

QUICK SLIDES

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Download & Demo	Toggle Button	Useful Bits
The End

 

 

QUICK NOTES

If you spot a bug, feel free to comment below. I try to answer short questions too, but it is one person versus the entire world… If you need answers urgently, please check out my list of websites to get help with programming.

 

EXAMPLE CODE DOWNLOAD

Click here to download the source code, I have released it under the MIT license, so feel free to build on top of it or use it in your own project.

 

QUICK START & DEMO

<!-- (A) LOAD CSS -->
<link rel="stylesheet" href="toggle.css"/>
 
<!-- (B) RECTANGLE -->
<label class="tog">
  <input type="checkbox"/>
  <i></i>
</label>

<!-- (C) ROUNDED -->
<label class="tog round">
  <input type="checkbox"/>
  <i></i>
</label>
 
<!-- (D) WITH INDICATOR -->
<label class="tog round indicate">
  <input type="checkbox"/>
  <i></i>
</label>

For you guys who just want to use this as a “plugin” without all the details:

1. Load the CSS. Captain Obvious to the rescue.
2. Create a <label class="tog">, sandwich a checkbox and <i> inside.
3. If you want “rounded edges”, define <label class="tog round">.
4. If you want an “on indicator”, define <label class="tog indicate">.

That’s all. To change the colors and dimensions, change the CSS variables in toggle.css itself (section A).

 

 

 

PART 1) THE HTML

<label class="tog">
  <input type="checkbox"/>
  <i></i>
</label>

You have already seen this in the above “quick start”. Here’s a little more on how the mechanics work:

• The basic idea here is to hide <input type="checkbox"/> and use <i> to build our custom toggle button.
• Yes, the checkbox will still work when hidden, when we click on the <label>.

 

PART 2) CSS VARIABLES

/* (A) "SETTINGS" */
:root {
  /* (A1) DIMENSIONS */
  --tog-width: 60px;
  --tog-height: 30px;
  --tog-c-offset: 4px;
  --tog-c-dim: calc(var(--tog-height) - (var(--tog-c-offset) * 2));
 
  /* (A2) COLORS */
  --tog-off: #cacaca;
  --tog-on: #2285f5;
  --tog-c-back: #fff;
 
  /* (A3) SYMBOLS */
  --tog-indicate: "\2758";
}

For easy customizations, the first thing we define in the CSS is a whole bunch of variables.

• --tog-width --tog-height The width and height of the entire toggle button.
• --tog-c-offset How far the “inside button” should sit.
• --tog-c-dim Automatic calculations for the dimensions of the “inside button”.
• --tog-on --tog-off Background color of the toggle button when on/off.
• --tog-c-back Background color of the “inside button”.
• --tog-indicate HTML symbol to use when the toggle switch is “on”.

 

 

PART 3) TOGGLE BUTTON CONTAINER

/* (B) TOGGLE BUTTON CONTAINER */
/* (B1) DIMENSIONS FOR <LABEL> */
.tog {
  position: relative; /* necessary for (b2) position:absolute */
  display: inline-block;
  width: var(--tog-width);
  height: var(--tog-height);
}
.tog, .tog * { box-sizing: border-box; }
 
/* (B2) BACKGROUND USING <I> */
.tog i {
  /* (B2-1) FULLY FILL <LABEL> CONTAINER */
  display: block; position: absolute;
  top: 0; bottom: 0; left: 0; right: 0;

  /* (B2-2) COSMETICS */
  cursor: pointer;
  background: var(--tog-off);
}
 
/* (B3) HIDE DEFAULT CHECKBOX */
.tog input { display: none; }

Remember the basic mechanics from part 1?

• (B1) Set the dimensions of the custom toggle button.
• (B2) Rebuild the “container” of the toggle button using the <i>. Basically, make the <i> fill up the <label> entirely and add our own cosmetics.
• (B3) Hide the default checkbox with display: none.

 

PART 4) INNER TOGGLE BUTTON

/* (C) "INNER TOGGLE BUTTON" USING <I::BEFORE> */
.tog i::before {
  /* (C1) DIMENSIONS & DEFAULT LEFT POSITION */
  content: "";
  position: absolute;
  top: var(--tog-c-offset); left: var(--tog-c-offset);
  width: var(--tog-c-dim); height: var(--tog-c-dim);
 
  /* (C2) COSMETICS */
  background: var(--tog-c-back);
}

Now that we have the “outer shell”, the next part is to build the “inner button” using i::before… This is basically Math, calculating the size of the “inner button” and positioning it.

 

 

PART 5) TOGGLING

/* (D) "ON CHECKED" */
/* (D1) CHANGE BACKGROUND COLOR */
.tog input:checked + i { background: var(--tog-on); }
 
/* (D2) MOVE "INNER TOGGLE BUTTON" TO RIGHT SIDE */
.tog input:checked + i::before {
  left: auto;
  right: var(--tog-c-offset);
}

Now that we have both the “outer container” and “inner button”, all that’s left is to deal with the toggling. For the beginners:

• .tog input:checked + i { background:COLOR } In basic English, when the checkbox is checked, change the background color of the container.
• .tog input:checked + i::before { POSITION } When the checkbox is checked, move the “inner button” to the right side.

 

PART 6) ROUNDED & INDICATORS

/* (E) ROUNDED */
.round i { border-radius: var(--tog-height); }
.round i::before { border-radius: 50%; }
 
/* (F) "ON" INDICATOR */
.indicate input:checked + i::before {
  content: var(--tog-indicate);
  color: var(--tog-on);
  font-style: normal;
  text-decoration: none;
  font-weight: 900;
  text-align: center;
}

Finally, these are the optional “tweaks”.

• To “round the edges”, we simply apply border-radius.
• To add the “on indicator”, we apply content:TEXT to the “inner button”.

 

 

 

HOW TO CHECK IF TOGGLED

• Give the checkbox an id – <input type="checkbox" id="demo"/>
• In Javascript – if (document.getElementById("demo").checked) { CHECKED }.

Yes, the checkbox is hidden, but it still works as usual.

 

COMPATIBILITY CHECKS

• CSS Variables – CanIUse

This custom toggle button will work on all modern browsers. If you have to support the ancient browsers, you will have to remove and “hardcode” all the CSS variables.

 

LINKS & REFERENCES

• Using CSS custom properties (variables) – MDN
• Custom Checkbox & Radio Button With Pure CSS – Code Boxx
• Example on CodePen – Custom Toggle Button

 

YOUTUBE TUTORIAL