CSS Carousel Slider without JavaScript

This code snippet provides a CSS based carousel slider without the need for JavaScript. It allows you to create a visually appealing slideshow of images or content. The carousel supports smooth scrolling and snap alignment, giving a polished and interactive user experience. You can easily navigate between slides using the navigation buttons or by clicking on the corresponding slide indicators.

The keyframe animations control the sliding effect between the slides, and scroll snapping ensures that each slide aligns properly when scrolling. Navigation links allow users to move between slides. The slider is responsive and includes media queries to adapt to different devices and user preferences

Moreover, this code eliminates the dependency on JavaScript for creating a carousel slider, making it a lightweight and efficient solution for showcasing content on your website.

How to Create Carousel Slider without JavaScript

1. Create the HTML structure for the carousel as follows. Within the <li> elements, replace the src attribute of each <img> tag with the URL or file path of your own images.

<section class="carousel" aria-label="Gallery">
  <ol class="carousel__viewport">
    <li id="carousel__slide1"
        tabindex="0"
        class="carousel__slide"> 

    <img src="https://source.unsplash.com/650x450?girl">

      <div class="carousel__snapper">
        <a href="#carousel__slide4"
           class="carousel__prev">Go to last slide</a>
        <a href="#carousel__slide2"
           class="carousel__next">Go to next slide</a>
      </div>
    </li>
    <li id="carousel__slide2"
        tabindex="0"
        class="carousel__slide">

    <img src="https://source.unsplash.com/650x450?sunset">

      <div class="carousel__snapper"></div>
      <a href="#carousel__slide1"
         class="carousel__prev">Go to previous slide</a>
      <a href="#carousel__slide3"
         class="carousel__next">Go to next slide</a>
    </li>
    <li id="carousel__slide3"
        tabindex="0"
        class="carousel__slide">

    <img src="https://source.unsplash.com/650x450?flowers">

      <div class="carousel__snapper"></div>
      <a href="#carousel__slide2"
         class="carousel__prev">Go to previous slide</a>
      <a href="#carousel__slide4"
         class="carousel__next">Go to next slide</a>
    </li>
    <li id="carousel__slide4"
        tabindex="0"
        class="carousel__slide">

    <img src="https://source.unsplash.com/650x450?beech">

      <div class="carousel__snapper"></div>
      <a href="#carousel__slide3"
         class="carousel__prev">Go to previous slide</a>
      <a href="#carousel__slide1"
         class="carousel__next">Go to first slide</a>
    </li>
  </ol>
  <aside class="carousel__navigation">
    <ol class="carousel__navigation-list">
      <li class="carousel__navigation-item">
        <a href="#carousel__slide1"
           class="carousel__navigation-button">Go to slide 1</a>
      </li>
      <li class="carousel__navigation-item">
        <a href="#carousel__slide2"
           class="carousel__navigation-button">Go to slide 2</a>
      </li>
      <li class="carousel__navigation-item">
        <a href="#carousel__slide3"
           class="carousel__navigation-button">Go to slide 3</a>
      </li>
      <li class="carousel__navigation-item">
        <a href="#carousel__slide4"
           class="carousel__navigation-button">Go to slide 4</a>
      </li>
    </ol>
  </aside>
</section>

2. Use the following CSS code to style the image carousel.

@keyframes tonext {
  75% {
    left: 0;
  }
  95% {
    left: 100%;
  }
  98% {
    left: 100%;
  }
  99% {
    left: 0;
  }
}

@keyframes tostart {
  75% {
    left: 0;
  }
  95% {
    left: -300%;
  }
  98% {
    left: -300%;
  }
  99% {
    left: 0;
  }
}

@keyframes snap {
  96% {
    scroll-snap-align: center;
  }
  97% {
    scroll-snap-align: none;
  }
  99% {
    scroll-snap-align: none;
  }
  100% {
    scroll-snap-align: center;
  }
}

.cd__main{
   display: block !important;
}

* {
  box-sizing: border-box;
  scrollbar-color: transparent transparent; /* thumb and track color */
  scrollbar-width: 0px;
}

*::-webkit-scrollbar {
  width: 0;
}

*::-webkit-scrollbar-track {
  background: transparent;
}

*::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb {
  background: transparent;
  border: none;
}

* {
  -ms-overflow-style: none;
}

ol, li {
  list-style: none;
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
}

.carousel {
  position: relative;
  filter: drop-shadow(0 0 10px #0003);
  perspective: 100px;
  max-width: 650px;
  height: 450px;
  margin: 15px auto;
}

.carousel__viewport {
  position: absolute;
  top: 0;
  right: 0;
  bottom: 0;
  left: 0;
  display: flex;
  overflow-x: scroll;
  counter-reset: item;
  scroll-behavior: smooth;
  scroll-snap-type: x mandatory;
}

.carousel__slide {
  position: relative;
  flex: 0 0 100%;
  width: 100%;
  background-color: #f99;

}

.carousel__slide:nth-child(even) {
  background-color: #99f;
}

.carousel__slide:before {
  position: absolute;
  top: 50%;
  left: 50%;
  transform: translate3d(-50%,-40%,70px);
  color: #fff;
  font-size: 2em;
}

.carousel__snapper {
  position: absolute;
  top: 0;
  left: 0;
  width: 100%;
  height: 100%;
  scroll-snap-align: center;
}

@media (hover: hover) {
  .carousel__snapper {
    animation-name: tonext, snap;
    animation-timing-function: ease;
    animation-duration: 4s;
    animation-iteration-count: infinite;
  }

  .carousel__slide:last-child .carousel__snapper {
    animation-name: tostart, snap;
  }
}

@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  .carousel__snapper {
    animation-name: none;
  }
}

.carousel:hover .carousel__snapper,
.carousel:focus-within .carousel__snapper {
  animation-name: none;
}

.carousel__navigation {
  position: absolute;
  right: 0;
  bottom: 0;
  left: 0;
  text-align: center;
}

.carousel__navigation-list,
.carousel__navigation-item {
  display: inline-block;
}

.carousel__navigation-button {
  display: inline-block;
  width: 1.5rem;
  height: 1.5rem;
  background-color: #333;
  background-clip: content-box;
  border: 0.25rem solid transparent;
  border-radius: 50%;
  font-size: 0;
  transition: transform 0.1s;
}

.carousel::before,
.carousel::after,
.carousel__prev,
.carousel__next {
  position: absolute;
  top: 0;
  margin-top: 37.5%;
  width: 4rem;
  height: 4rem;
  transform: translateY(-50%);
  border-radius: 50%;
  font-size: 0;
  outline: 0;
}

.carousel::before,
.carousel__prev {
  left: -1rem;
}

.carousel::after,
.carousel__next {
  right: -1rem;
}

.carousel::before,
.carousel::after {
  content: '';
  z-index: 1;
  background-color: #333;
  background-size: 1.5rem 1.5rem;
  background-repeat: no-repeat;
  background-position: center center;
  color: #fff;
  font-size: 2.5rem;
  line-height: 4rem;
  text-align: center;
  pointer-events: none;
}

.carousel::before {
  background-image: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg viewBox='0 0 100 100' xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%3E%3Cpolygon points='0,50 80,100 80,0' fill='%23fff'/%3E%3C/svg%3E");
}

.carousel::after {
  background-image: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg viewBox='0 0 100 100' xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%3E%3Cpolygon points='100,50 20,100 20,0' fill='%23fff'/%3E%3C/svg%3E");
}

That’s all! hopefully, you have successfully created a CSS carousel slider without JavaScript. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to comment below.