Smooth scroll to top of page with CSS/HTML only?

Question

I am not permitted to add in Jquery/Javascript to this site, so I was looking for any way to do a \"Back to Top\" button, and have it transition to top with CSS/HTML only....don

Answer 1

In order to scroll to top of the page through CSS, you would have to add some kind of trigger to change CSS. Which is, AFAIK, only possible through html inline JavaScript triggers, or EventListeners in javascript.

You can, however, jump to a point on the page through the setting of anchors (href=#the_id_of_an_element), but this is not smooth, but instead instantaneous.

Now, I did manage to get some sort of smooth scrolling towards the top of the page, or rather the beginning of an element, but by using CSS only, this has some uneasy side-effects. Though, I'll share the code and see if it helps anyone on a start, or with any other issue.

/*
	KNOWN ISSUES
	
	- requires constant user input.
	Either through hover or buttonpress
		-> If an element would be triggered, they cannot be untriggered. CSS is not made for this.
	
	- moves the page
	Well, what did you expect? CSS visualises the page. You can only move 
	the page through the CSS by editing visual content and making the page smaller,
	basically forcing the client to move the user.
		-> this also means that elements below the element are shown in the view
		-> it is VERY visible, especially if you look at the scrollbar
		
	- has a delay depending on where the user is at
	The animation has to reach the position of the user, basically.
		
	At least it works on IE?
	But honestly, just use javascript to scroll to. It's literally an one-liner
*/

/* Transition types. Fairly universal available in browsers*/
.smooth-transition {
	-webkit-transition: all 0.5s ease;
    -moz-transition: all 0.5s ease;
    -ms-transition: all 0.5s ease;
    -o-transition: all 0.5s ease;
    transition: all 0.5s ease;
}

.slow-transition {
    -webkit-transition: all 1.5s ease;
    -moz-transition: all 1.5s ease;
    -ms-transition: all 1.5s ease;
    -o-transition: all 1.5s ease;
    transition: all 1.5s ease;
}
/* End of transition types */

.bottom {
	position: fixed;
	/*Position wherever, just know that you can set sizes using these*/
	bottom: 0px;
	height: 40px;
	left: 0px;
	right: 0px;
	
	z-index: 10;
}

/*
	Settings for the transitions
	
	On active (which is click), the animation makes sure the page is made smaller, so 
	the top is shown again. This also causes the user to be moved upwards
	
	After that animation, the page is restored in size.
*/
#move:active ~ .mover,
#move:focus:hover ~ .mover {
	height: 0px;
}

#move:after {
	content: "Back to top";
}

#move:focus:after {
	content: "Hover to go up";
}

/* 
	The element that holds all the data
	It's required for this element to also be at the end of the page,
	otherwise the user will be moved upwards, but also with the end 
	of the page in sight. (This can be tweaked with the min-height 
	settings though. Height - height of whatever is beneath it, but
	the user will still see the other elements)
*/
.mover  {
	/*
		Min-height here is the amount of spacing between the element and 
		the top of the HTML page. In most cases, this is 100%, but if the
		element is contained, then this min-height trick might not work
		
		Just make sure that the min-height amount is the same as the visual 
		page size, and NOT its contents or its parent.
	*/
	min-height: 100%;
	/*
		Set to your div height. Unfortunately, animations from auto to
		0px are not supported (yet?), and there's no real good trick 
		as a placeholder for this one. You could mess around with 
		max-height, but remember that this can cause a delay in animation
		and creates differences in speed that are hard to tweak or measure.
	*/
	height: 1400px;
	
	/*
		In order to move the page, you'll have to suppress the content 
		that will be shown outside of the element. Ergo, hide the overflow.
	*/
	overflow: hidden;
}





/* To make the example element look pretty*/
#move:hover {
	color: whitesmoke;
	background-color: rgb(30,30,30);
}

#move {
	background-color: rgb(50,50,50);
	border-radius: 2px;
	text-align: center;
	line-height: 40px;
	color: lightslategrey;
	text-decoration: none;
}
/* 
	End of pretty CSS
*/

Welcome at the top


	
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Make sure to read the comments I added in the CSS so you understand what the issues are and what everything in the file means. Though, I'm fairly sure you will nearly instantly notice one of the nasty side-effects.