Skeleton Loading

Skeleton Principles

1. Match the actual content layout. A skeleton should preview the structure of what's loading.
2. Animate subtly. Pulse or shimmer animation at 1-2 second intervals.
3. Show within 300ms. If content loads faster than 300ms, skip the skeleton entirely.
4. Progressive loading. Show content as it arrives. Don't wait for everything.

Skeleton Patterns

Text Content

[████████████████████████] ← title (wider)
[██████████████] ← subtitle (narrower)
[████████████████████████████████████] ← body line 1
[██████████████████████████████] ← body line 2
[████████████████████] ← body line 3 (shorter)

Cards

• Rounded rectangle for image area.
• 2-3 lines of varying width for text.
• Same dimensions as the loaded card.

Tables

• Rows with cells matching column widths.
• 5-8 skeleton rows.

Anti-Patterns

• Generic spinner for content-heavy pages.
• Skeleton that doesn't match the loaded layout (content shift).
• Skeleton showing for less than 200ms (flash).
• Loading the skeleton and content simultaneously (defeats the purpose).