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Skeleton screen 0:34

A 34-second explainer of Skeleton screen, narrated over the same demo you can try yourself.

The Skeleton screen explainer. Prefer to do it yourself? Try the interactive demo.

Try the interactive Skeleton screen demo

What this video covers

A skeleton screen is a placeholder that shows the shape of content while it loads - grey blocks where text and images will appear - instead of a spinner or blank. It makes the same wait feel shorter by showing progress toward something specific.

The spinner and the skeleton took exactly the same time, but the skeleton felt quicker - because it showed the page taking shape rather than a wheel going nowhere. That gap between actual and perceived wait, bought purely with what you show during the load, is the whole point.

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