Create A Draggable Card Slider in HTML CSS & JavaScript

Last Updated : 21 May, 2025

In this article, we will demonstrate how to create a draggable card slider using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. We'll use a GeeksforGeeks card slider as an example and implement the functionality to slide cards left and right using arrow buttons. Additionally, we'll incorporate the draggable option, allowing users to move cards horizontally by clicking and dragging them with the mouse. This draggable card slider will provide a user-friendly way to navigate through card content.

Prerequisite:

Preview:

Step By Step Guide to Create a Draggable Card Slider

Step 1: Create a folder and add HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files.
Step 2: Link the CSS and JS files to your HTML file.
Step 3: Build the card layout in the HTML file with images and text.
Step 4: Style the cards and layout using CSS.
Step 5: Write JavaScript to enable left/right card movement using buttons.
Step 6: Add drag functionality for horizontal card sliding.
Step 7: Test and ensure smooth integration across all files.

Example :The below code example implements the HTML, CSS and JavaScript to create A Draggable Card Slider with interactive Sliding operations.

index.html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, 
                                   initial-scale=1.0">
    <title>Document</title>
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="/style.css">
    <script src="/script.js" defer></script>
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/font-awesome/5.15.4/css/all.min.css" />
</head>

<body>

    <div class="wrapper">
        <i id="left" class="fa-solid  fas fa-angle-left"></i>
        <ul class="carousel">
            <li class="card">
                <div class="img"><img src="https://media.geeksforgeeks.org/wp-content/uploads/20240213150115/ppp.png" alt="" draggable="false"> </div>
                <h2 style="color: green; font-weight:bold;">
                      GeeksforGeeks
                  </h2>
                <span>Coding Platform</span>
            </li>
            <li class="card">
                <div class="img"><img src="https://media.geeksforgeeks.org/wp-content/uploads/20240213150115/ppp.png" alt="" draggable="false"> </div>
                <h2 style="color: green; font-weight:bold;">GeeksforGeeks</h2>
                <span>Coding Platform</span>
            </li>
            <li class="card">
                <div class="img"><img src="https://media.geeksforgeeks.org/wp-content/uploads/20240213150115/ppp.png" alt="" draggable="false"> </div>
                <h2 style="color: green; font-weight:bold;">GeeksforGeeks</h2>
                <span>Coding Platform</span>
            </li>
            <li class="card">
                <div class="img"><img src="https://media.geeksforgeeks.org/wp-content/uploads/20240213150115/ppp.png" alt="" draggable="false"> </div>
                <h2 style="color: green; font-weight:bold;">GeeksforGeeks</h2>
                <span>Coding Platform</span>
            </li>
            <li class="card">
                <div class="img"><img src="https://media.geeksforgeeks.org/wp-content/uploads/20240213150115/ppp.png" alt="" draggable="false"> </div>
                <h2 style="color: green; font-weight:bold;">GeeksforGeeks</h2>
                <span>Coding Platform</span>
            </li>
            <li class="card">
                <div class="img"><img src="https://media.geeksforgeeks.org/wp-content/uploads/20240213150115/ppp.png" alt="" draggable="false"> </div>
                <h2 style="color: green; font-weight:bold;">GeeksforGeeks</h2>
                <span>Coding Platform</span>
            </li>
        </ul>
        <i id="right" class="fa-solid fas fa-angle-right"></i>
    </div>

</body>

</html>

style.css

* {
    margin: 0;
    padding: 0;
    box-sizing: border-box;
    font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;
}

body {
    display: flex;
    align-items: center;
    justify-content: center;
    min-height: 100vh;
    padding: 0 35px;
    background: rgb(228, 220, 220);
}

.wrapper {
    max-width: 1100px;
    width: 100%;
    position: relative;

}

.wrapper i {
    height: 50px;
    width: 50px;
    background: rgb(118, 233, 118);
    text-align: center;
    line-height: 50px;
    border-radius: 50%;
    cursor: pointer;
    position: absolute;
    top: 50%;
    font-size: 1.25 rem;
    transform: translateY(-50%);
    box-shadow: 0 3px 6px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.23);

}

.wrapper i:first-child {
    left: -22px;

}

.wrapper i:last-child {
    right: -22px;

}

.wrapper .carousel {
    display: grid;
    grid-auto-flow: column;
    grid-auto-columns: calc((100% / 3) - 12px);
    gap: 16px;
    overflow-x: auto;
    scroll-snap-type: x mandatory;
    scroll-behavior: smooth;
    scrollbar-width: 0;
}

.carousel::-webkit-scrollbar {
    display: none;
}

.carousel :where(.card, .img) {
    display: flex;
    align-items: center;
    justify-content: center;
}

.carousel.dragging {
    scroll-snap-type: none;
    scroll-behavior: auto;
}

.carousel.no-transition {
    scroll-behavior: auto;
}

.carousel.dragging .card {
    cursor: grab;
    user-select: none;
}

.carousel .card {
    scroll-snap-align: start;
    height: 340px;
    list-style: none;
    background: #fff;
    border-radius: 8px;
    display: flex;
    cursor: pointer;
    width: 98%;
    padding-bottom: 15px;
    align-items: center;
    justify-content: center;
    flex-direction: column;
}

.card .img {
    background: green;
    width: 145px;
    height: 145px;
    border-radius: 50%;

}

.card .img img {
    width: 140px;
    height: 140px;
    object-fit: cover;
    border-radius: 50%;
    border: 4px solid #fff;
}

.card h2 {
    font-weight: 500;
    font-size: 1.56rem;
    margin: 30px 0 5px;
}

.card span {
    color: #6a6d78;
    font-size: 1.31rem;

}

@media screen and (max-width: 900px) {
    .wrapper .carousel {
        grid-auto-columns: calc((100% / 2) - 9px);

    }
}

@media screen and (max-width: 600px) {
    .wrapper .carousel {
        grid-auto-columns: 100%;

    }
}

index.js

document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function() {
    const carousel = document.querySelector(".carousel");
    const arrowBtns = document.querySelectorAll(".wrapper i");
    const wrapper = document.querySelector(".wrapper");

    const firstCard = carousel.querySelector(".card");
    const firstCardWidth = firstCard.offsetWidth;

    let isDragging = false,
        startX,
        startScrollLeft,
        timeoutId;

    const dragStart = (e) => { 
        isDragging = true;
        carousel.classList.add("dragging");
        startX = e.pageX;
        startScrollLeft = carousel.scrollLeft;
    };

    const dragging = (e) => {
        if (!isDragging) return;
    
        // Calculate the new scroll position
        const newScrollLeft = startScrollLeft - (e.pageX - startX);
    
        // Check if the new scroll position exceeds 
        // the carousel boundaries
        if (newScrollLeft <= 0 || newScrollLeft >= 
            carousel.scrollWidth - carousel.offsetWidth) {
            
            // If so, prevent further dragging
            isDragging = false;
            return;
        }
    
        // Otherwise, update the scroll position of the carousel
        carousel.scrollLeft = newScrollLeft;
    };

    const dragStop = () => {
        isDragging = false; 
        carousel.classList.remove("dragging");
    };

    const autoPlay = () => {
    
        // Return if window is smaller than 800
        if (window.innerWidth < 800) return; 
        
        // Calculate the total width of all cards
        const totalCardWidth = carousel.scrollWidth;
        
        // Calculate the maximum scroll position
        const maxScrollLeft = totalCardWidth - carousel.offsetWidth;
        
        // If the carousel is at the end, stop autoplay
        if (carousel.scrollLeft >= maxScrollLeft) return;
        
        // Autoplay the carousel after every 2500ms
        timeoutId = setTimeout(() => 
            carousel.scrollLeft += firstCardWidth, 2500);
    };

    carousel.addEventListener("mousedown", dragStart);
    carousel.addEventListener("mousemove", dragging);
    document.addEventListener("mouseup", dragStop);
    wrapper.addEventListener("mouseenter", () => 
        clearTimeout(timeoutId));
    wrapper.addEventListener("mouseleave", autoPlay);

    // Add event listeners for the arrow buttons to 
    // scroll the carousel left and right
    arrowBtns.forEach(btn => {
        btn.addEventListener("click", () => {
            carousel.scrollLeft += btn.id === "left" ? 
                -firstCardWidth : firstCardWidth;
        });
    });
});