Hover to Reveal Details Card

Add an element of interactive discovery to your portfolio or product grid with this "hover to reveal" card.

This is a popular pattern for modern, minimalist layouts. It keeps the initial view clean by showing just an image and a title. When the user hovers over the card, a descriptive overlay smoothly animates into view, offering more context and a call-to-action.

Screenshot showing a card with a details overlay appearing on hover.

Get Source Code Preview

About this Component

The entire effect is powered by CSS transitions and the :hover pseudo-class. On hover, the initially visible title fades out while the detailed information overlay simultaneously fades in and slides up from the bottom, creating a smooth and seamless transition. This is a CSS-only component and requires no JavaScript.

Features

Smooth Fade & Slide Animation: The revealed content animates in with a combination of an opacity fade and an upward slide, creating a polished effect.
CSS-Only Interactivity: The entire hover effect is handled with CSS, making the component lightweight and performant.
Clean & Modern Aesthetic: Ideal for minimalist portfolios or product showcases where you want to keep the initial UI uncluttered.

Code Breakdown

HTML Structure

The entire card is a single a tag. This serves as the main container and makes the whole component clickable. Inside are three main elements: the background img, a div for the initially visible content (.reveal-card-initial-content), and another div for the hidden overlay content (.reveal-card-hover-content).

CSS Styling

The parent a tag (.reveal-card) is set to position: relative to act as a positioning context for its children. The two content blocks are then positioned absolutely within this container.

The animation is created with opacity and transform. The hover content (.reveal-card-hover-content) starts with opacity: 0 and is pushed completely out of view with transform: translateY(100%). When a user hovers over the parent .reveal-card, the CSS targets this hover content to animate it to opacity: 1 and transform: translateY(0), making it slide up into view. The transition property on both elements ensures this change happens smoothly over a fraction of a second.

Code

Here's the complete, self-contained code. Simply update the image and text to create your own interactive gallery.

<style>
/* This is an optional body style to provide a background for the page */
body {
    background-color: #f3f4f6;
    font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, 'Noto Sans', sans-serif;
}

/* === Grid Container for the Cards === */
.cards-grid-container {
    display: grid;
    grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fill, minmax(320px, 1fr));
    gap: 1.5rem;
    padding: 1.5rem;
}

/* === Hover to Reveal Card Styles === */
.reveal-card {
    --reveal-radius: 12px;
    --reveal-height: 380px;
    --reveal-shadow: 0 4px 10px rgba(0,0,0,0.08);

position: relative;
    height: var(--reveal-height);
    border-radius: var(--reveal-radius);
    overflow: hidden;
    box-shadow: var(--reveal-shadow);
    color: #ffffff;
    text-decoration: none;
    display: block;
}

/* Background image */
.reveal-card-image {
    width: 100%;
    height: 100%;
    object-fit: cover;
    transition: transform 0.4s ease;
}
.reveal-card:hover .reveal-card-image {
    transform: scale(1.05);
}

/* Initially visible content */
.reveal-card-initial-content {
    position: absolute;
    bottom: 0;
    left: 0;
    right: 0;
    padding: 1.5rem;
    background: linear-gradient(to top, rgba(0,0,0,0.7) 0%, transparent 100%);
    transition: opacity 0.3s ease;
}
.reveal-card:hover .reveal-card-initial-content {
    opacity: 0;
}

.reveal-card-title {
    font-size: 1.5rem;
    font-weight: 700;
    line-height: 1.2;
    margin: 0;
}

/* Hidden content that appears on hover */
.reveal-card-hover-content {
    position: absolute;
    inset: 0;
    background-color: rgba(17, 24, 39, 0.9);
    
    display: flex;
    flex-direction: column;
    justify-content: center;
    padding: 2rem;
    
    opacity: 0;
    /* Start fully translated down */
    transform: translateY(100%);
    transition: opacity 0.3s ease, transform 0.3s ease;
}
.reveal-card:hover .reveal-card-hover-content {
    opacity: 1;
    /* Animate to final position */
    transform: translateY(0);
}

.reveal-card-description {
    font-size: 1rem;
    line-height: 1.6;
    margin: 0 0 1.25rem;
}

.reveal-card-link {
    color: #111827;
    background-color: #ffffff;
    padding: 0.6rem 1.25rem;
    border-radius: 8px;
    text-decoration: none;
    font-weight: 500;
    align-self: flex-start; /* Aligns button to the left */
}
</style>

<div class="cards-grid-container">
    
    <a href="#" class="reveal-card">
        <img src="https://placehold.co/640x760/a78bfa/ffffff/png?text=UX+Case+Study" alt="Abstract placeholder image for a UX case study." class="reveal-card-image">
        <div class="reveal-card-initial-content">
            <h3 class="reveal-card-title">UX Case Study</h3>
        </div>
        <div class="reveal-card-hover-content">
            <p class="reveal-card-description">A complete overhaul of an e-commerce platform's checkout flow to reduce friction and increase conversion.</p>
            <span class="reveal-card-link">Read More</span>
        </div>
    </a>
    
    
     <a href="#" class="reveal-card">
        <img src="https://placehold.co/640x760/7dd3fc/ffffff/png?text=Branding+Project" alt="Abstract placeholder image for a branding project." class="reveal-card-image">
        <div class="reveal-card-initial-content">
            <h3 class="reveal-card-title">Branding Project</h3>
        </div>
        <div class="reveal-card-hover-content">
            <p class="reveal-card-description">Developing a fresh brand identity for a sustainable coffee startup, including logo, packaging, and digital assets.</p>
            <span class="reveal-card-link">Read More</span>
        </div>
    </a>
</div>

View Output