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How to Show a Loading GIF During an AJAX Call

Use jQuery’s beforeSend and complete callbacks to show a loading GIF during one request, or ajaxStart and ajaxStop for page-wide activity.
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Show the loader when the request starts, then hide it in a completion handler that runs whether the request succeeds or fails. For one jQuery request, use beforeSend and complete; for a page-wide loader, use jQuery’s aggregate ajaxStart and ajaxStop events.

Show a loader for one jQuery request

Place the loader beside the part of the page that is waiting, and hide it initially. In the request’s beforeSend callback, show it. Use complete to hide it after either the success or error callback:

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$.ajax({
  url: "/api/results",
  beforeSend: function () {
    $("#loader").show();
  },
  success: function (data) {
    $("#results").html(data);
  },
  error: function () {
    $("#results").text("Could not load results. Try again.");
  },
  complete: function () {
    $("#loader").hide();
  }
});

jQuery documents that complete runs regardless of whether the request succeeds, and after the success and error callbacks. Hiding the loader only in success leaves it visible if the request fails. See the jQuery Ajax Events documentation and jQuery.ajax() reference.

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Choose local or page-wide loading behavior

Approach Use it when Concurrent requests
Request callbacks: beforeSend and complete Only one component should show a loader for its own request. Each request controls its own loader. If multiple requests share one indicator, track their active state rather than letting any one completion hide it.
Document events: ajaxStart and ajaxStop A page-wide loader should reflect relevant jQuery AJAX activity. These events aggregate activity: start fires when a request begins and no other requests are running; stop fires when none remain.

For a page-wide indicator, attach the event handlers once:

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$(document)
  .on("ajaxStart", function () { $("#page-loader").show(); })
  .on("ajaxStop", function () { $("#page-loader").hide(); });

Requests configured with global: false do not trigger jQuery’s global Ajax events, so they will not affect this loader. The event behavior is described in the jQuery Ajax Events documentation.

Make the loading status accessible

Do not rely on animation alone to communicate that results are loading. Add readable status text near the waiting content, such as “Loading results,” and expose it to assistive technology as a status message. WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion 4.1.3 covers status messages that can be programmatically determined without moving focus. If adjacent text already provides the message, the GIF can be decorative with empty alternative text. See W3C’s guidance on status messages.

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Keep the indicator near the content it describes and avoid a layout shift that moves unrelated content. For very fast requests, a short delay before showing the loader can reduce a momentary flash; that is a presentation choice, not a requirement.

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Keep requests asynchronous

Do not set async: false to manage the loader. jQuery requests are asynchronous by default; synchronous requests can temporarily lock the browser and disable interaction. Synchronous jqXHR use has also been deprecated since jQuery 1.8, according to the jQuery.ajax() documentation.

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Using Fetch instead of jQuery

Fetch does not use jQuery’s callbacks. Put the loader cleanup in a finally block so it runs whether the operation succeeds or throws an error. Also check response.ok or the response status: an HTTP error status such as 404 does not, by itself, reject the Fetch promise. MDN explains this behavior in its Using the Fetch API guide.

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const loader = document.querySelector("#loader");
const results = document.querySelector("#results");

loader.hidden = false;

fetch("/api/results")
  .then(response => {
    if (!response.ok) {
      throw new Error("Request failed");
    }
    return response.text();
  })
  .then(data => {
    results.innerHTML = data;
  })
  .catch(() => {
    results.textContent = "Could not load results. Try again.";
  })
  .finally(() => {
    loader.hidden = true;
  });

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