A simple definition of animation would be “the art of manipulating still or inanimate figures to appear as if they are moving.” There are so many ways things can be animated today, even in Toronto web design, that it’s impossible to develop a more specific definition.
If you’re reading this, you might’ve been impressed with an eye-catching or attractive website animation. You’re probably wondering if you can do something similar for your website.
It turns out there are many good reasons to use website animations that go beyond just that “it’s cool.”
However, more doesn’t always mean better, particularly for effective design. So, we’ll also cover why and when you should consider not animating a part of your website.
So, before you get a Toronto web designer to animate your website, here’s all you need to know.
What are animations in web design?
To understand web animations, it’s also important to know what we’re not talking about. We’re not talking about animations published as videos and embedded on a website.
We’re talking about animations built into a web page’s markup, styling, or coding. Whether you know it yet or not, you’ve undoubtedly encountered many of these animations before.
Some can be triggered automatically, like when the user lands on a page or scrolls up or down. Others can respond to user actions, such as clicking, hovering, or interacting with visual elements.
The point is that they introduce some motion into what would otherwise be a still and lifeless design. Animation is an essential tool in the modern web designer’s kit to create better and more memorable user experiences.
And you might be surprised to know that web animations have many practical and cosmetic benefits.
Why is animation important in Web design?
More than ever, the design of your website plays a significant role in its success. Users have become so used to effective UI design and user-friendly experiences that it has become the rule, not the exception.
If the look and feel of your website is not up to par, you won’t keep visitors’ attention for long. Animation is a fantastic way to improve the visual aesthetics of your site and the user experience – if you use it correctly.
Here are just some of the most important benefits of using animations as part of your web design:
- They can help create a more memorable and impressive browsing experience.
- Animations, particularly interactive ones, can keep users engaged longer and encourage exploration.
- You can use animations to draw visitors’ attention to important areas or pieces of information.
- Animation can be helpful for navigation, helping users identify what they are doing, for example, by enlarging a clickable icon when a user mouses over it.
- They can help break up the page’s structure, so it’s not monotonous.
- Animations can help you put more information in the same space without cluttering the design. For example, through flipbooks, carousels, revolving images, etc.
Do you remember those gaudy and seizure-inducing nightmares that we used to see on ’90s websites? That’s exactly how not to do website animation today.
Can animation be both good and bad for a website?
So, we’ve covered why animation is essential for web design today. Unfortunately, as with all good things, there are some strings attached.
As you might or might not know, performance is an essential aspect of the user experience. A site can look beautiful, but it will frustrate your visitors if it takes a long time to load or doesn’t work as expected.
This can lead to high bounce rates, low time on pages, and other negative user behaviors. Not only will it lead to lost opportunities, but it might even impact your search engine rankings.
Usually, CSS or JavaScript animations shouldn’t add a lot of page weight or consume a lot of bandwidth. However, overusing animations can lead to performance issues because they take up computing resources.
Animations can also interfere with how and when elements are rendered on your pages. This can lead to stuttering or break some of your performance optimizations.
Luckily, there are ways in which you can limit the impact of your animations which you can read about here. However, the best thing you can do is use animations sparingly where they will have the largest impact.
Web Animation Trends
There are many different types of animations used in web design today, many of which you’ll recognize:
- Hero animations: This animation applies to the hero area or the above-the-fold area of the web page. As the first impression your website makes, it’s usually eye-catching with an intro animation. Sliders or image carousels are also often used.
- Loading animations: This animation indicates there is content in the process of loading. It can come in the form of a percentage counter, progress bar, etc.
- Accent animations: These are usually small, eye-catching animations that draw attention to a specific phrase or visual element. Usually, it takes the form of underlining or highlighting text.
- Interactive animations: These are animations that happen in response to user input. For example, changing the color/opacity/focus when the mouse hovers over an image—or swapping a button when the user clicks it.
- Motion effects: These are more the standard type of animation you’d expect. It refers to moving elements across the screen or other creative ways for aesthetic impact—for example, typing writing effects or simple looped animations.
You can see many amazing examples of these types of animations in effect in this blog post.
Conclusion
So, ready to boost the design of your website with some stunning and lively animations?
Good! Animations can be a fantastic way to engage with your visitors and improve the overall user experience. However, it’s essential to take a measured approach when working with animations. As a professional Toronto web design & development agency at blackDot.ca we ensure that you get all of the benefits but none of the potential drawbacks.
