With technology getting more advanced, so is web design. Not that long ago websites were built simply for displaying information and didn’t have much focus on the user experience. It’s clear to see that today, however, advancements have been made in making more complex designs and built to create a more attractive visual experience. One way this is achieved is via animations. Animations are one of the best ways to keep your visitors engaged and put them on the right track to becoming conversions. A great example is right now. I bet when you opened this blog, the first thing you did before reading, you looked at the animations on the page. See how with a simple bit of movement, it caught your eye and got you interested straight away? Well, that’s exactly why the use of animation is so important.
Animation is a very broad term, and you probably understand what it means, however, there are many types of animations that can be used. Look at the animation we have on our menu header at the top of the page for an example! This is known as a ‘Hover’ animation. When your cursor moves over it, you’ll see an effect. As well as catching a visitor’s attention, it’s also a great way to show what elements on your site can be clicked on. See if you can find where else we’ve used the hover animation on our website!
If you read our previous blog, ‘Web Design Trends for 2022’, you’ll remember we mentioned the ‘Parallax’ effect on websites. This is an animation that creates a smooth page transition as you scroll, adding to the importance of a good background. It’s an animation you may notice on many popular sites like apple.com. It’s a great effect to add some movement to your page and make the user experience more seamless, take a look at an example below!
Finally, you have your ‘traditional animation’, sometimes referred to as ‘cell animation’. This is when an animator has created an animation that has been made frame by frame. It’s a great eye-catcher and can be used almost anywhere on a site where it relates to your content. (See an example of this would be the animation we have here on the right).