Jürgen Fitzinger
30 years of PHP
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Bring your website to life with animations
Every website needs good content to stay relevant. But for content to really stand out, it needs that extra something! Animations can be used in many different ways on websites to make content stand out and be remembered.
What types of animation are there? #
Animations are a creative playground in web design. They can add subtle touches that make a site look more lively and stylish, or they can dominate the user experience with eye-catching motion. Basically, any movement falls under the umbrella of animation, but not all animation serves the same purpose. Let's take a look at the most common types.
CSS Animation #
One of the most important techniques is CSS animation. CSS defines the appearance of a website - from colors to fonts - but can also control movement. For example, a hover effect can make a button slightly larger and cast a shadow to give it a floating appearance. More complex effects, such as fading in elements as you scroll, are also possible. In combination with JavaScript, you can create interactive content that responds to mouse movement, clicks, or text input. This technology is extremely lightweight and flexible to use.
Videos #
Videos are one of the most popular forms of animation and can not only be played on classic players such as YouTube, but can also be seamlessly integrated into websites as background elements or information modules.
The most common video formats are MP4 and WEBM. While MP4 offers broad browser compatibility, WEBM supports transparency, which is advantageous for certain design requirements. However, older browsers may have trouble with WEBM. Another popular option is animated GIFs - short, repeating clips that often add dynamism to blog or social media posts.
Lottie Animation #
Lottie animations are vector-based and offer pixel-independent rendering, so they always look sharp. They can be created in programs such as Adobe After Effects and integrated into the Web with minimal storage requirements. Thanks to their efficient format, Lottie animations use fewer resources than traditional video formats and are therefore particularly high-performance. They are ideal for interactive user interface elements or illustrated motion sequences.
3D Animation #
3D animations offer the ability to view objects or scenes from all angles - perfect for product visualization in online stores. Many retailers rely on 3D viewers to make products custom configurable. For example, a chair can be viewed and adjusted in different colors before being added to the shopping cart. In addition to creating the 3D model, camera controls must be programmed to rotate, zoom, and interactively change colors. The file size of a 3D model can vary greatly depending on the level of detail. It is therefore important to optimize 3D models for use on websites as efficiently as possible to minimize loading time.
3D animations make a strong impression and can be worth the extra effort. However, they should be used selectively to avoid unnecessary costs.
Get in touch with us! #
Do you want a website with special animations and interactive content? Then contact us at hello@bitperfect.at and share your vision with us! The more creative the website, the more passion we will have.
Want to learn more about animation, its uses and benefits in web design? Then take a look here.
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Author DI Michaela Mathis
