The goal of a business website should be to grab the visitor’s attention, encourage them to click through different pages, and ultimately make a purchase. A static site is unlikely to achieve this. Research by Harvard scientists establishes the direct link between vision and movement in primates and humans.
Website animations are a way for businesses to create dynamic landing pages. They can help direct visitors to valuable areas of your site while adding a slick finish that promotes quality. In this blog we’ll go over some website animation examples, why to use them, and some tips from the experts (us!).
Why Use Website Animations?
User experience is one of the key factors for businesses to attract new customers and convert existing leads. Website animations are a powerful tool to make sites more attractive and easier to navigate. As such, when done well they directly contribute to visitor experience. Interactive animations are particularly helpful for user engagement too.
Business owners can use website animations to boost brand reputation and audience trust. This is because animations can be chosen specifically to reflect certain values. For instance, smooth animations that progress at an appropriate speed can signal to consumers your brand has a high level of quality.
Website animations also allow businesses to guide user behaviour. Sometimes websites end up being content-heavy or complex, which impacts navigation. This can be remedied by using animations to summarise concepts and direct users to high priority information. It can also give users useful hints to improve their experience. For example, a button that takes visitors back to the top of a page might be animated with extending motion to imply its function.
Examples of Website Animation
There are many types of website animation available today, each of which has a certain style. As a business, you therefore have lots of freedom when it comes to choosing the type of animation that’ll work best for you. Animations can also differ in scale, from simple cursor colour changes to the animation of entire backgrounds. Bespoke website design is often needed to ensure the success of more elaborate animations.
Loading Animation
Probably the most used form of website animation today, loading animations inform users about how a process is progressing. It enables communication to be maintained between the website and user, as their request is being fulfilled. These animations provide assurance to users that their actions are being resolved, thereby instilling confidence in the site.
The aesthetics of a loading animation will typically be tied to that of the website branding. This helps keep users engaged and leads to a consistent overall experience.
Hero Animation
The ‘hero image’ is web design term referring to a large image, usually positioned below the main website header. It often takes up all the pre-scroll width on the page and is designed an image to grab user attention. Many businesses use a variety of technologies to animate their hero images. This is to enhance its function as the first visual interaction users have with the website.
Hero animation can allow businesses to create an atmosphere. These movements can appeal to user emotions more effectively than a static image. This creates a more human line of communication, which is more likely to result in interactions that are beneficial to your brand.
Interactive Animation
Websites with interactive elements are often effective at creating a playful atmosphere, which can fit well into certain brands. Interactive animation can also provide instantaneous feedback on user actions. This empowers searching ability, incentivising visitors to trawl your site and spend more time interacting with content.
Accent Animation
Just as you might use punctuation or font to grab user attention, accent animation places emphasis on certain layout details. On website pages, this can include buttons, menu dropdowns, keywords or phrases, branding, blocks of information, and directional cues. The motion from accent animations lets users interact with the website in a more fluid and dynamic way. It also aids in making important pages more scannable.
Hover Animation
This is considered one of the default website animations. When a user moves their cursor over a design element, hover animation responds with a type of motion. This signals to the user that page elements like buttons and sub headers are clickable. Hover animation is therefore a powerful tool to support navigation and promote interaction.
Special Motion Effects
With so many other websites out there offering similar products and services, it’s important for businesses to stand out visually. Website motion effects can be a creative solution. As a user scrolls through a page, animations create unique transitions to keep their interest. These motion effects can also fall in line with the brand of the site, while contributing to the overall goal of the page. For example, a technology company with a new product might use animation to make the product image fly out into its 3D parts. This imparts visual information, as it shows the user where each part fits, which could compliment a written explanation of each part’s function.
5 Tips for Adding Website Animations
- Make sure the animation is the right speed – website animations should be designed to serve a practical purpose alongside their visual appeal. Their function can be undermined if they’re either too fast or too slow. In this case, animations could damage user experience instead of enhancing it.
- Match animations to user action – when users expect quick responses, make sure your website can deliver. Clicking a link or a button, for instance, are actions that require quick animations.
- Don’t create needless noise – it can be tempting to use the most unusual shapes and bright colours to catch the eye of users. However, this is likely to make the page look messy. Keep the overall style of the site in mind to help the animation fit.
- Consider user resources – complex animations have the potential to be demanding on devices. The overuse of resources like processing power and RAM can cause sites to load slowly and become sluggish.
- Ensure your website animations are useful – moving website parts that are simply there to look flashy often don’t go down well with users. On the other hand, animations that point users in the right direction or offer useful information, can go a long way in improving user experience.
Bespoke Website Design Services
At Deliver Media, we know how valuable first impressions are for businesses online. That’s why we offer all-encompassing website design services that deliver style and substance. By working with us, you’ll be safe in the knowledge that your website is bringing in customers while remaining a reflection of who you are. Our free audits are a great way to identify where your website needs work.