Animation is an integral design element that goes into creating beautiful and engaging websites. Thoughtfully integrated micro-interactions and transitions will not only help improve the user experience, they also help show relationships between content, highlight key points, gradually reveal content and hellp create a more intuitive customer journey. However, animation done wrong can wreak havoc on a website causing visual and functional performance issues as well as derail the customer journey. Here are 5 mistakes to avoid when using animation on your website ensuring your website puts its best foot forward.
1. Over use: While animations can make a website more engaging, overusing them can lead to many issues. Animations often require additional code libraries that can significantly slow down your website’s performance causing delays in loading. Too many can also make your content distracting rather than engaging. It’s important to strike a balance ensuring your website is clear, accessible, and engaging.
2. Ignoring mobile: Most websites are accessed via mobile devices where loading time and performance are critical. It’s important to ensure animations are optimized for mobile devices and in some cases it may make sense to turn some of them off as animations on a mobile device and sometimes be more distracting than in a desktop web browser.
3. Neglecting accessibility: Ensure that animations are not a necessity in navigating your site. Animations can be problematic for uses that have disabilities that may cause seizures due to flashing lights or require the use of a screen reader. Provide alternate options for those users such as reduced motion and in some cases the ability toggle the animations off.
4. Not adding value: Every element on your website should contribute to the messaging you’re trying to convey. Animation’s that don’t contribute to the value of your user journey or design aesthetic can detract and confuse users. Be sure to be thoughtful about integrating animated elements into your website.
5. Not considering load time and SEO: A great page load time is critical for SEO. Using animations that can bog down your site causing a delay can impact your site’s ranking. It’s vital to optimize your animations to ensure your website loads quickly without sacrificing quality. Regular CSS animations are often more efficient than heavy javascript libraries or gifs.
Thoughtful animations on your website can go a long way, keeping these common pitfalls in mind. Be sure to consider your users and avoid these mistakes to ensure your website captivates and functions seamlessly.
At Unit 8 Media we specialize in crafting beautiful and high performing websites that are tailored to your business needs. Let us help you make your website a dynamic extension of your brand. Contact us today to see how we can bring your website to life.