In our previous article, we explored CSS animation. But have you ever noticed how some aspects of a website subtly move, fade, or respond when you hover over them or scroll down the page? These interactive touches often rely on either animation or transition CSS.
If you’re looking to create similar effects on your site, it’s essential to understand the difference between animation vs transition CSS. Both add interactivity and enhance the user experience, but they serve different purposes and behave in distinct ways.
Keep reading to learn what sets them apart, when to use each, and how to incorporate them effectively into your CSS designs.
Animation vs Transition CSS: What is The Difference?
The interesting thing is that CSS animations and transitions are similar, yet distinct, in terms of their complexity, the interaction between CSS code and JavaScript, the method for triggering the animation to play, and how the loops function.
Therefore, if you require a complex series of movements, we recommend using CSS animation; for simple movements, use CSS transitions. Yes, we know we get confused with the two as it does similar things:
- Both help to visualize the property changes.
- You can use them to set easing functions to help control the rate at which the property value will change.
- You can set the duration of both and specify properties that help interpret the changes to initiate a reaction.
- You can collect data concerning events that cause the animation or transition to launch, using it to improve, for example, a marketing campaign.
While both share similarities, they remain distinct and have their advantages and disadvantages. Here is a comparison of the differences:
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CSS ANIMATION |
CSS TRANSITION |
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Here is another easy way to help you visualize the differences between CSS animation and transition
Great. Knowing the difference between animation and transition in CSS helps you better understand how they work on a site.
💡 Did you know that REM and PX in CSS offer you different uses? Check out the article here to learn more.
CSS Animation: How Does it Work
Transitioning using animation is much more complicated but more flexible than CSS. When designing elements, you can set different stages to alter the behavior of your animation multiple times.
So, you get more control over your animation property values. But to do this, you must define the keyframes. These indicate the start and end of your animation and the intermediate steps you find between the start and finish.
So, each keyframe will describe how the element must render at a specific time during the sequence. You can set up multiple keyframes, but you must have two. Hence, you can create HTML5 animations that are a hit now.
With CSS animation, you can specify your property values within each keyframe without declaring them. So, your element will change its behavior once the correct keyframe is reached, even when the property is listed at the beginning.
Animation Properties
When creating a transition, you can use the animation shorthand property or combine the sub-properties shown below.
In any event, you must have the animation name and animation duration in place, but if you do not set the other properties, your element will remain in a default value:
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ANIMATION PROPERTY |
FUNCTION |
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animation-timing -function |
It helps set the pace of your elements |
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animation-delay |
It helps to set a time when your animation starts |
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animation-duration |
It helps to specify how long your animation takes before it completes |
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animation-direction |
It determines if your animation should play in a forward, backward, or both cycles. |
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animation-fill-mode |
This will specify how your animation must apply styles to targets before and after executing. |
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animation-play-state |
It will indicate if your animation is running or paused |
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animation-name |
You use this to mention the name of your @keyframes-defined animations that must apply to selected elements. |
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animation-iteration-count |
It helps to specify the number of times your animation will play |
Looping CSS Animation
The fantastic thing compared to transition is that your animation does not need a triggering action, and you can set it with a loop.
So, your animation can repeat itself many times, or you can set it to go on forever. You make these specifications using the animation-iteration-count, which allows you to set the value in either the number of seconds or as infinite.
Example of CSS Animation
In the example below, the graphic transitions through multiple states and continues to loop. The cup in the steam starts to shrink on the side and then ascends upward to fade away.
When Should You Use Animation Instead of a Transition
An ideal time to choose animation vs. transition is when we want to create a complex series of movements. We also use it when we want an effect to take place immediately, as a page load, or if we only use CSS without JavaScript. Lastly, we use it when designing instruction overlays for UI.
CSS Transitions: How Does It Work?
On the other hand, if you only want to create a simple action on a site, we recommend using transitions. You trigger an action with them by hovering a mouse over an element.
In this case, you will use a hover pseudo-class to change your CSS property value, which will cause the element to react as you desire. Alternatively, you can set your ‘element’s scale, position, and color.
Furthermore, you can make your element skew, rotate, and translate objects. For a more complicated transition, you can affect multiple properties simultaneously.
For example, if you want your transition to alter your background color and width, you must specify those entries for your background color and width.
Transition Properties
As with CSS animation, you can also use a transition shorthand property or a combination of the sub-properties seen here:
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TRANSITION PROPERTY |
FUNCTION |
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transition-property |
It will specify the name of your CSS property that the transition affects. So if your property is set to, for example, width, your transition effect takes place when a user hovers over the element to change the width |
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transition-delay |
It will specify when your transition starts |
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transition-duration | It will specify the length of time the transition takes to complete |
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transition-timing-function |
It will set the pace of the transition |
JavaScript and CSS Transition
We have found that you must know that predefined property values in CSS can limit some interactions.
If you have these, we recommend resorting to JavaScript. However, you can set up a hybrid approach if you do not want to use the program entirely.
You can use JavaScript to manage the problematic aspects of the transition.
Examples of CSS Transition
Transition is more basic than animation, and you can see an example below:
💡 The above example plays a loop as a GIF, and you must remember that transitions can only be looped infinitely. The element alternates between two solid states, depending on where you place your mouse. When you hover over the element, your transition becomes narrower or taller.
Problems With Your CSS Transition
Have you created your transition, but it is not working? There can be some quick fixes you can do:
- Your transition property is set to zero as it specifies the name. You can define it with the keyword “all.” It will indicate all properties that need to be transitioned or a list of them. However, if it is set to “none,” it will not transition.
- You have not defined your transition duration or set it to zero or a negative value. It will still change if not specified, but the change will occur instantly.
When Should You Use Transition Instead of Animation
We recommend using transitions over animations when creating simple movements or effects that occur only with user interactions, such as hovering or clicking. We use transitions with JavaScript and love to utilize them when designing buttons or changing their color and size when users hover over them.
Wrap-Up: How to Decide Between Animation & Transition
CSS animation and transitions are similar but different. You can use both to improve your marketing.
No matter what you decide, adding animation or transition effects to your website will engage and delight your visitors and make them return for more.
To make your CSS animation, check out our microapp tool to simplify things.
