Animation: Is it good for
your website?
Many business owners like
using animation on their
websites. The reason given is
usually something along the
lines of "Having animation on
my site will make my site
look more professional.
Visitors will then think more
highly of my business
because we clearly have many animations. And I think
it looks really cool!" But is
this really the case? When
should you use animation
and when should you avoid
it?
What is animation?
Basically, once a page has
loaded, anything that's still
moving on the screen is
animation. There are a
variety of uses for animation
ranging from simple
animations that might be
intended to "liven-up" a page
through to more complex
and lengthy animations that
could be used to provide a
product demonstration.
Should I use animation?
Whether or not you should
use animation depends on
the purpose of the
animation. Or rather, it
depends on whether the
animation has a purpose. Trying to impress your
website's visitors or make
your site look more
"professional" just simply
aren't valid reasons for using
animation. For starters,
animation is so
commonplace on the web
nowadays that it really isn't
particularly impressive. The
important thing to remember
here is that you are not your
website's target audience.
Just because you, your
employees, or your friends
think the animation is cute,
funny, or technologically
advanced is no guarantee
that your site's visitors will
think so.Your website's visitors are
generally looking for clear,
specific, and interesting
information about your
products or services. They
aren't usually looking to be
entertained. If you were
delivering a presentation to a
potential client, would you
outline the details of your
proposal and then direct the
client's attention to the really
neat animations on your
website, or would strive to
hammer home the value of
doing business with your
company and the unique
benefits you can provide?
There are some important
questions you should ask
yourself before incorporating
animation into the site. Here
are a few of them:
●
Does the animation add
anything of value?
●
Does it make the page/site/
button easier to use?
●
Does it make the purpose or
meaning of the page/site/
button clearer?
●
Is the animation distracting?
Does it draw the user's
attention away from the
page's actual content or the
site's core message?
Let's look at an ultra-simple
example of animation: a
"rollover effect" on a
navigation button. A rollover
effect is simply a behavior
that can be applied to a
button so that when the
user's mouse pointer passes
over the button, the button
changes in some way (usually
color). Rollover effects are
used on a wide variety of
sites, but are they really a
good idea? Let's go through
the above questions.
Does the animation add
anything of value? Yes, the
effect provides useful
feedback to the user and
makes it clear that the part
of the page the user just
rolled over with the mouse is
a clickable button.
Does the animation make the
button easier to use? Yes, for
the same reason as above.
Does it make the purpose of
the button clearer? Not
necessarily, but it does
provide a useful visual cue
that the element is a button.
Is it distracting? Not at all,
since the user's attention is
directed at the button
anyway.
Clearly, in this case, using
animation is helpful and can
make the site easier to use.
Overall
Animation can be a really
useful tool. It can make a
website more usable, more
engaging, and more effective.
But like any tool, animation is
only helpful when it's
needed. You should only use
animation when it serves a
clear purpose, and even
then, you should use it
carefully, because too much
animation is much worse
than not having any at all.
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