A client’s guide to scroll triggered animations

Hey, marketers! Let’s dive into the world of scroll-triggered animations—a powerful way to elevate your website’s user experience. These dynamic effects can transform how users interact with your site, drawing their attention exactly where you want it. Ready to explore the most popular scroll-triggered animation techniques? Let’s get started!

Parallax

Parallax effects provide a dynamic visual experience by creating an illusion of depth. As users scroll, background elements move at a different speed compared to foreground elements, making the website feel multi-dimensional. Here’s a great example of a page scroll with parallax from Carmina Noctis.

Horizontal Scrolling

This effect involves additional content sliding in from the sides as users scroll down the page, creating an engaging horizontal movement. As the user progresses, the content glides seamlessly into view, drawing attention. Once the user scrolls to the end of the horizontal content, scrolling goes from horizontal to vertical. A perfect example is one done by Qudrix.

Sticky Scroll

With sticky scrolling, some elements on a webpage, such as headers or sidebars, remain fixed in position while other content scrolls away. This technique, sticky or fixed positioning, helps users maintain focus by ensuring these important elements stay visible. Our homepage is a perfect example!

Fade-In and Slide-In

Fade-in and slide-in animations are among the simplest yet most effective ways to enhance user engagement on a webpage. As users scroll down, elements like text and images gradually appear, creating a smooth transition that captures attention without overwhelming the viewer. Spotify® For Artists had shown a great example of this.

Element Scaling

With element scaling, website elements grow or shrink in size as the user scrolls, creating a dynamic visual experience that adds a sense of depth to the content. This technique can draw the user’s attention and focus on particular components, enhancing the overall engagement and guiding the viewer through the narrative or structure of the page. We developed a concept for MEDLOG that shows this example of scrolling.

Zoom-In and Zoom-Out

Scroll-triggered zoom-in and zoom-out animations are an excellent way to spotlight content on a webpage. Images or text smoothly grow or shrink as you scroll, adding depth and energy to the user experience. This technique looks awesome visually and is especially great for infographics or complex designs. A perfect example is one done by Dorier.

Type Fill

Scroll-triggered type fill animations can captivate users by animating text to fill with color as they scroll through a webpage. This effect highlights important text or headings, ensuring key messages capture attention and are memorable. As users navigate content, the animated filling of text creates an interactive experience, guiding their focus and making reading more immersive. A perfect example is one done by Weitz.

Color Shifts

Changes or shifts in color as users scroll create a dynamic visual transition that draws attention but also maintains interest in the content. This gradual shift in hues can guide the viewer’s eye smoothly across the page, enhancing the overall user experience by adding depth and vitality to the design. Here’s a great example of a color shift from Decker.

Background Animation

Background elements can animate subtly as the user scrolls, adding an immersive and interactive layer to the web experience. These subtle animations can include parallax effects, gentle shifts in color or opacity, and small movements that create a sense of depth and engagement. A perfect example is one done by Deleo Solutions.

Image Reveal

With image reveal, sections of images gradually appear as you scroll. This dynamic reveal engages you in an interactive way. The design not only makes things look better but also sparks curiosity and discovery, prompting you to stick around and explore more. Check this killer example done by Decor Systems.