CSS animations control the movement and appearance of elements on web pages. We can animate HTML elements without using JavaScript.
CSS Animation Properties
CSS animations involve several key properties:
Property | Description |
|---|
@keyframes | The @keyframes rule in CSS is used to specify the animation rule. |
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animation-name | It is used to specify the name of the @keyframes describing the animation. |
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animation-duration | It is used to specify the time duration it takes animation to complete one cycle. |
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animation-timing-function | It specifies how animations make transitions through keyframes. There are several presets available in CSS which are used as the value for the animation-timing-function like linear, ease,ease-in,ease-out, and ease-in-out. |
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animation-delay | It specifies the delay of the start of an animation. |
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animation-iteration-count | This specifies the number of times the animation will be repeated. |
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animation-direction | It defines the direction of the animation. animation direction can be normal, reverse, alternate, and alternate-reverse. |
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animation-fill-mode | It defines how styles are applied before and after animation. The animation fill mode can be none, forwards, backwards, or both. |
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animation-play-state | This property specifies whether the animation is running or paused. |
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@keyframes Rule
The @keyframes rule defines how an element's styles change over time during an animation.
Syntax
@keyframes animation-name {
from {
/* Initial Styles */
}
to {
/* Final Styles */
}
}- The from defines the starting styles, and to defines the ending styles.
- You can also use percentage values to specify intermediate steps.
HTML <!--Driver Code Starts--> <html> <head> <!--Driver Code Ends--> <style> .box { width: 100px; height: 100px; background-color: blue; animation: changeColor 3s infinite; } @keyframes changeColor { from { background-color: blue; } to { background-color: green; } } </style> <!--Driver Code Starts--> </head> <body> <div class="box"></div> </body> </html> <!--Driver Code Ends--> - The .box class creates a blue square and applies the changeColor animation that lasts 3 seconds and repeats infinitely.
- The @keyframes changeColor rule changes the background color from blue to green.
animation-name Property
The animation-name property specifies the name of the @keyframes animation to apply to an element.
Syntax
animation-name: animationName;
HTML <!--Driver Code Starts--> <html> <head> <!--Driver Code Ends--> <style> .box { width: 100px; height: 100px; background-color: blue; animation-name: moveRight; animation-duration: 2s; animation-iteration-count: infinite; } @keyframes moveRight { from { transform: translateX(0); } to { transform: translateX(200px); } } </style> <!--Driver Code Starts--> </head> <body> <div class="box"></div> </body> </html> <!--Driver Code Ends--> In this example
- The .box class applies the moveRight animation to the <div>.
- The animation-name links the element to the @keyframes moveRight sequence.
- The box moves horizontally from its original position to 200px to the right over 2 seconds, repeating infinitely.
animation-timing-function property
The animation-timing-function property controls the speed curve of an animation, defining how the animation progresses over its duration.
Syntax
animation-timing-function: timingFunction;
HTML <!--Driver Code Starts--> <html> <head> <!--Driver Code Ends--> <style> .box { width: 100px; height: 100px; background-color: blue; animation-name: slide; animation-duration: 3s; animation-timing-function: ease-in; animation-iteration-count: infinite; } @keyframes slide { from { transform: translateX(0); } to { transform: translateX(300px); } } </style> <!--Driver Code Starts--> </head> <body> <div class="box"></div> </body> </html> <!--Driver Code Ends--> In this example
- The .box class applies the slide animation to the <div>.
- The animation-timing-function: ease-in; makes the animation start slowly and then speed up.
animation-delay property
The animation-delay property specifies a delay before an animation starts, controlling when the animation begins after being triggered.
Syntax
animation-delay: time;
HTML <!--Driver Code Starts--> <html> <head> <!--Driver Code Ends--> <style> .box { width: 100px; height: 100px; background-color: blue; animation-name: fadeIn; animation-duration: 2s; animation-delay: 1s; animation-iteration-count: infinite; } @keyframes fadeIn { from { opacity: 0; } to { opacity: 1; } } </style> <!--Driver Code Starts--> </head> <body> <div class="box"></div> </body> </html> <!--Driver Code Ends--> In this example
- The .box element is set to fade in using the fadeIn animation.
- The animation-delay: 1s; delays the start of the animation by one second.
- The animation lasts for 2 seconds and repeats infinitely.
animation-iteration-count property
The animation-iteration-count property specifies how many times an animation should repeat.
Syntax
animation-iteration-count: number | infinite;
HTML <!--Driver Code Starts--> <html> <head> <!--Driver Code Ends--> <style> .box { width: 100px; height: 100px; background-color: blue; animation: bounce 2s infinite; } @keyframes bounce { 0% { transform: translateY(0); } 50% { transform: translateY(-50px); } 100% { transform: translateY(0); } } </style> <!--Driver Code Starts--> </head> <body> <div class="box"></div> </body> </html> <!--Driver Code Ends--> In this example
- The .box element uses the bounce animation that lasts 2 seconds.
- animation-iteration-count: infinite; makes the animation loop endlessly.
animation-direction property
The animation-direction property specifies whether an animation should play forward, backward, or alternate between the two directions.
Syntax
animation-direction: normal | reverse | alternate | alternate-reverse;
HTML <!--Driver Code Starts--> <html> <head> <!--Driver Code Ends--> <style> .box { width: 100px; height: 100px; background-color: blue; animation: move 2s infinite; animation-direction: alternate; } @keyframes move { from { transform: translateX(0); } to { transform: translateX(200px); } } </style> <!--Driver Code Starts--> </head> <body> <div class="box"></div> </body> </html> <!--Driver Code Ends--> In this example
- The .box element moves from its original position to 200px to the right.
- animation-direction: alternate; makes the animation play forward on the first iteration and then backward on the next, creating a back-and-forth motion.
animation-fill-mode property
The animation-fill-mode property specifies how a CSS animation should apply styles to its target before and after it is executing.
Syntax
animation-fill-mode: none | forwards | backwards | both;
HTML <!--Driver Code Starts--> <html> <head> <!--Driver Code Ends--> <style> .box { width: 100px; height: 100px; background-color: blue; animation: move 3s forwards; } @keyframes move { from { transform: translateX(0); } to { transform: translateX(200px); } } </style> <!--Driver Code Starts--> </head> <body> <div class="box"></div> </body> </html> <!--Driver Code Ends--> In this example
- The .box element moves from its original position to 200px to the right over 3 seconds.
- animation-fill-mode: forwards; ensures that the box retains the final state of the animation after it completes.
animation-play-state property
The animation-play-state property controls whether an animation is running or paused.
Syntax
animation-play-state: running | paused;
HTML <!--Driver Code Starts--> <html> <head> <!--Driver Code Ends--> <style> .box { width: 100px; height: 100px; background-color: blue; animation: spin 4s linear infinite; animation-play-state: paused; } .box:hover { animation-play-state: running; } @keyframes spin { from { transform: rotate(0deg); } to { transform: rotate(360deg); } } </style> <!--Driver Code Starts--> </head> <body> <div class="box"></div> </body> </html> <!--Driver Code Ends--> In this example
- The .box element has a spin animation that rotates it 360 degrees over 4 seconds infinitely.
- animation-play-state: paused; initially pauses the animation.
Animation Shorthand Property
The animation shorthand property allows you to set all animation-related properties in a single declaration, making your CSS code cleaner and more concise.
Syntax
animation: [animation-name] [animation-duration] [animation-timing-function]
[animation-delay] [animation-iteration-count] [animation-direction] [animation-fill-mode]
[animation-play-state];
HTML <!--Driver Code Starts--> <html> <head> <!--Driver Code Ends--> <style> .box { width: 100px; height: 100px; background-color: blue; animation: move 2s ease-in 1s infinite alternate forwards; } @keyframes move { from { transform: translateX(0); background-color: blue; } to { transform: translateX(200px); background-color: green; } } </style> <!--Driver Code Starts--> </head> <body> <div class="box"></div> </body> </html> <!--Driver Code Ends--> In this example
- The .box class uses the animation shorthand to apply the move animation.
- The animation lasts for 2 seconds, starts after a 1-second delay, runs infinitely, alternates direction, and retains the final state.
- The box moves from its original position to 200px to the right and changes color from blue to green smoothly.
Best Practices for CSS Animations
- Use Animations Purposefully: Apply animations to enhance user experience without causing distractions.
- Animate Performance-Friendly Properties: Prefer animating properties like transform and opacity for smoother performance.
- Ensure Accessibility: Provide options for users to reduce or disable animations to accommodate those with motion sensitivities.
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