Animations can be a great way to create a sense of dynamism to a website. But it has to be very subtle, and done right. I sense most people’s knee-jerk reaction is to hate these, and I can understand why. I think the trick is to not break any expected UI conventions. So many flashy web experiences hijack the scroll, or create mystery buttons that aren’t clearly clickable. Harking back to Steve Krug’s mantra, “don’t make me think.” The best web design is so clear and intuitive, it rarely draws attention to itself. It’s like iOS animations, when closing an app, and seeing the app get sucked into it’s icon. It’s so quick and subtle, you barely notice it.

Kudos to the reduced motion advice at the end of the article, for better accessibility. I didn’t know this.