Top 7 CSS Animation Libraries That Can Improve Your Website

Adding animation in our front-end design is one of the big innovations we had in web design. Before this, most designs are static (as expected), but after adding animation in our web design, we begin to see beautifully moving parts that complement the overall website’s design.

But that’s not just the good news – you don’t need to start from scratch because there are animation libraries ready to provide you with your animation needs! As for the technical knowledge part, these animations require nothing but basic understanding of HTML/CSS and JavaScript (in this case, you’ll need a basic understanding for CSS). Remember, you are not trying to be a coder here, but it’s best if, as a UI designer, you have at least some basic knowledge on these programming languages – at least, beginning with CSS.

So, let us jump on the fun part! If you need some help in adding animation to your web design, check out these top 7 CSS animation libraries that can help improve your website and make it look livelier!

1) Animate.css

Animate.css is one of the most easy-to-use CSS animation libraries around.

How does it work? Very simple: just link the CSS of the animation and add certain CSS classes (based on what the animation needs) to your HTML elements. If you are using jQuery, you can also use it to “play” the animation only on specific events if that is what you are looking for.

So far, it is one of the most popular CSS animation libraries, perhaps because of its ease-of-use. So, go and check out Animate.css and see what it can do for you!

2) AnimeJS

While relatively new, AnimeJS already got the attention of many designers from the time it was made, and there’s a good reason behind that – AnimeJS is a very powerful and flexible animation library. But aside from that, AnimeJS is small, fast and it can be easy to learn.

AnimeJS is a JavaScript animation library, but it can work with other properties such as SVG, DOM and of course, CSS properties.

If you plan to use the best of CSS and JavaScript, then you should check out AnimeJS!

3) GreenSock

If you are looking for a fancier and sleeker animation library, check out GreenSock (aslo known as “GSAP”, which stands for “GreenSock Animation Platform).

With GreenSock Animation Platform, you can virtually animate anything, such as SVGs and DOM elements. You also have the option to do some more other stuffs like adding scrolling functionality, scrambling text and more other options.

Best of all, GSAP is modular, which means you can pick and choose parts from its library, so you can manage which you’ll only need and keep your file size to which is optional for your design. So, go check out GSAP!

4) Magic Animation CSS3

Magic Animation offers a variety of animations, many of which are somehow unique to this library. If you are looking for something new or you are just planning to start using animation libraries, you may want to check out Magic Animation!

Magic Animation also have some key similarities with Animate.css, so in a way, you are getting some good stuffs of Animate.css by using Magic Animation. Some of these are implementing Magic Animation through importing the CSS file and implementing your animations using jQuery.

If you are looking for a few new cool animations and effects, check out Magic Animation!

5) SweetAlert2

SweetAlert2 is an animation library that specializes in alerts. If you do not want to use the functions offered by basic windows when creating alerts, then SweetAlert2 can sweetly work with you!

Instead of creating dull and generic alert, why not create alerts with style? SweetAlert2 can help you with this because its alerts have their styles, and if you are into minimalistic design (without being dull), SweetAlert2 will definitely work best for you.

Best of all, SweetAlert2 is simply easy-to-install and easy-to-use. If you need good animation for your alerts, be sure to check out SweetAlert2!

6) Popmotion

Despite having a small size of only around 11KB, Popmotion still rocks whenever you need animations for your website!

It features certain animations including timeline, keyframes and synchronization of multiple animations and many more. You can use different types of animations or use raw functions so you can compose your own configurations.

Popmotion is definitely something to check out for!

7) AOS (Animation On Scroll)

Some designers prefer to trigger animations as their users scroll their website’s page up and down. However, this can be a tedious process as you need to create code for different keyframes. If there is an easier way to do this, why not, right?

Well, there is an easy way – AOS or Animation On Scroll will save the day! This animation library makes scroll animations easier to do.

Just head to the AOS website, scroll down (along the way, you’ll see different scrolling animations which you can apply to your website) and look for the CDN sources. Once you find it, copy-and-paste it on your HTML file.

There are certain configurations which you can also apply, and you can find them all on AOS. So, if you want to make a scroll-based animation (without the trouble, of course!), go check out Animation On Scroll!

Conclusion

If you need or want to add animation to your web design, animation libraries can help you!

Regardless of what you are looking for – whether you are a beginner who needs an easy-to-use or easy-to-learn animation library to something more sophistication – there’s almost something for you here on this list, so go and check them out!