CSS transitions achieve animation effects by smoothing interpolation property changes over a specified duration. 1. It monitors changes in specific CSS attributes, 2. It is only valid for animated attributes such as color, transparency, size, etc. 3. The commonly used syntax is transition: property duration timing-function delay, 4. Common triggering methods include hovering, class name change, focus status, etc. 5. Be careful to avoid using all and carefully selecting animated attributes to optimize performance.
CSS transitions make it possible to animate changes in CSS properties over a specified duration, creating smooth visual effects when elements change state — like when you hover over a button or toggle a menu.
How Transitions Work Under the Hood
At their core, transitions watch for changes in specific CSS properties. When a change happens (for example, from width: 100px to width: 200px ), and if a transition is applied, the browser doesn't apply the new value actually. Instead, it calculates how to smoothly interpolate between the old and new values over time.
This interpolation only works for animalatable properties — things like color, opacity, width, height, transform, etc. You can't transition non-numeric values like display: none to display: block , because there's no in-between state.
Basic Syntax of a Transition
To create a transition, you typically define two things:
- Which property to transition
- How long the transition should take
Here's a basic example:
.button {
background-color: blue;
transition: background-color 0.3s ease;
}
.button:hover {
background-color: darkblue;
} In this case, when the user hovers over .button , the background color will change gradually over 0.3 seconds using an "ease" timing function.
You can also use shorthand to define multiple aspects at once:
transition: property duration timing-function delay;
Some common timing functions include:
-
linear: consistent speed -
ease: starts slow, then fast, then ends slow -
ease-in: starts slow -
ease-out: ends slow -
cubic-bezier(x1, y1, x2, y2): custom curve
Which Properties Can Be Animated?
Not all CSS properties are animate. For example, you can animate opacity , transform , color , and background-color , but not display , z-index , or float .
A good rule of thumb is that if a property has a numeric value with a range (like pixel values, percentages, colors), it's likely animatable. If it's a switch-like setting (on/off), it usually isn't.
If you're ever unsure, tools like CSS Triggers can help you check which properties are safe to animate and what performance impact they might have.
Triggering a Transition
Transitions don't happen on their own — something has to trigger them. The most common triggers are:
- Hovering (
:hover) - Adding/removing a class via JavaScript
- Focus states (
:focus) - Media queries (like changing layout based on screen size)
For example, adding a class dynamically through JavaScript:
element.classList.add('active');
And in your CSS:
.box {
opacity: 0;
transition: opacity 0.5s;
}
.box.active {
opacity: 1;
} This way, when the active class is added, the box fades in smoothly.
One thing to note: transitions only work when the property changes from one value to another. So if you set the same value again (like toggling the same color), nothing will happen visually.
A Few Gotchas to Watch For
Multiple transitions : You can transition multiple properties by separating them with commas:
transition: background-color 0.3s ease, transform 0.4s linear;
Shortand pitfalls : Using
allas the property might seem convenient, but it can lead to unintended animations. It's usually better to be explicit about which properties you want to animate.Performance : Animating expensive properties like
widthorheightcan cause layout thrashing. For smoother results, prefer animatingtransformandopacity.Browser support : While modern browsers support transitions well, always test across platforms, especially if targeting older devices or mobile environments.
Basically that's it.
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