Creating Transitions with CSS

How to create basic transition animations on links and other elements with CSS.

1327 views

Edited: 2019-10-14 13:10

Creating transitions when hovering links, and other HTML elements, can be done using the transition property in CSS. It works by feeding it a comma separated list of attributes you want the animation applied on.

If you are changing the color of links on hovering, the below would create a nice fade transition effect between the normal state and the :hover state:

a {
  color:rgb(100,100,245);
  transition:color 0.2s;
}
a:hover {
  background:rgba(225,225,225, 0.5);
}

It also works for other elements. Keep in mind you might still need to use the Pseudo-Classes in the right order :link, :visited, :hover, :active (LVHA). It should be fine when only changing the hover state, however.

Adding multiple transitions

As mentioned earlier, to add transitions on multiple properties, you simply separate each property with comma, like so:

a {
  color:rgb(100,100,245);
  transition:color 0.2s,background 0.2s,font-size 0.5s;
}

The above would create a smooth transition on color, background and font-size. If you are actually changing those on the :hover state. You can add more as needed.

More complex animations with CSS keyframes

With CSS keyframes it is possible to create more complex animations. They give a more detailed control over what is going to happen, and when you want it to happen. For instance, you can use the animation-delay property to control when the animation is going to start. This can be useful if you want a HTML element to appear some time after the page is opened.

You can also control other aspects of the animation, such as whether it is supposed to persist at the final state, or revert to its initial state. This can be done with the animation-fill-mode property.

As with many other CSS properties, all can be set in a single deceleration using the animation short-hand.

See:Exploding text with CSS

Tell us what you think:

  1. How to add hover effects on links using CSS pseudo classes.
  2. Beginners tutorial on how to hand-code, and animate .svg files with CSS.
  3. In this tutorial you can learn how to create a nice exploding text transition for your website CV, or for use on a credit roll page. The effect is made with pure HTML and CSS, and no JavaScript is required.
  4. Radial Stripes can be quite fancy when used right in web-design. In this tutorial you will learn how to create animated, rotating radial stripes with CSS.

More in: CSS Animation