Micro-animations are everywhere-button hovers, loading spinners, sliding menus. But most of them are decorative fluff that slows down your interface. The best micro-animations serve a purpose: they explain what just happened.
The golden rule: explain change
Every time something changes on your interface-content appears, disappears, or moves-users need to understand what happened. Good micro-animations bridge that gap.
Instead of content just popping into existence, show where it came from. Instead of items vanishing, show where they went. Your users' brains will thank you.
When micro-animations help
1. Navigation changes
When users click a menu item or change pages, a smooth transition helps them understand the spatial relationship between views.
Good: Slide from left to right when moving between steps in a form
Bad: Bouncy animations that serve no purpose
2. State changes
When something changes state-loading, success, error-animation helps users understand what's happening.
Good: Button transforms into a checkmark after successful submission
Bad: Random sparkles that don't communicate anything
3. Showing relationships
When content is related to something else on the page, animation can show that connection.
Good: Modal slides up from the button that triggered it
Bad: Modal just fades in from nowhere
4. Providing feedback
Quick animations can confirm that user actions were registered, especially important on touch interfaces.
Good: Button scales down slightly when tapped
Bad: Button wiggles for no reason
When to skip animations
- They don't explain anything-they're just decoration
- They slow down frequent interactions
- Users have requested reduced motion in their settings
- The animation feels laggy or stutters on slower devices
Technical guidelines
Keep these principles in mind when implementing micro-animations:
- Duration: Keep it under 300ms for UI feedback, up to 500ms for transitions
- Easing: Use ease-out for things appearing, ease-in for things disappearing
- Performance: Animate transform and opacity properties, avoid layout changes
- Accessibility: Respect prefers-reduced-motion settings
A simple test
Before adding any animation, ask yourself: "Does this help users understand what's happening?" If the answer is no, skip it. Your interface will be faster and your users will be happier.
Remember: the best animations are the ones users don't consciously notice-they just make the interface feel smooth and predictable.
Key takeaway
Micro-animations should explain change, not decorate your interface. Use them to show relationships, provide feedback, and help users understand what's happening. When in doubt, leave them out-a fast, predictable interface beats a decorated one every time.