add animation to your website
Use custom code and plug-ins to add movement to your website
Make your pages more appealing in RapidWeaver
Two decades ago, the internet was very different: broadly static, text-based, and – from a visual standpoint – rather dull.
Today, though, you can run rich and complex animations – and even entire games – in a web browser, without the need for plug-ins like Flash to do so.
The rapid evolution of web standards made all this possible. Developers, browser makers and users demanded new features, standards bodies smashed out better specifications, and browser makers integrated them into their software. But while the nature of coding for the web is modular, component-based and flexible, adding advanced capabilities such as animation to a page can be a mite trickier with software like RealMac’s RapidWeaver
Because RapidWeaver simplifies creating websites by way of an interface that’s akin to a desktop publishing tool, you get what you’re given, and generally work within strict templates. This is great for grabbing a design, adding content, and flinging the result at your web host, but restrictive if you fancy animating some of your content.
However, that doesn’t mean you can’t add animation to websites made in RapidWeaver; you just have to get your hands a bit dirtier than usual. As we’ll show in the walkthroughs, some basic animation can be added on a site-wide basis purely through the use of custom CSS – a process that takes only minutes and is entirely free. Elsewhere, you might delve into Stacks, a plug-in that turns RapidWeaver into a more flexible tool, to which you can bolt on any number of add-ons, some of which are animation-oriented. (Stacks costs about £41, but you can try it out for free.)
Show some restraint
Note that you should always take care when adding animation. Some users find animated content overbearing, and extreme examples can result in motion sickness. Also, depending on the trigger that starts an animation playing, you may find that your creations only work in certain environments.
In addition, animation can tax patience as much as browsers, so use it sparingly and tastefully, rather than have every element on your site twitch about like it’s had itching powder pitched down its shirt. And, as ever, remember to test your work across all platforms before making it live, if the site in question is deemed important.
Stacks makes RapidWeaver more flexible for adding animation to your website