HTML animations are elements that appear to move or change in a web page without user input. They can be created using GIF files, libraries of functions, or external programming languages. Complex animations are often created in separate programs and embedded as media files.
In HyperText Markup Language (HTML), an HTML animation is any element that appears to move or change in a web page, usually without any user input. It can be anything from a bouncing ball to a series of letters that flash on and off like a neon sign. The actual HTML standard and cascading style sheets (CSS) don’t really have any intrinsic animation tags or functions, although they do provide enough access to the rendering parts of a web browser that animation can be done by changing the rendering properties of an element. More often, animated image file formats, external programming languages, or links to streaming media sources are used, especially in the case of complex or lengthy animations.
An easy way to create an HTML animation is to use a special file format for graphics known as a graphic image file (GIF). This file format allows multiple images to be stored in one file, along with some other information which is interpreted by a web browser and displayed as an animation sequence. A GIF file has the advantage of not requiring any special plug-ins or software and is relatively small in size. Some restrictions, however, include a set number of colors in images and are somewhat inefficient for larger HTML animation sequences.
Another popular way to create an HTML animation is through the use of a library of functions developed separately, via CSS or another programming language, which are called from within the website’s HTML code. This has the benefit of providing a good deal of flexibility and animation options. Complications can arise if a particular web browser has scripts disabled, lacks library support, as might be the case on a handheld device, or has low processing power, because animation libraries might be very taxing on a system.
For a complex or very long HTML animation, a common method is to construct the completed animation in a separate program and then register that animation as a media file type. Within an HTML document, the media file is embedded as an element where the animation automatically plays for the user. This can help relieve some of the load on your computer’s processor and can be very memory efficient. Conversely, a streaming media HTML animation can take up a large amount of bandwidth and may not display correctly if an Internet connection speed is too slow.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
