Believe it or not, animation is really just an illusion to make you think that something is changing. Your brain doesn’t see the small changes that are made to an object on a web page, making it appear as if there is real motion.

Animation on a web page could include motion or changes to any object on the page. For example, you might see a dog moving into a doghouse.

Or you might see a big, angry red square turn into a small, happy yellow square.

Animation is a handy tool, but there should always be a reason for animating an object, other than just trying to look cool and geeky. The next page will help you understand the principles behind deciding whether or not to animate. Let’s go!