Are animations good for websites?
By Gareth Henry | Last Updated 14 December 2022
There’s a common wisdom that is shared amongst people who run websites: Plain as day websites rule Google’s Search Results Page (SERP).
How can this be? We’re all very visual people, so how can a plain and boring website rule the SERP?
There are three very good reasons for this:
- SEO relies (in part) on speed and plain website are very speedy and scale well on budget servers.
- Websites that are heavily iterated tend to outrank the competition. So, websites that are overly produced can’t move fast enough to iterate
- Budgets are way too tight to accommodate heavy design work that may not pay off
Now, what if I told you I believe these three reasons are now outdated?
Could the future of websites lie in the exceptional aspects such as animations rather than simple text? I believe so.
I’ll give you a real-life example. AppSalon was commissioned to redesign the website for OZ Discus, a premium Discus importer and fish store in Sydney, Australia. After the redesign, OZ Discus received an instant and massive jump in their SEO. The only tangible difference in design? Animation.
I had been keeping an eye on the evolution of design work within the most recent websites world-wide, and I’d seen some remarkable jumps in the level of design business owners were experimenting with.
And their risks seemed to be paying off! These businesses were clearly in a good place within their business compared to their competition’s dated, static designs.
In saying that, let’s dive into some myths about animations and websites that may be stopping you from investing in further animation and design.
Myth #1: Websites with animations are too slow
NO.
One of the most asked questions in website design is, “Do animations slow down my website?”
In the old days of the internet where we used flash, animations did indeed slow down your website. However, browsers and internet speeds have come a long way.
CSS and JavaScript animation is optimised for speed. In fact, website based programming languages have evolved and are so much more advanced than even just a few years ago (for example, node.js chrome uses, is able to handle 1000s of concurrent events between server and host without issue.) Also, new compression technology that we are of aware of can compress up to 90% of the original file size with a click of the button! This has made AppSalon websites extremely fast while still being video and animation heavy.
Today, when you have an animation on your website, you’re not loading an elephant anymore, you are loading a cheetah ready to spring.
Myth #2: Complex websites are too expensive and confusing. Simple is better
KIND OF.
If you splatter design all over your website without any thought, yes, you will simply end up with a big design bill.
Check out our case study on Nano Tanks Australia to see how custom design led practices increased trust.
Remember, not every page on your website needs bespoke animation. You can reuse the same animation across the homepage and in the header of posts and pages.
If you hook the user with something interesting as soon as they load the page, you’ll engage a higher percentage of users.
In fact, AppSalon designed and developed websites feature the lowest bounce rates; as low as you could ever expect (and we know!). Four out of five people do not bounce on a website created by us (results may differ).
We like to think our thoughtful complexity has something to do with it.
Myth #3: Tight budgets don’t allow for animations. The costs outweigh the value
FALSE, within reason.
My Dad used to say, “In small business, a dollar saved is two earnt,” and I’d have to agree.
Efficiency must be an ideal state that is a process driven within the business. Hard calls on ROI must be made often and early.
In saying that, do you think a website that looks like it was produced using powerpoint is going to stand out?
Especially when our visual senses are treated throughout the day on our phone and monitor with stimulating moving short videos, movies, and games?
It might do the job, but the only reason you would get some results is because all your competition is at the same low level (and in the last few years I’m betting the competition has gotten tougher as people become more aware of digital marketing systems).
Instead, you need to grab them by the balls; eyeballs that is. And an animation is a cheap way out.
Some may say that a disadvantage of animation is that it’s too expensive. I would disagree.
An animation can be as simple as a bit of motion and interactivity. It may just stimulate the bored brain enough to light up a few neurons for the user and get your website working as intended.
It needn’t cost much more than a standard commercial design website. After all, there are some very skilled vendors producing magic for a reasonable cost.
However, there aren’t many website designers that delve into animations due to the many complexities introduced. And so often, the quality may not be what you were expecting as conservative or templated animated designs are proposed due to designer inexperience.
How to find the right animation for your website
Now, you might be asking, “Do I need to spend time and money to find the right animation that also makes my website work? That seems too hard!”
WE’VE DONE THE VETTING FOR YOU. (WE HAVE CONSULTED HUNDREDS OF ANIMATION PROVIDERS BY NOW)
Rather than offer a marketplace, or a service, simply hit us up and we can help produce the animation and design to your standard. Our premium commercial website designs only cost $997 (AUD) so you can get a commercial grade website design and animation ideation in less than 14 days.
If the animation is good to go, a full custom code development for your homepage which you can template throughout the whole website, will only cost an additional $2000 and take an additional 14 days. Animation is included at development stage.
But this price will not last much longer! Commercial websites typically cost $10,000++ for a reason, and 2023 we are increasing prices to reflect our position as the premium high ticket design service that you can rely on to produce results for your business.