Introduction to CSS Transitions

The concept of CSS Transitions, or simply transitions in CSS, is one of the attractive features of the CSS design language that allows us to smoothly change the properties of CSS elements rather than abruptly. Using this capability can beautify website designs and increase user interaction and engagement.

Assume you want to change the background color of a button when the mouse hovers over it. By utilizing CSS Transitions, this color change can smoothly take place instead of sudden changes. This user experience can be significantly improved.

For working with CSS Transitions, you first need to determine which properties should change over time. Additionally, you should specify how long this transition should last, and if necessary, the speed of the changes using timing functions.

Let’s take a look at how to define CSS Transitions. In the following code snippet, there is a simple example of changing the background color of a button when it is hovered over:

.button {
  background-color: blue;
  transition: background-color 0.5s ease;
}

.button:hover {
  background-color: green;
}

In the above example, the transition property is applied to the .button class. Let’s explain it line by line:

• background-color: blue;
  The background color of the button is initially set to blue.
• transition: background-color 0.5s ease;
  When the background-color property changes, the transition lasts for 0.5 seconds and uses the ease timing function.
• .button:hover
  This class is applied when the user hovers over the button.
• background-color: green;
  When the mouse is over the button, the background color changes to green.