Entrance Effects

Entrance effects animate elements into view as users scroll down the page. These use CSS scroll-driven animations via animation-timeline: view(), providing smooth, performant animations without JavaScript.

Available Effects

Class	Effect
.on-enter--fade	Fades from transparent to opaque
.on-enter--float	Floats up from below
.on-enter--sink	Sinks down from above
.on-enter--slide-left	Slides in from the right
.on-enter--slide-right	Slides in from the left
.on-enter--grow	Grows from a smaller scale
.on-enter--shrink	Shrinks from a larger scale
.on-enter--blur	Starts blurred, then sharpens
.on-enter--parallax	Parallax depth effect

Basic Usage

<section class="on-enter--fade">
  This section fades in as you scroll to it
</section>

Composable Effects

Combine multiple effects for richer animations:

<div class="on-enter--fade on-enter--float on-enter--grow">
  This element fades in, floats up, AND grows simultaneously
</div>

All animations play together, creating a unified entrance effect.

Animating Children

Use the -all variant to animate direct children instead of the parent:

<div class="on-enter-all--fade on-enter-all--float">
  <div>Child 1 animates in</div>
  <div>Child 2 animates in</div>
  <div>Child 3 animates in</div>
</div>

The parent container doesn't animate—only its direct children.

Animation Timing

Range Settings

Control when the animation starts and ends relative to the element's position in the viewport:

Variable	Default	Description
--animate-range-start	entry 20%	When animation begins
--animate-range-end	entry 100%	When animation completes

The entry keyword refers to when the element enters the viewport from the bottom.

.slow-reveal {
  --animate-range-start: entry 0%;
  --animate-range-end: entry 80%;
}

Staggered Children

Add .on-enter--stagger to a parent using -all classes to automatically stagger each child's animation based on its position:

<div class="on-enter-all--fade on-enter-all--float on-enter--stagger">
  <div>Child 1 — animates first</div>
  <div>Child 2 — delayed by stagger interval</div>
  <div>Child 3 — delayed by 2× stagger interval</div>
</div>

Configure the stagger interval in the dashboard under the Timing section. The default interval is 5% of the scroll range.

note

Stagger uses CSS sibling-index(), which has limited browser support. In unsupported browsers, all children animate simultaneously.

Customization

Starting Opacity

For fade effect:

.my-element {
  --enter-opacity-start: 0.2; /* Start at 20% opacity instead of fully transparent */
}

Distance

Each movement effect has its own distance variable:

.my-element {
  --enter-float-distance: 60px;  /* Float distance */
  --enter-sink-distance: 60px;   /* Sink distance */
  --enter-slide-distance: 60px;  /* Slide distance */
}

Scale

For grow and shrink effects:

.my-element {
  --enter-scale-start: 0.8;  /* Start at 80% for grow */
  --enter-scale-shrink: 1.2; /* Start at 120% for shrink */
}

Blur

For blur effect:

.my-element {
  --enter-blur-amount: 12px; /* More blur */
}

Parallax Effect

The parallax effect creates a depth illusion where the element moves slower than the scroll:

<div class="image-container">
  <img src="background.jpg" class="on-enter--parallax" alt="Parallax background">
</div>

Important: The parent container should have overflow: hidden to clip the parallax movement.

.image-container {
  overflow: hidden;
}

.on-enter--parallax {
  --enter-parallax-distance: 200px; /* Total travel distance */
}

Browser Support

Scroll-driven animations require browser support for animation-timeline: view():

• Supported: Chrome 115+, Edge 115+
• Graceful fallback: In unsupported browsers, elements appear immediately without animation

/* ACSS includes this fallback automatically */
@supports not (animation-timeline: view()) {
  [class*="on-enter--"] {
    opacity: 1;
    transform: none;
    filter: none;
  }
}

Best Practices

1. Use sparingly: Too many scroll animations can feel overwhelming
2. Keep distances small: Subtle movements (20-60px) feel more polished
3. Test on scroll: Verify animations feel smooth at different scroll speeds
4. Consider mobile: Test on touch devices where scroll behavior differs
5. Combine thoughtfully: 2-3 combined effects usually work better than more