How to Use View Transitions API for Seamless Page Animations in Modern Browsers

The View Transitions API is a new web platform feature that enables seamless, native-like page transitions on the web. This API is now available in Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers as of 2023 and is designed to improve the perceived responsiveness of Single Page Applications (SPAs) and even Multi Page Applications (MPAs).

What Is the View Transitions API?

The View Transitions API lets you animate changes between DOM states using built-in support from the browser. Unlike manually crafting animations with JavaScript or CSS, it handles snapshots and transitions natively, making it smoother and easier to implement.

Browser Support

This feature is currently supported in Chromium browsers (Chrome, Edge) and is under development in Firefox and Safari. Use feature detection before implementing.

if (!document.startViewTransition) {
  console.warn("View Transitions API is not supported in this browser.");
}

Basic Example

To create a basic view transition:

document.querySelector("button").addEventListener("click", () => {
  if (!document.startViewTransition) return;

  document.startViewTransition(() => {
    document.body.classList.toggle("dark");
  });
});

With appropriate CSS:

html {
  transition: background-color 0.4s ease;
}

.dark {
  background-color: #111;
  color: #fff;
}

Animating Specific Elements

You can assign custom names to elements you want to animate between states using the view-transition-name property.

<img src="img1.jpg" style="view-transition-name: hero-img;" />

When the DOM updates (e.g., user clicks to navigate or show different content), the browser will animate the element with the same view-transition-name between states.

Using with React

To use this in React, you’ll need to manually wrap state changes with the API:

function App() {
  const [dark, setDark] = useState(false);

  const toggleTheme = () => {
    if (document.startViewTransition) {
      document.startViewTransition(() => {
        setDark(prev => !prev);
      });
    } else {
      setDark(prev => !prev);
    }
  };

  return (
    <div className={dark ? "dark" : ""}>
      <button onClick={toggleTheme}>Toggle Theme</button>
    </div>
  );
}

Potential Use Cases

• Theme switches (light/dark)
• Page or tab transitions in SPAs
• Image gallery transitions
• Multi-page navigation with enhanced UX

Fallback Handling

Always include a fallback path if document.startViewTransition is not supported, so your app remains functional for all users.

Conclusion

The View Transitions API is a powerful new tool for modern front-end developers to create smooth and accessible transitions without relying on complex libraries. As browser support improves, it’s poised to become a standard approach for rich user interfaces on the web.

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