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CSS Transitions

CSS Transitions are a powerful tool that can make your websites more dynamic and interactive. They allow you to animate changes to CSS properties, making the transitions from one state to another smooth and gradual, rather than abrupt and sudden.

What are CSS Transitions?

CSS Transitions are a feature in CSS that lets you gradually change an element's style from one state to another. This can be done over a specified duration.

For example, you can transition an element's background color from red to blue over a period of 2 seconds. Without transitions, this change would be instantaneous.

How to Use CSS Transitions

To implement CSS Transitions, you need to specify two things:

  1. The CSS property you want to transition.
  2. The duration of the transition.

These are defined in your CSS using the transition property. Here's an example:

div {
transition: background-color 2s;
}

In this example, the background-color of the div will change over a period of 2s (2 seconds).

Transitioning Multiple Properties

You can transition more than one property at the same time. Simply separate each property and duration pair with a comma, like so:

div {
transition: background-color 2s, width 1s;
}

In this case, the background-color will transition over 2 seconds, and the width will transition over 1 second.

Transition Timing Functions

By default, transitions happen at a constant speed from start to finish. However, you can change the pacing of the transition using timing functions. There are several built-in timing functions in CSS:

  • linear: This is the default value. The transition happens at a constant speed.
  • ease: The transition starts slow, becomes faster in the middle, and ends slowly.
  • ease-in: The transition starts slow.
  • ease-out: The transition ends slow.
  • ease-in-out: The transition starts and ends slow.

Here's how you can use a timing function:

div {
transition: background-color 2s ease-in-out;
}

In this example, the background-color will transition over 2 seconds, starting and ending slowly.

Transition Delays

Sometimes, you may want the transition to start after a certain delay. You can achieve this using the transition-delay property.

Here's an example:

div {
transition: background-color 2s ease-in-out;
transition-delay: 1s;
}

In this case, the background-color transition will start after a delay of 1s.

In conclusion, CSS Transitions are a simple and effective way to add a touch of dynamism to your website. By gradually changing CSS properties, you can make your site more engaging and interactive. Remember, practice is key when mastering CSS Transitions, so keep experimenting with different properties and durations to see what works best for your design.