Mind-blowing page animations are easy now... View Transitions API first look

Beyond Fireship
13 Aug 202305:00

TLDRIn this video, the presenter introduces the new View Transitions API in Astro, which allows for smooth, mobile-like animations between web pages with minimal code. The API, though experimental and not supported in all browsers, provides a fallback for unsupported environments. It enables features like client-side routing, which was a previous limitation of Astro. The presenter shares how to implement a fading animation between routes and discusses the trade-offs, such as the need for some JavaScript and changes to how developers manage JavaScript state and event listeners. The video also demonstrates how to use the transition persist directive to maintain state and functionality across page transitions. Additionally, the presenter shows how to create custom animations, including a 'hero animation' that smoothly transitions an image from one page to another, enhancing the user experience. The video concludes with a practical example using pictures to illustrate the ease of implementing these transitions in Astro.

Takeaways

  • 🚀 **View Transitions API**: A new feature in Astro that allows for mobile-like hero animations with minimal code.
  • 🔄 **Client-side Routing**: Astro now supports client-side routing, transferring JavaScript state between routes, which was a previous limitation.
  • 🌐 **Browser Support**: The View Transitions API is experimental and not supported in every browser, but Astro provides a fallback for unsupported browsers.
  • 📦 **Performance**: The implementation adds a small JavaScript overhead (around 4.5 kilobytes), but it has minimal impact on page load performance.
  • 🛠️ **Developer Experience**: Developers need to adjust their approach, as some JavaScript that runs on every page now only runs once, requiring modifications for persistent behavior.
  • 🎨 **Customizability**: The API allows for custom animations and transitions, offering a high level of flexibility for route animations.
  • 🔄 **State Persistence**: Using the `transition persist` directive can help maintain JavaScript state and event listeners across page transitions.
  • 📚 **Documentation**: The sveltefire documentation showcases a fading animation between routes, indicating soft navigation detection.
  • 🌟 **Hero Animations**: The API facilitates smooth hero animations, providing a seamless user experience similar to iOS and Android apps.
  • 📖 **Content Management**: Astro's out-of-the-box content management system, combined with its performance and framework flexibility, makes it an attractive choice for web development.
  • 🔧 **Component Architecture**: Astro's Island architecture allows for separating interactive components from static HTML, which works well with the View Transitions API.

Q & A

  • What is the main focus of the video?

    -The main focus of the video is to demonstrate how to create mobile-like hero animations that transfer an image from one page to the next using the View Transitions API in Astro.

  • What was the key feature missing from Astro that the speaker initially declined to use for their project?

    -The key feature missing from Astro that the speaker initially declined to use was the ability to do client-side routing that transfers JavaScript state from one route to another.

  • Why did the speaker choose to use Svelte, Hugo, and a custom-built router called Flamethrower for their project?

    -The speaker chose to use Svelte, Hugo, and Flamethrower because they like to have fun and live dangerously by rolling their own solutions, although they acknowledge that this stack might not be ideal for most people.

  • What is the drawback of using Astro for a website with user authentication and progress tracking?

    -The drawback is that Astro, unlike SSR Frameworks like Next.js, Nuxt, and SvelteKit, does a full page reload whenever you click a link or navigate to a new page, which can make it more difficult for a website with complex features like user authentication and progress tracking.

  • What is the new feature in Astro that has changed the speaker's perspective on using it for their project?

    -The new feature in Astro that has changed the speaker's perspective is the View Transitions API, which allows for client-side routing and transferring of JavaScript state between routes.

  • How does the View Transitions API provide a fallback for browsers that do not support it?

    -The View Transitions API provides a fallback by using the underlying browser API of the same name, and Astro offers a fallback for browsers that do not support this experimental API.

  • What is the impact of using the View Transitions API on the page load performance?

    -The impact on the page load performance is minimal, with the additional JavaScript required for the View Transitions API sitting at around 4.5 kilobytes.

  • How does the View Transitions API change the way developers have to think about JavaScript on their website?

    -The View Transitions API works similarly to Turbo Links, meaning JavaScript that was running on every page now only runs once on the initial page load, requiring developers to adapt their code to work with soft navigation and maintain state across different routes.

  • What is the 'transition persist' directive in Astro used for?

    -The 'transition persist' directive in Astro is used to take the current element along with any state attached to it and transfer it over to the next page, ensuring that any JavaScript state or event listeners attached to it continue to work as normal.

  • How does the View Transitions API facilitate route animations?

    -The View Transitions API facilitates route animations by providing a simple way to define transitions between routes. It allows for default fade animations and also supports custom animations, making it easier to create smooth and visually appealing route transitions.

  • What is a 'hero animation' and how is it implemented in the Astro music library example?

    -A 'hero animation' is a smooth transition effect often seen on iOS and Android platforms, where a prominent element (the 'hero') transitions smoothly between two different states or pages. In the Astro music library example, it is implemented by ensuring the album image remains on the page and smoothly slides into the correct position on the next page.

  • How does the speaker demonstrate the ease of creating hero animations with the View Transitions API in Astro?

    -The speaker demonstrates this by creating a demo with a grid of images on the main page, where each image links to a dedicated page. The hero animation is achieved by defining transition names for each image and using the View Transitions API to smoothly move the image from the thumbnail to the dedicated page.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Introduction to Mobile-like Hero Animations

The video begins with an introduction to creating mobile-like hero animations that transition images seamlessly between pages using minimal code. The speaker reflects on their previous project, the Fireship IO course platform, which they rebuilt using Svelte, Hugo, and a custom router called Flamethrower. They discuss their preference for custom solutions and the limitations they faced without client-side routing. The video then transitions into discussing Astro, a framework that initially lacked client-side routing but has since introduced a new view transitions API. This API allows for JavaScript state transfer between routes, making it a strong contender for the Fireship IO website rebuild. The speaker also shares their experience with implementing the view transitions API, noting the performance benefits and the need for JavaScript, which slightly increases the page load size.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Mobile-like Hero Animations

Mobile-like hero animations refer to the visually engaging transitions that mimic the smooth and dynamic user interface (UI) transitions found in mobile applications. In the context of the video, these animations are used to seamlessly transfer an image from one webpage to the next, enhancing the user experience with a fluid and visually appealing motion.

💡Two Lines of Code

This phrase emphasizes the simplicity and efficiency of implementing certain functionalities in web development. In the video, it is mentioned that achieving the hero animations can be done with minimal code, specifically 'just two lines,' which underscores the ease of use and accessibility of the technology being discussed.

💡Svelte

Svelte is a modern front-end framework for building web applications. It is known for its efficient approach to building user interfaces by compiling components into highly optimized JavaScript at build time. In the video, Svelte is one of the frameworks mentioned as being used in the development of the Fireship IO course platform.

💡Client-Side Routing

Client-side routing is a technique used in web development to manage page navigation without requiring a full page reload. This allows for a smoother and faster user experience. The video discusses the importance of client-side routing for maintaining JavaScript state across different routes, which is crucial for complex web applications with features like user authentication and progress tracking.

💡Astro

Astro is a web framework designed for building fast, modern websites. It is highlighted in the video for its new View Transitions API, which enables the creation of smooth page transitions akin to those found in mobile operating systems. Astro is noted for its performance benefits and its ability to integrate with various frameworks, making it a versatile choice for web development.

💡View Transitions API

The View Transitions API is a feature introduced by Astro that allows developers to create smooth and visually appealing transitions between different pages or views in a web application. It is based on the browser's underlying API of the same name and provides a fallback for browsers that do not support it. The API is central to the video's demonstration of how to achieve advanced animations with minimal code.

💡Soft Navigation

Soft navigation refers to the process of navigating between pages or views in a web application in a way that does not cause a full page reload. This is in contrast to hard navigation, which involves a complete refresh of the page. In the video, soft navigation is used in conjunction with the View Transitions API to maintain JavaScript state and provide a seamless user experience.

💡JavaScript State

JavaScript state refers to the current conditions or settings of a web application that are stored and managed by JavaScript. Maintaining this state across different pages or views is important for features like user preferences, form inputs, and interactive elements. The video discusses the challenges and solutions related to preserving JavaScript state during soft navigation using the View Transitions API.

💡Transition Persist Directive

The transition persist directive is a feature within the Astro framework that allows certain elements to maintain their state and event listeners across page transitions. This is particularly useful for interactive components that need to retain their functionality even after a soft navigation. The video demonstrates how this directive can be used to keep a top navigation component functional after a view transition.

💡Route Animations

Route animations are the visual effects that occur when navigating between different routes or pages in a web application. The video showcases how the View Transitions API simplifies the creation of these animations, allowing for default fade effects as well as custom animations like sliding content from one side of the screen to the other.

💡Hero Animation

A hero animation is a specific type of route animation that is characterized by a prominent element, such as an image, that transitions smoothly from one page to another while maintaining its position and visibility. This technique is commonly used in mobile operating systems and provides a cohesive and engaging user experience. The video includes an example of a hero animation where an album cover transitions smoothly between views.

Highlights

Learn to create mobile-like hero animations that transfer an image from one page to the next with minimal code.

A year ago, the Fireship IO course platform was rebuilt using Svelte, Hugo, and a custom router called Flamethrower.

Astro lacked client-side routing for transferring JavaScript state between routes, a feature now addressed with the new View Transitions API.

The View Transitions API is experimental and not supported in every browser, but Astro provides a fallback.

Astro's View Transitions API allows for easy integration of any framework, or multiple frameworks, simultaneously.

The implementation of View Transitions in Svelte involves importing the component and adding it to the HTML head.

View Transitions adds a pseudo-element for animations, such as a fading effect between routes.

The API requires approximately 4.5 kilobytes of JavaScript, impacting the performance minimally.

Developers need to adjust their approach as the API works similarly to Turbo Links, running JavaScript once per session.

JavaScript functionality, like toggling between light and dark mode, may require adjustments for persistent state across soft navigations.

The transition persist directive can maintain JavaScript state and event listeners across page transitions.

Astro's Island architecture separates interactive components from static HTML, enhancing the effectiveness of View Transitions.

Transitions can be named for components in different locations, aiding in complex animations.

Custom animations can be created for route transitions, offering a high level of control over the user experience.

Hero animations, like sliding an image from a list to a dedicated page, provide a smooth and engaging user experience.

Astro makes it simple to create complex animations, as demonstrated with a music library example.

The video includes a demo of how images can be transitioned smoothly between pages using Astro's View Transitions API.

Each image in the demo has a unique transition name, facilitating the movement of elements between pages.

The View Transitions API allows for the creation of dynamic and stylish animations on Astro sites.