Enhancing Web Experiences with the View Transitions API

Introduction

In modern web development, users expect interfaces to feel smooth and polished, with transitions that enhance the overall experience. However, achieving seamless animations often requires writing complex CSS, managing JavaScript-based transitions, and handling performance issues, which can be both time-consuming and challenging.

The View Transitions API simplifies this process by providing a native browser-based solution for smooth animations during DOM updates. Instead of relying on external libraries or custom animations, this API offers a declarative approach to handling transitions, ensuring better performance and maintainability.

So let’s explore what it is, and how to use it, I also include how to effortlessly implement it in your Next.js Apps.

What is the View Transitions API?

The View Transitions API is a built-in animation engine for your UI updates. Whether you're swapping out content, handling page transitions, or animating a modal, it makes things look fluid automatically.

Here’s why it’s different from what you’ve been doing so far:

• No manual keyframes – The browser does the heavy lifting for you.
• Native optimization – Unlike janky JS-based animations, this runs smoothly at the browser level.
• Simpler syntax – A single function (document.startViewTransition()) wraps your updates and makes them transition seamlessly.

Key Features of the View Transitions API

• Built-in Animations: Handles DOM updates and navigation transitions out of the box.
• Zero external dependencies: No need for GSAP, Framer Motion, or custom CSS/JS hacks.
• Customizable: Want more control? You can define your own animations.
• Browser Optimized: Uses GPU acceleration and frame timing to ensure smooth transitions.
• Works for SPAs & MPAs: Whether you're working with React, Next.js, or a classic multi-page app, you can use it anywhere.

Where Should You Use It?

• SPA Route Changes – Instead of abrupt page swaps, you get fluid transitions that enhance user experience. Navigating between pages no longer feels jarring but instead flows naturally, making single-page applications feel more polished.
• Dynamic Content Updates – Elements like lists, modals, popovers, and image previews benefit greatly from smooth animations. Instead of content snapping into place, the transitions ensure a visual connection between old and new states.
• Multi-Page Transitions – If you're still working with a traditional multi-page application, this API makes navigating between full document reloads feel more modern and interactive.
• UI Interactions – Expanding cards, switching tabs, toggling views—anything that dynamically modifies the DOM can be enhanced with seamless animations, improving engagement and usability.

How to Use the View Transitions API

1. The Basics – One Function to Rule Them All

The core method is document.startViewTransition(). It takes a function that updates the DOM and wraps it in an animation.

if (document.startViewTransition) {
  document.startViewTransition(() => {
    document.getElementById("content").textContent = "New Content!"
  })
} else {
  document.getElementById("content").textContent = "New Content!"
}

2. Customizing Transitions with CSS

Wanna tweak the animations? The API exposes pseudo-elements for the old and new states. You can style them like this:

::view-transition-old(root) {
  animation: fadeOut 0.3s ease-out;
}

::view-transition-new(root) {
  animation: fadeIn 0.3s ease-in;
}

@keyframes fadeOut {
  from {
    opacity: 1;
  }
  to {
    opacity: 0;
  }
}

@keyframes fadeIn {
  from {
    opacity: 0;
  }
  to {
    opacity: 1;
  }
}

3. Animating Page Navigation

Need smooth page transitions? Wrap your navigation logic inside startViewTransition().

const links = document.querySelectorAll("a")
links.forEach((link) => {
  link.addEventListener("click", (event) => {
    event.preventDefault()
    document.startViewTransition(() => {
      window.location.href = link.href
    })
  })
})

Limitations of View Transition API

• Limited Browser Support - Currently, the View Transition API is only available in Chromium-based browsers like Chrome and Edge. It’s not supported in Firefox or Safari yet.
• Works Best with Declarative DOM Updates - The API captures the "before" and "after" states of elements, but it requires DOM updates to happen synchronously within a single animation frame. If you’re using asynchronous updates (like fetching data before updating the UI), transitions might not work as expected.
• Limited Support for Complex Animations - The API is great for crossfade and slide transitions, but it does not support complex GSAP-style animations (e.g., morphing, staggered animations, or physics-based transitions).
• Does not support Spring Animations - The API primarily uses CSS-based animations and interpolates element properties (like position, opacity, and scale) over a fixed duration. It lacks built-in support for spring physics, which require dynamic easing and velocity-based motion.

Why Should You Bother with View Transitions API?

• Saves time – Writing animations manually is tedious. This makes it effortless.
• Better performance – Browser-optimized animations reduce jank and improve UX.
• Cleaner code – Reduces the need for third-party libraries and custom scripts.
• Framework-friendly – Works seamlessly with React, Next.js, Vue, or plain JavaScript.
• Future-proof – As browser support grows, this API will likely become the standard for UI transitions.

View Transitions API with Next.js

Fortunately there’s a npm package that integrates with Next.js directly and makes using View Transitions API very easy. Here’s the steps to getting it integrated into your existing Next.js App.

1. Installing the Dependency

For Next.js, install next-view-transitions through npm:

npm install next-view-transitions

2. Setting Up a Layout Wrapper

To use the package, you need to wrap your Entire Layout with a <ViewTransitions> provider that comes with the package.

In layout.tsx, wrap your pages with the transition provider:

import { ViewTransitions } from "next-view-transitions"

export default function Layout({ children }) {
  return <ViewTransitions>{children}</ViewTransitions>
}

3. Replacing next/link with View Transitions

Now to use the page transitions replace your <Link> from next/link with <Link> from next-view-transitions

import { Link } from "next-view-transitions"

const MyComponent = () => {
  return <Link href="/about">Go to About</Link>
}

And that’s it, now as you navigate between the pages you should be able to see smooth transition. You can take look at there example here

Final Thoughts

The View Transitions API is still new, but it’s already showing massive potential. That makes it the perfect time to learn and get started with it. If you’re building modern web apps, it’s definitely worth experimenting with.

Resources

• MDN Docs
• Example Sites
  • Lee Robinson Website
  • Jitendra Nirnejak