Understanding Animated Down Arrows
The animated down arrow is a button that helps users navigate your website by jumping to a specific section in one click.
When executed properly, the feature improves the user experience, incentivizes users to engage, and takes them directly to important information.
Below are some examples of animated down arrows:
1. Basic Arrow
A simple design with universal appeal that gets directly to the point.
2. Inverted Pyramid
Used to compliment futuristic, minimalistic designs.
3. Mouse Scroll Icon
An excellent option for websites that cater to desktop users.
4. Arrow Sign
Offers a great opportunity to incorporate branding.
5. Three Arrows
Creates urgency with subtle movement.
You can use any type of down arrow to direct users to the following section or a specific part of the page.
For example, if you are building a recipe page, you can use the animated down arrow to send users to the list of ingredients in case they want to skip the information about the recipe and get straight to cooking.
The Psychology Behind Animated Down Arrows
As you know, the success of a webpage or page element is represented by relatively small values.
For example
A conversion rate of 4% is considered average across all industries but increasing by just 2 points sends the page into the top percentile.
Finding ways to optimize web pages that accommodate user behavior is crucial to increase your conversion rates.
While we don't have specific data on animated down arrows, webpage animation has been proven to increase engagement and capture users' attention. Furthermore, subtle motion proves to be more effective than big, distracting movements.
Want to read an in-depth analysis of the studies that support web page animation increasing user engagement?
Read out article Why Use Lottie? – The science behind webpage animation.
How To Add Scroll Down Arrow Animation to My Website
Incorporating animated UI elements into your web pages or applications, like a down arrow, can be done in various ways depending on what platform you use to build web-based projects and how you source the animations.
If you are a motion graphics designer, you can build them yourself and export them in formats such as Lottie or SVG. To save time, you also have the option of sourcing your animations from a design library. For an extensive selection of high-quality, animated UI elements, including dozens of down arrow icons, check out Creattie!
Once you've found your design, you can implement it into your code or web builder. For example, if you work with an animated scroll icon from Creattie built with Lottie, you can copy and paste an HTML code snipped or download the JSON file.
Our blog provides step-by-step tutorials on implementing Lottie with the most popular design platforms, including ReactJS, HTML, Shopify, and WordPress.
Best Practices for Animated Scroll Down Arrows
When incorporating a scroll icon into your designs, you must ensure visibility while keeping the page cohesive.
You need to incentivize the user to utilize the scroll icon rather than their mouse or finger, but you don't want it to take attention away from your key selling points.
Follow these best practices to subtly encourage using your animated down arrow.
Design
We recommend keeping the icon relatively small; 20-40px is usually a good size range for a desktop. Also, use neutral colors, black, grey, or white, unless you want to match your branding. If you choose to use a pop of color, keep it subtle, maybe decrease the opacity or dull the shade so your arrow isn't drawing too much attention.
One of the advantages of using Lottie for your animated icons is they are vector-based, meaning they can scale up or down without losing quality, the perfect solution for a mobile-first approach to web design.
Positioning
Placement is also a critical factor when implementing an animated down arrow. Most websites either center the icon or add it to the right side, and it's usually on or near the bottom of the page, just above the fold.
Animation Metrics
How your animation runs on the page is also a crucial factor. An animation that's too fast can be overstimulating, but you also want it to be noticeable.
Triggering the animation is another important factor; you can run it continuously on a loop or only when the user interacts with the icon. Choosing depends on your other animated page elements and how well it performs.
We recommend performing A/B testing to collect data when making these important design decisions. This is the only way to truly know which speed, color, design, or position produces the best results.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Using Animated Down Arrows
Remember, the purpose of using UI page elements is to make visiting your website or app more enjoyable. So avoid these common mistakes to ensure you aren't hurting the user's experience.
Overstimulation
Too many animations running at high speeds can be overwhelming. Keep your animations limited and subtle. Don't overload your designs with animations.
Poor Visibility
Ensure the animation is in an area where it is clearly visible. For example, putting it in a crowded section, too close to text, or on top of a similar color could cause visitors to miss the feature.
Inconsistent with Design
The style of your arrow needs to fit the rest of your layout.
For example, if you have a minimalistic site design, you should avoid complex down arrows. Instead, the Pyramid or Basic Arrow will fit more cohesively with the rest of the project.
Failing to Optimize for Mobile
Interactions online are increasingly done with smartphones. As a result, you need to ensure your animated down arrow functions and follows the best practices with a smaller viewport.
Conclusion
Animated down arrows are one of the most useful page elements and are incredibly easy to implement in your designs. If you are looking for a reliable source for animated icons available in Lottie and SVG formats, Creattie has an extensive selection of UI System Icons. Each asset is high quality and available in numerous different design styles.
