What CSS transitions are and how we can use them
Transitions are the simplest way to create some visual “effect” between one state and another with CSS. Let’s consider a simple example: an element that transitions from one state to another when hovered over.
When styling hyperlinks in CSS, it’s common practice to create a hover state: an obvious way to make users aware that the item they are hovering over can be interacted with. Hover states are of little relevance to the growing number of touchscreen devices, but for mouse users, they’re a great and simple interaction between website and user. They’re also handy for illustrating transitions, so that’s what we will start with.
Traditionally, using only CSS, hover states are an on/off affair. There is one set of properties and values on an element as the default, and when a pointer is hovered over that element, the properties and values are instantly changed. However, CSS transitions...