Creating smooth, native-like transitions has long been a challenge for developers. Whether building single-page applications (SPAs) or multi-page applications (MPAs), managing animated state transitions often required complex logic or third-party tools. Enter the View Transition API—a powerful, modern browser feature designed to streamline and standardize animated transitions between DOM states.
In this post, we'll dive into how this API works, and how you can use it effectively across CSS, JavaScript, React, and Next.js.
🚀 What is the View Transition API?
The View Transition API enables developers to animate between two visual states in a way that feels smooth and natural. Think page-to-page animations or component-level transitions that look native to the platform.
With just a few lines of code, the API captures the current DOM state, applies updates, and renders the transition—all natively and efficiently.
🎨 Styling with CSS
The View Transition API introduces several new CSS features:
@view-transition;
.my-element {
view-transition-name: fade-slide;
}
::view-transition-old(fade-slide) {
opacity: 1;
transform: translateY(0);
}
::view-transition-new(fade-slide) {
opacity: 0;
transform: translateY(20px);
}Key pseudo-elements:
::view-transition-old(NAME): The outgoing state.::view-transition-new(NAME): The incoming state.
You can define these transitions inline, in your stylesheets, or dynamically via CSS-in-JS.
🧠 JavaScript: Starting a Transition
In JavaScript, you use the document.startViewTransition() method to initiate the transition:
document.startViewTransition(() => {
document.querySelector(".content").textContent = "New Content";
});The callback contains your DOM mutation logic. The browser handles capturing before/after states and smoothly animating between them.
⚛️ React Support
React's architecture complicates things slightly, but it's still possible. There's experimental support using:
import { unstable_ViewTransition as ViewTransition } from 'react';
function MyComponent() {
return (
<ViewTransition>
<div>Content goes here</div>
</ViewTransition>
);
}Expect improvements to land as React's Concurrent Features become more widely adopted.
🔁 Next.js Integration
To use view transitions in Next.js, we recommend next-view-transitions:
npm install next-view-transitionsThen, wrap your layout:
// layout.tsx
import { ViewTransitions } from 'next-view-transitions';
export default function Layout({ children }) {
return (
<ViewTransitions>
<html lang="en">
<body>{children}</body>
</html>
</ViewTransitions>
);
}Use the provided <Link /> component to trigger animated navigation:
import { Link } from 'next-view-transitions';
<Link href="/about">About</Link>📈 Why Use It?
✅ Performance: Browser-optimized animations
✅ Simplified logic: No manual keyframe juggling
✅ Enhanced UX: Feels smoother, especially during navigation
👀 Browser Support
View Transition API is currently supported in Chromium-based browsers like Chrome and Edge. Firefox and Safari are in progress, so use progressive enhancement:
if (document.startViewTransition) {
document.startViewTransition(() => updateDOM());
} else {
updateDOM();
}💡 Final Thoughts
The View Transition API unlocks a new level of polish and interactivity for web apps. With clean integration points across CSS, JavaScript, React, and frameworks like Next.js, it's a game-changer for modern UX.
Start experimenting today—your users will feel the difference.
