Using CSS for a fade-in effect on page load

In response to @A.M.K's question about how to do transitions without jQuery. A very simple example I threw together. If I had time to think this through some more, I might be able to eliminate the JavaScript code altogether:

<style>
    body {
        background-color: red;
        transition: background-color 2s ease-in;
    }
</style>

<script>
    window.onload = function() {
        document.body.style.backgroundColor = '#00f';
    }
</script>

<body>
    <p>test</p>
</body>

Method 1:

If you are looking for a self-invoking transition then you should use CSS 3 Animations. They aren't supported either, but this is exactly the kind of thing they were made for.

CSS

#test p {
    margin-top: 25px;
    font-size: 21px;
    text-align: center;

    -webkit-animation: fadein 2s; /* Safari, Chrome and Opera > 12.1 */
       -moz-animation: fadein 2s; /* Firefox < 16 */
        -ms-animation: fadein 2s; /* Internet Explorer */
         -o-animation: fadein 2s; /* Opera < 12.1 */
            animation: fadein 2s;
}

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

/* Firefox < 16 */
@-moz-keyframes fadein {
    from { opacity: 0; }
    to   { opacity: 1; }
}

/* Safari, Chrome and Opera > 12.1 */
@-webkit-keyframes fadein {
    from { opacity: 0; }
    to   { opacity: 1; }
}

/* Internet Explorer */
@-ms-keyframes fadein {
    from { opacity: 0; }
    to   { opacity: 1; }
}

/* Opera < 12.1 */
@-o-keyframes fadein {
    from { opacity: 0; }
    to   { opacity: 1; }
}

Demo

  • http://jsfiddle.net/SO_AMK/VV2ek/

Browser Support

All modern browsers and Internet Explorer 10 (and later): http://caniuse.com/#feat=css-animation


Method 2:

Alternatively, you can use jQuery (or plain JavaScript; see the third code block) to change the class on load:

jQuery

$("#test p").addClass("load");​

CSS

#test p {
    opacity: 0;
    font-size: 21px;
    margin-top: 25px;
    text-align: center;

    -webkit-transition: opacity 2s ease-in;
       -moz-transition: opacity 2s ease-in;
        -ms-transition: opacity 2s ease-in;
         -o-transition: opacity 2s ease-in;
            transition: opacity 2s ease-in;
}

#test p.load {
    opacity: 1;
}

Plain JavaScript (not in the demo)

document.getElementById("test").children[0].className += " load";

Demo

  • http://jsfiddle.net/SO_AMK/a9dnW/

Browser Support

All modern browsers and Internet Explorer 10 (and later): http://caniuse.com/#feat=css-transitions


Method 3:

Or, you can use the method that .Mail uses:

jQuery

$("#test p").delay(1000).animate({ opacity: 1 }, 700);​

CSS

#test p {
    opacity: 0;
    font-size: 21px;
    margin-top: 25px;
    text-align: center;
}

Demo

  • http://jsfiddle.net/SO_AMK/a9dnW/3/

Browser Support

jQuery 1.x: All modern browsers and Internet Explorer 6 (and later): http://jquery.com/browser-support/
jQuery 2.x: All modern browsers and Internet Explorer 9 (and later): http://jquery.com/browser-support/

This method is the most cross-compatible as the target browser does not need to support CSS 3 transitions or animations.


You can use the onload="" HTML attribute and use JavaScript to adjust the opacity style of your element.

Leave your CSS as you proposed. Edit your HTML code to:

<body onload="document.getElementById(test).style.opacity='1'">
    <div id="test">
        <p>​This is a test</p>
    </div>
</body>

This also works to fade-in the complete page when finished loading:

HTML:

<body onload="document.body.style.opacity='1'">
</body>

CSS:

body{ 
    opacity: 0;
    transition: opacity 2s;
    -webkit-transition: opacity 2s; /* Safari */
}

Check the W3Schools website: transitions and an article for changing styles with JavaScript.

Tags:

Css

Opacity

Css Transitions

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