1. Framer

When most people think of website builders they imagine basic hover effects and simple entrance animations. But Framer goes way beyond that, offering advanced effects that often rival specialized web animation tools. From content that fades in smoothly as visitors scroll to elements that respond naturally when clicked or swiped, Framer handles complex animations right out of the box.

What makes Framer special is how it makes these powerful animations accessible to everyone. Instead of writing complex code, you can create animations visually—just point, click, and adjust settings until you like what you see. 

Teams love it because everyone can work on animations together and see changes instantly in the preview window. And since everything stays organized in reusable components, animations will look consistent across your entire website.

Here’s some of what you can create with Framer’s built-in features:

• Multi-step animations that tell a story

• Natural-feeling drag and touch interactions

• Continuous animations that loop seamlessly

• Loading animations that keep users engaged

• Smooth scroll effects that make content float into view

• Precisely timed sequences where elements animate one after another

Behind the scenes, Framer uses Motion—the same powerful animation library trusted by professional developers. This means that if you need even more control than Framer offers natively, you can work with Motion directly to create custom animations.

2. Motion

While Framer’s built-in web animation tools are great for the bulk of website effects, Motion is the developer's choice for complex interactive features and detailed animation control. Whether you need to smoothly expand elements from thumbnails to full-screen view or create a physics-based drag-and-drop interface, Motion gives you precise control over every detail.

Motion, an open source library which recently became independent from Framer, is a favorite among React developers, but now works with Vanilla JavaScript too. It’s incredibly lightweight: Motion's basic animations use 90% less code than alternatives like GSAP, and scroll animations are 75% lighter, meaning faster loading times.

What makes Motion special is its declarative approach to animation: developers can simply specify how they want something to look at the start and end of an animation, and Motion handles the transitions automatically. It’s perfect for layout animations, gesture responses, complex animation sequences, exit animations, and scroll-triggered animations that perform smoothly on any device.

3. LottieFiles

LottieFiles is the largest platform for Lottie animations, a file format originally created by Airbnb that loads 5x faster than traditional formats. Lottie JSON files are 60% smaller than GIFs, while dotLottie files are 98% smaller. LottieFiles can export to both formats. Because LottieFiles uses vector-based animations, they stay sharp and scalable at any size—perfect for hero sections, loading indicators, brand content, and anywhere you need to prioritize page performance. 

With LottieFiles’ collaborative workspace, you can work with colleagues and hand off finished animations to your dev team.

Using Framer’s plugin for LottieFiles, you can easily add Lottie animations to your website.

4. GSAP

GreenSock Animation Platform (GSAP), a framework-agnostic JavaScript platform, offers precise control over every aspect of your animations. Its specialized tools handle everything from scroll-based animations to SVG manipulation, and its hugely supportive community makes it easy to figure out how to animate anything.

While GSAP’s files are larger than some alternatives and require more detailed programming (you need to specify each step of an animation rather than just the end result), it gives you the precise control needed for sophisticated projects. And its plugin system adds extra functionality for specialized animations, from text effects to shape morphing.

5. Rive

Rive is a newer animation tool that includes built-in state machine integration and handles complex interactive animations directly in its design interface. Developers can animate faster in Rive compared to tools like After Effects thanks to its streamlined interface, real-time collaboration features, and game engine-like performance that can handle detailed graphics at high frame rates.

Rive works across platforms (web, mobile, and game engines) and creates even smaller files than Lottie without sacrificing quality. Advanced features like skeletal animation, mesh deformation, and responsive layouts—combined with support for dynamic assets and audio—make it especially good for cutting-edge interactive projects.

Using Framer’s Rive plugin, you can drag and drop your Rive assets directly onto your website.

6. Adobe After Effects

While mainly known for video animation, After Effects is also powerful for web animations through CSS keyframe generation, SVG, and—most importantly for web animation—Lottie formats. It can create everything from simple GIFs to complex animated experiences.

While After Effects has more features than most people need for basic web animations, it’s the professional standard for production-quality work. It’s particularly valuable if you use other Adobe software, since it works seamlessly with programs like Photoshop and Illustrator.

7. Spline

Spline combines powerful 3D animation tools with real-time collaboration features, letting teams create immersive digital experiences together. It’s great for creating interactive 3D web environments, product visualizations, and immersive experiences with capabilities like physics simulations, game controls, and 3D sculpting for organic shapes.

Spline works particularly well with Framer, making it surprisingly easy to add sophisticated three-dimensional elements to your website. Its interface is more approachable than traditional 3D software, while still offering professional features like parametric modeling, boolean operations, and video textures.

The component-based design system and material layering tools give designers precise control over their work.

8. Jitter

Jitter is an excellent choice for quick, collaborative web animations. Its timeline-based editor and streamlined workflow—combined with many pre-made animations and templates—make the creation process simple and fast. You can customize Jitter’s pre-made animations, create your own reusable components, and use shared libraries to maintain consistency across your team.

Jitter makes it easy for different team members to work together: 

• Designers can create animations

• Marketers can update content directly

• Developers can easily access the technical details they need. 

The ability to export high-quality videos, GIFs, or Lottie files makes it  particularly well-suited for social media content, promotional animations, and marketing needs at scale.

Choosing the Right Web Animation Tool

The variety of web animation tools might seem overwhelming, but here’s the good news: For most designers and developers, the choice is simpler than it appears.

1. Start with Framer for No-Code Website Animations

If you want to create professional animations for your website without writing code, Framer is your best choice. It comes with a collection of ready-to-use animation effects and takes care of making everything run smoothly, so you can focus on designing. 

Framer is ideal for designers, developers, and UX/UI professionals, making it easy to create animation-driven sites and interactive experiences without technical knowledge.

2. Use Motion for Programmatic Control

While Framer’s built-in animation tools are powerful enough for most design needs, Motion is your best bet if you need precise control over your animations through code. It’s ideal for complex animations that respond dynamically to user actions, like creating an interface where users can drag and drop items with natural-feeling physics. 

Motion does require coding knowledge, but it opens up possibilities that would be hard to create in Framer alone.

While Motion makes it easy to create animations by simply telling it the end result you want (like “move this box to the right,”) GSAP gives you control over every tiny step of how things move on screen. Consider switching to GSAP if you need to carefully choreograph complex animations with precise timing, especially for detailed sequences.

3. Use Spline for 3D Content

If you want to add 3D elements to your website without learning traditional 3D software, Spline is your best choice. You can create and customize 3D objects right in your web browser, making it easy to add things like rotating objects or interactive visualizations to your site. 

Spline works seamlessly with Framer, making it perfect for designers who want to bring depth and interactivity to their web projects.

4. Use After Effects + Lottie for High-End Production

If you’re creating polished, professional animations for brand content, After Effects + Lottie is the industry standard. With these tools combined, motion designers can create sophisticated designs—like eye-catching hero sections, professional splash screens, and complex brand animations—and turn them into web-friendly files that perform well across all devices.

When to consider Rive instead

Consider Rive when file size and loading speed are your top priorities. While After Effects + Lottie is great for complex animations, Rive creates smaller files that load faster, plus real-time editing capabilities and slick designer-developer collaboration features.

5. Use Jitter for Ultra-Quick Turnaround Times

If you need to create animations quickly and at scale, especially for marketing content, Jitter is a solid choice. It comes with a library of pre-made animations that you can easily customize, perfect for creating social media content or website banners without starting from scratch. 

When to consider Jitter instead

Jitter is ideal for marketing teams and content creators who need to produce professional-looking animations quickly—with the option to collaborate—and don’t have time for complex animation tools.

Transform Your Site with Professional Web Animations

With so many options available, choosing the right web animation tools is crucial—both for your team’s workflow and your website’s performance. Fortunately, there’s an easy way to get started: Framer can handle the bulk of your animation needs. When you’re ready to push creative boundaries, tools like Motion, Spline, and others can help you create more complex, interactive experiences that delight your users.

Want to see what’s possible with modern web animation tools? Check out the Framer Gallery for real-world examples, learn animation fundamentals in the Framer Academy, and sign up for Framer to start creating professional-grade animations today.