The people creating digital content today aren't just designers and developers. Marketers, sales professionals, and communications teams are building their own interactive stories — thanks to no-code platforms, AI-assisted design, and drag-and-drop editors. The lines between these roles are blurring, and that's a good thing.
It also means more people than ever are working with scroll animations — often without a guide that speaks their language. This blog is that guide: a visual, practical walkthrough of the scroll animation types that power [scrollytelling](link to what is scrollytelling) and digital storytelling. What they look like, when to use them, and when not to.
What are scroll animations?
Scroll animations are visual effects that are triggered or controlled by the user's scrolling behaviour. Unlike timed animations that play automatically when a page loads, scroll animations respond directly to how a reader navigates the page. Scroll down and elements appear, move, or transform. Scroll back and they reverse. This makes them ideal for interactive, long-form content where the reader controls the pace.
There are two ways scroll animations typically work. Some are scroll-triggered: they activate when an element enters the screen, like a fade-in that plays once you scroll to it. Others are scroll-linked: they're tied directly to the scroll position, like a parallax effect that moves continuously as you scroll up or down. Most digital stories use a mix of both — triggered animations for revealing content, and linked animations for creating depth and interactivity.
Used well, scroll animations make content impossible to scroll past. Used poorly, they distract and overwhelm.
They come in many forms — from fades and movement to parallax, scale transitions, and more. Here are eight worth knowing, starting with the ones that tend to make the biggest visual impact.
Scroll animation types explained
Parallax
Parallax is the effect where background and foreground elements move at different speeds as you scroll, creating an illusion of depth. It's one of those animations that's hard to describe in words but instantly recognisable when you see it — the page suddenly feels less like a flat document and more like a layered environment.
When to use it: Parallax works well for large opening sections, edge-to-edge imagery, and moments where you want to create atmosphere. It's particularly effective for setting the tone at the start of a page or transitioning between major sections.
Tip: Parallax is at its best with large images and minimal text. Using it on text-heavy sections can actually make content harder to read, because the movement competes with the words. And when it comes to the speed difference between layers — subtlety wins. A slight offset is more elegant than a dramatic one.
In practice: A parallax example by Studio Dado.
Sticky sections
A sticky section is an element that stays fixed in place while the rest of the content scrolls past it. It creates a natural focal point — your eye stays anchored to one thing while the context around it changes.
What makes sticky sections especially versatile is that they don't have to live at the top of the page. An element can become sticky halfway through a section and release further down, creating a contained moment of focus rather than a permanent fixture. That flexibility is what makes them so useful for storytelling.
When to use it: Sticky sections are useful whenever something needs to remain on screen while the reader scrolls. That could be visual — like an image that stays in place while supporting text scrolls alongside it. Or it could be functional — like a navigation menu, a table of contents, or a key data point that the reader needs to reference as they move through the content.
Tip: Always give your sticky element a clear release point. If it stays pinned too long, readers may think the page is broken. The best sticky sections have a defined beginning and end — they hold attention for exactly as long as the content around them needs.
In practice: A sticky section in action (on the left) by Polska Press Grupa.
Keyframe animation
A keyframe animation is a scroll animation where an element changes state — its position, size, rotation, visibility, or colour — at defined scroll positions, with smooth transitions between them. It can follow a drawn path, travelling along a route as the reader scrolls and changing direction as it goes.
Keyframe animations can be short — a small element that rotates and scales over a single section — or they can extend over a longer stretch of the page, tracking an element along a continuous route as the reader scrolls. In Maglr, we refer to that longer variant as a scroll path animation, since you're essentially drawing a path down your page. It's not an official term, but it describes how many designers use keyframes in practice: as a visual thread that ties content together.
When to use it: Keyframe animations work well for guiding the reader's eye through a page — whether that's illustrating a process, adding a decorative element that travels alongside the content as you scroll, or creating a visual thread that ties sections together.
Tip: Keep the animation feeling natural. Avoid sudden changes in direction that might jar the reader's eye, and make sure the animation speed feels comfortable alongside the scroll pace. If the element is fighting the reader's scrolling rhythm, it becomes a distraction rather than a guide.
In practice: An example of keyframe animation by Renault.
Scrolling slideshow
A scrolling slideshow displays a series of images that switch as the reader scrolls. Rather than clicking through a traditional carousel, the scroll position determines which image is shown — each scroll step reveals the next frame in the sequence. It's a similar principle to scrubbing video — in both cases, you're scrolling through frames.
When to use it: Scrolling slideshows are great for before/after comparisons, step-by-step visual guides, portfolio showcases, or any situation where you want to present a series of images in a controlled order without relying on the reader to click.
Tip: Make sure each image in the sequence earns its place. If two consecutive frames look nearly identical, the reader won't feel like scrolling is doing anything. Each step should deliver a clear visual change.
In practice: A scrolling slideshow example by Absolute Collagen.
