10 must-see examples of parallax effect websites
The best of parallax scrolling for web and mobile — get inspired and start designing your own parallax effect now
Web design trends come and go, but the parallax effect has, well, stuck around. Parallax scrolling has had a big impact on user interface design, on both websites and mobile apps.
From long and fixed position scrolling to horizontal and split-screen 3D effects, let’s take a look at 10 awesome parallax websites.
What is the parallax effect?
The parallax effect in web design creates a 3D scrolling effect as the user scrolls down or across the page. It’s one of the many scrolling patterns that allows you to adjust how your content is received by your users.
Derived from the Greek word ‘parallaxis’ meaning ‘alteration’, parallax can look like a sort of optical illusion — but really it’s just a special effect. In parallax web design, we slow down the rate at which the background layer moves, in comparison with the foreground.
When done well, the parallax effect provides a seamless user experience for your website or mobile app. This is what we mean:
1 — The long scrolling parallax effect with Fluttuo
Sleek animation, a clean interface, contrasting nude and dark colors and a blend of ornate and heavy script typefaces make Fluttuo stand out from the eCommerce crowd. Adding parallax to the bag makes for a unique and complete online shopping experience.
With a background layer and another on top within a pre-loaded screen, the parallax effect is for the top layer to slide over the background. As the viewer scrolls, they take in the context and style of the jewelry site via the background aesthetics, whilst the top layer provides the product details and the main story.
The smooth scroll parallax effect is accompanied by hovering section heads and mini carousels. This is a highly interactive UI and complements the brand that is always ‘experimenting with new materials and innovative designs’.
2 — Horizontal parallax effect with Hot Dot
Hot Dot’s parallax effect is a little different: it’s horizontal. As the user scrolls, the page moves from left to right. Hot Dot’s site has a smooth scrolling easing effect, which is ideal horizontal navigation scroll. The background image isn’t fixed either, which is easier on the design team (and developers!).
This site works well with touch devices and ready for iOS and Android platforms. The horizontal parallax effect is ideal for responsive mobile-first design, where the user switches orientation from portrait to landscape on their mobile device in order to visualize the all the screen’s content.
3 — A simple parallax scrolling homepage on Money Saving
This banking site template features a sticky drop down menu, manual slideshow and a back to top button with its long parallax effect.
The UI template is minimalist in style, and is perfect for customization. It’s also responsive, which means users can enjoy it from their mobile devices as well as desktop.
4 — An introduction to the parallax effect with Dave Gamache
Dave Gamache’s parallax website demo is great for anyone just getting into parallax scrolling. When you scroll down Dave’s site demo, he shows us how to fade elements in and out upon scroll, how to pin layers, and how to rotate a mobile device with a horizontal slide effect on the mobile screen. Awesome!
Dave’s top tips for parallax scrolling:
- Make it easy for all browsers to animate your parallax website. Focus on the most important properties of parallax animation, including scale, rotation and opacity.
- Only animate fixed position elements, and do this sparingly — learn how to create fixed position elements in your prototype here.
- Don’t go nuts on resizing images — browsers don’t always handle this very well
5 — Interactive parallax design with NASA Prospect
NASA Prospect is an interactive experience that describes a story of planetary prospectors. NASA has sent them out to rediscover what mankind has left scattered across the solar-system after a global disaster.
Simple, interactive, delightful use of the parallax effect. The audio really helps to set the scene and is a enchanting addition to the design.
6–3D parallax effect with Hello Monday
Hello Monday sports a split-screen 3D parallax effect, featuring design cases down one side of the screen and their accompanying description and case details on the other. Each design case has its own look and feel.
The website design uses a selection of engaging transition effects which contribute to a seamless user flow along with a clean grid. This is accompanied by a mix of bright colors, beautiful images and bold typography.
7 — Simple parallax effect with Bearideas
We just love Bearideas parallax website — it’s so cool! A charming selection of UI background elements — some with navigation links — subtle transition effects and a simple long parallax scrolling effect make for a delightful interactive experience. The design team has used cards in a grid structure to visualize each of the company’s projects. Bold colors help to provide contrast between the cards.
A dropdown menu with just one navigation item adds to the simplicity of the design.
8 — The 3D ‘lookalike’ parallax effect with Immersive Garden
“We really like telling stories that touch people to appeal to emotion.”
Using parallax and rotations, Immersive Garden’s website gives the illusion of depth, 3D and immersion in the scenes without actually using 3D technology. Even though the interface is minimal, it is also visual and intuitive.
The website is made of lots of short video sequences that we once loaded, can be played, paused and restarted by the user.
One of the most interesting things in this site is the organic cursor. Immersive Garden has used a variety of speed, scale and magnification effects to make it reactive and lively.
9 — Immersive design with Valaire
Valaire is a great example of an immersive website. To launch their updated branding as well as their new album, they’ve gone all out on the user experience. It’s not just a vertical scroll, it’s a story full-on story.
Their parallax effect is exceptional — connecting all user touchpoints for a complete user experience.
10 — Enticing parallax effect with Cyclemon
And last but not least, Cyclemon. This website is the cyclist’s dream. As you scroll down the page, you are met with a whole range of bikes in different environments. You’ll also see that each bike has a title, which describes what type of rider the user might be. This helps to give the viewer context and hopefully inspire them to convert — or so you might think.
In fact, this isn’t an online bike retailer at all. No, it’s a site owned by two graphic artists selling their artwork. This is a perfect example of how enticing the parallax effect can be.
Thinking about designing your own parallax effect? The best way to get started is to create an interactive prototype with parallax scrolling. Lucky for you, Justinmind has a complete pack of parallax features all ready for you to try out. Download Justinmind now and see for yourself!
