Animated Menu in WordPress: 7 Best Examples for Inspiration

Animated menus have emerged as powerful tools to captivate users and enhance navigation. These interactive elements do more than just guide visitors – they tell a story, evoke emotion, and reflect the brand’s personality. From subtle transitions to bold, eye-catching effects, the right animation can transform a mundane menu into an unforgettable experience. 

Dive into our curated selection of the seven best-animated website menus, which are setting new standards in creativity and functionality. Get ready to be inspired by these cutting-edge examples that seamlessly blend form and function.

Table of Contents

• What Is an Animated Menu?
• Why Use Animated Menus?
• Types of Animated Menus
• 7 Best Animated Menus Practices
• FAQ
• To Sum Up

What Is an Animated Menu?

Animated menus in WordPress add interactivity and visual appeal to your site’s navigation. Unlike static menus, animated menus use CSS animations or JavaScript libraries to create movement when users hover over menu items, click on the menu button, or interact with the menu in any way. These effects can include smooth appearances, slide-ins, rotations, or even more complex animations.

There are several ways to achieve animated menus in WordPress. You can use plugins specifically designed to create animated menus, which offer a user-friendly interface and pre-made animations. Another option is to code the animations yourself using CSS or JavaScript, which gives you more control over the appearance and behavior of the animations but requires some coding knowledge. Finally, some WordPress themes come with built-in animation features that you can use to customize your menu.

Why Use Animated Menus?

Animated menus can significantly enhance the value of your website or app. Here are a few key benefits:

🎯 Capturing user attention. A well-designed animation can effectively draw users’ attention to the menu’s location and functionality. This is particularly useful for highlighting the menu’s elements once they are revealed, making users immediately aware of how to interact with them.

🎯 Enhancing usability. Animations can provide visual cues that help users understand how the menu interacts with the rest of the interface. This clarity makes navigation more intuitive and user-friendly.

🎯 Elevating user experience. Smooth and delightful animations contribute to a polished and engaging user experience. They add an element of sophistication, making interactions with your site or app more enjoyable.

When used strategically, animated menus can inform, engage, and impress your users, ultimately improving the overall effectiveness of your digital product.

Types of Animated Menus

There are several ways to add animation to your WordPress menus, creating a more engaging and user-friendly experience. Here are some popular types of animated menus:

• Dropdown menu animations: these classic menus expand or slide down when you hover over a parent menu item, revealing sub-items. You can add animations to the reveal itself, making it smoother and more visually interesting.
• Hamburger menu animations: these menus use a hamburger icon (three horizontal lines) to hide the main navigation. Animation can be applied to the icon itself when it opens or closes the menu.
• Slide-in animations: when triggered (usually by hovering or clicking), the entire menu can slide in from the side of the screen, creating a more dramatic entrance.
• Fade-in animations: the menu fades in gradually when triggered, providing a subtle yet effective animation.
• Interactive animations: these menus go beyond simple show/hide effects. Hovering over a menu item can trigger other animations, like color changes, icon pop-ups, or small image previews.

Remember, while animation can enhance your website, it’s important to use it strategically. Too much animation can be distracting and slow down loading times. Choose animations that complement your website’s design and overall user experience.

7 Best Animated Menus Practices 

Caesarstone

The Caesarstone website features a sleek and engaging animated menu. When you click on a menu item, a dropdown animation smoothly reveals the sub-menu options. Each section includes high-quality images that correspond perfectly with the section descriptions, enhancing the overall visual experience. This animation helps create an intuitive and visually appealing navigation system that aligns with the premium feel of the brand. 

Landia

Landia’s website is a masterclass in sophisticated design, featuring animation effects on almost every element. The smooth transitions and strategic animations ensure the site remains elegant and never feels overloaded or prompts the thought, “Oh, that was too much.”  For those who appreciate creative web design, the sub-menu design is particularly captivating. Because I spent a long time hovering over each section and viewing the images in every sub-menu, I was completely engrossed. This thoughtful approach to navigation underscores the site’s commitment to aesthetic and functional excellence.

ACRE Project

The ACRE Project hamburger menu includes a creative animation where sub-menu items expand with a magnifying effect when hovered over. However, the cursor, which appears as a circle, moves slowly, creating a sense of impatience as users may want to quickly select their desired item and exit the menu or even the website. Despite this, the innovative design provides valuable inspiration for menu layout and animation. 

Quinta do Paral

In this example, the animation is simple, sleek, and engaging. Just click on the hamburger menu icon and observe how the menu appears. When you hover over a section, its color changes. Even when closing the menu, there’s a smooth sliding animation. These subtle yet captivating details effortlessly draw users’ attention.

The St. Louis Browns

The St. Louis Browns website offers a unique take on the traditional hamburger menu icon. Instead of the standard three-line symbol, they use a baseball icon accompanied by the word “menu.” The animation is elegantly simple: when you click on the baseball, a semi-transparent overlay appears over the screen, and the navigation menu gracefully drops down vertically. It’s a clever and thematic approach that enhances user interaction with a touch of creativity, staying true to the website’s baseball theme while ensuring intuitive navigation.

Heisler

The Heisler menu is truly exquisite due to its simple and elegant details. A special emphasis on innovative design is achieved by replacing the conventional close icon with a trash can icon, which changes color upon navigating. The text size slightly increases in key sections, and when hovering over smaller text at the bottom, the text color changes. In my opinion, this enhances menu interactivity without resorting to flashy animations and fosters user engagement.

Misha Obradovic

Misha Obradovic’s website demonstrates an exemplary use of animation that aligns seamlessly with branding, particularly through its animated menu. The animation culminates in a striking fullscreen menu, where the white-on-black overlay perfectly complements the fashion site’s overall aesthetic.

FAQ

To Sum Up 

Animated menus are powerful tools for elevating your website’s user experience and grabbing attention. By drawing inspiration from the creative examples explored in this article, you can craft a menu that not only guides users but also reflects your brand personality. Remember, the key lies in using animation strategically, ensuring it complements your design and doesn’t hinder functionality.

So, unleash your creativity, explore the possibilities, and get ready to bring your website’s menus to life!