How to add a “submitting…” animation to a Webflow form button for user feedback?

Adding a "Submitting…" Animation to a Webflow Form Button

Providing user feedback through animations is a crucial part of enhancing user experience. This guide provides you with a detailed, step-by-step approach to adding a "submitting…" animation to a form button in Webflow, ensuring users know their input is being processed.

Prerequisites

• A Webflow account with an existing project that includes a form element.
• Basic understanding of Webflow's interface and interactions panel.
• Familiarity with HTML/CSS and JavaScript basics for custom code implementation.

Creating the "Submitting…" Animation

• Log into Webflow and open your project containing the form you want to enhance.
• Select the form button in the Navigator.
• With the button selected, navigate to the "Interactions" panel.

Step 1: Designing the Button's Initial State

• In the Style tab, customize the button design to your preference. This involves setting font size, color, background style, padding, and any borders or effects.
• Ensure you take note of the button's default class, as you will use this to apply styling during interactions.

Step 2: Setting Up the Form's Interactions

• While in the Interactions panel:
  1. Click on "Element Trigger" and choose "Form Submission" from the list. This will allow you to create an animation that triggers when the form is submitted.
  2. Select "On 1st Step" which will define what happens when the form submission is initiated.
  3. Click on "Start an Animation" and hit the "New Timed Animation" option.
  4. Name your animation something clear like "Button Submitting State".

Step 3: Animating the Button

• Now define how the button will behave:
  1. Within the animation timeline, add a "Style" action targeting the button. For this guide, target opacity and scale to create a subtle effect.
  2. Set the opacity to decrease to around 50% or below, and add a transformation scale effect to slightly size the button down, e.g., 0.95 on both axes.
  3. Set the "Duration" to around 0.3-0.5 seconds for a smooth transition before the form completes processing.
• In addition to visual effect, change button text to indicate the submission process:
  1. Add another action for text change instead of style, setting this on the button to read “Submitting…” or any appropriate loading text.

Enhancing with Custom Code (Optional)

For more advanced implementations or if you wish to add spinners or loaders as part of the animation:

• Go to the "Project Settings" and click on the "Custom Code" section.
• In the "Head Code" area, you may want to add CSS for finer button styles or loader animations such as CSS spinners.
• For advanced users, JavaScript can be introduced to further control the form or handle asynchronous events smoothly. Example:

      <script>
       document.querySelector('form').addEventListener('submit', function() {
           const submitButton = document.querySelector('form button[type="submit"]');
           submitButton.innerHTML = 'Submitting...'; // updating text
           submitButton.style.opacity = '0.5'; // applying visual feedback
           // Additional JavaScript based styling or AJAX calls can be added here
       });
      </script>
      

Testing Your Implementation

• Preview your Webflow project to see the animation in action. Trigger the form submission to ensure the button indicates the process using the implemented effects.
• Test various input scenarios, including successful submissions and errors, to ensure user feedback is consistent under all conditions.

Deploy the Updated Form

• Once satisfied with the animation, publish your changes by clicking the publish button in Webflow.
• Test on multiple devices (e.g., mobile, tablet) to ensure responsiveness and that animation works uniformly across interfaces.

By applying these steps, you can effectively provide immediate feedback via a “submitting…” animation, assuring users their data submission is underway and enhancing the interactive feel of your Webflow site.