GSAP with Astro
I build motion in CSS or in GSAP, depending on the control, the data and the maintenance the project needs.
GSAP at a glance
- What I do
- Rebuild the motion a Webflow site had, in Astro: CSS where it is enough and GSAP where it is not, chosen on the control, the data and the maintenance the project needs.
- Typical setup
- Adds 3 days–2 weeks
- How it is bought
- Part of a migration scope, or a Continuous development request once the site is yours
- Category
- Maps and motion
Setup
How I set up GSAP
The first decision is which system owns the motion. CSS handles more than people expect, including scroll-driven animation in browsers that support it, so reaching for a library is a choice rather than a default. Code earns its place where the motion is coordinated across many elements, driven by CMS data, or easier for the next person to read as a file than as a stack of panels.
Then I set the boundaries per element. Some sections come back as CSS, which is enough for a hover or a fade and costs nothing to maintain. Some become written GSAP, where the sequence, the scroll position or the timing actually needs controlling. No important element has both fighting over the same transform or opacity.
Whichever it is, the motion is organized, loaded cleanly and documented, so the next person can find where it lives.
How the handoff works
- 01
Trigger
Scroll, click or load
- 02
Timeline
The sequence, authored
- 03
Elements
What moves, and in what order
- 04
Performance
Measured on the properties being animated
Key handoff
- 05
Reduced motion
Honored, not ignored
Why this is the key handoff
Motion is a build decision, not a finishing touch. Whether something is CSS or written GSAP is decided by what has to be controlled, what data it depends on and who maintains it afterward. The check at the end is the same either way: it runs at sixty frames, and it respects somebody who has asked for less motion.
Included
What gets connected
-
Coordinated timelines across multiple elements
-
Scroll-linked motion that scrubs instead of simply triggering
-
CMS-driven animation patterns
-
Reduced-motion behavior for accessibility
-
Loading that keeps the animation out of the critical path
Before you add it
What to watch out for
- 01
Scroll-linked animation on a mid-range phone is the real test
It is smooth on the laptop it was built on. Anything animating layout properties rather than transform and opacity recalculates on every frame, and that shows up on slower hardware, so it gets tested across the devices your audience actually uses.
- 02
Two systems animating one element will fight
Two systems setting the same transform produce a result neither intended. Per element, one of them owns the animation.
- 03
Reduced motion is a requirement, not a nicety
A visitor who has asked their operating system for less motion should get less motion. I test that preference: scrubbed motion resolves to its end state, decorative loops stop, and anything that carries meaning stays legible without the movement.
More tools
Keep exploring
-
Google Maps
Add a searchable, CMS-driven Google Map to Astro with locations, custom markers, clustering and loading rules that control cost.
Adds 2–5 days
-
Google Analytics
GA4 and Tag Manager set up on an Astro site with clean events, consent behavior and performance-conscious loading.
Adds 2–4 days
-
Salesforce
Site forms that create the right Salesforce records, preserve attribution and fail visibly when Salesforce rejects a submission.
Adds 3–5 days
Let me plan your next step.
I can scope a migration. Send a brief and I will reply by email with next steps.