Avoid Website Animations to Animate Your Profits

Healthcare administrators may find website animations exciting and new, but the evidence suggests your potential clients will find them distracting. Brazzell Marketing Agency recommends the occasional small website animation to set a mood or to draw attention to a call to action, at most. No animations at all may be better. Here’s why.

The Cognitive Overload Concept

Website visitors come to you with set cognitive capacity. Overloading that capacity lessens the likelihood of the desired website conversion. When content "slides in" as a user scrolls, it forces the eye to track moving targets, which is more cognitively demanding than reading static text.

• Efficiency: Older readers do not process dynamic displays as efficiently as younger readers, even when they have normal visual acuity (Fine et al., 1997).
• Engagement: While accessibility features, like clear text and logical navigation, increase cognitive engagement, unnecessary dynamic elements can have the opposite effect by inducing cognitive overload (Impact of Web Accessibility on Cognitive Engagement..., 2025).

The Puzzle Box Concept

The concept of “interactive website design” often leads to important text being hidden until the user performs an extra action to reveal it. The problem is that the interactive elements sometimes become inaccessible puzzle boxes, despite the fact that the website designer thought they were “clean design,” self-explanatory, and more engaging. Our research shows strongly that even people who are actively seeking certain information often do not find it if they have to click anything to reveal it. Interactive elements should be reserved for content you want users to skip and rejected for content you want users to find.

True Engagement versus Time on Page

There is a distinct difference between true engagement and time on page caused by addictive elements. Addiction-based design elements include infinite scrolling or auto-triggering animations.

• Unintended Consumption: Design elements that remove natural stopping cues, such as smooth transitions that blend sections together, can lead to "unconscious overconsumption" or an "immersive, passive consumption state" (Regulating Addictive Algorithms..., 2025).
• The Exit Risk: For seniors with reduced cognitive flexibility, "sludge tactics," meaning complex or distracting UI, create significant barriers to disengaging or completing a specific task, such as filling out a contact form (Regulating Addictive Algorithms..., 2025). If a senior is looking for a service area and moving elements keep drawing their attention away from solving the problem, it can trigger a "quit" response.

Impact on Conversion Rates

“Conversion rates” for service providers means what percentage of your website visitors will contact you. Web design research suggests:

• Utility Over Aesthetics: High-utility websites, meaning those that are easy to use and functional, induce longer browsing times and higher satisfaction. For seniors, "utility" is defined by predictability (Measuring the Value of Web Design Elements..., 2026).
• Conversion Friction: In a study of web accessibility, higher levels of accessibility, which typically involves reducing motion, led to improved user satisfaction and performance (Schmutz et al., 2021).

Conclusion

Fun animations may be the exact right website design for selling feature films, video games, family attractions, etc. However, website animations are more likely the wrong move for selling professional services, especially home care, physical therapy, hospice, and home health. These consumers will have a serious, information-seeking mindset. Research suggests that animations and interactive design interfere with information seeking and paths to conversions in this situation. In healthcare, animations and interactive design should be used cautiously.

References

• Fine, I., Peli, E., & Reeves, A. (1997). Visual factors affecting reading of rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) text. Vision Research, 37(14), 1867–1881.
• Impact of web accessibility on cognitive engagement in individuals without disabilities: Evidence from a psychophysiological study. (2025). PMC. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12310036/
• Measuring the Value of Web Design Elements with the Conjoint Method. (2026). UVM ScholarWorks.
• Regulating addictive algorithms and designs: protecting older adults from digital exploitation beyond a youth-centric approach. (2025). Frontiers in Psychology. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1579604/full
• Rodriguez-Aranda, C. (2003). Reduced reading speed in the elderly: A function of cognitive decline? Experimental Aging Research, 29(3), 303–323.
• Schmutz, S., Sonderegger, A., & Sauer, J. (2021). Implementing accessibility in consumer products: The role of user experience and attitudes. Applied Ergonomics.