Showcase of Parallax Usage in Web Design

The use of the parallax effect or parallax scrolling effect in websites can add a nice three dimensional depth illusion to the design and make the visit very interesting to […]

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The use of the parallax effect or parallax scrolling effect in websites can add a nice three dimensional depth illusion to the design and make the visit very interesting to a user. We have collected some creative examples of the parallax effect in web design. Enjoy!

Rastapé


Besides creating a lot of depth with the design itself which shows a bar or venue, the parallax effect gives it the ultimate kick when moving the mouse!

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Old Pulteney Row to the Pole


Here we have a great example of the parallax scrolling effect, where the background moves “slower” then the content when the page is scrolled down. This instantly makes the background appear more distant, adding some beautiful perspective to the website.

Billy’s Downtown Diner


Billy’s Downtown Diner’s website has a header part that moves when hovering with the mouse. The parallax effect is achieved by moving the layers that are closer to the viewer slower than the ones that are more distant. Giving the whole movement a little “shakiness” makes the effect even more interesting.

Webdesign Karlsruhe


Careful, this one moves a lot with the mouse 🙂 It shows portfolio items stuck to a layered memo or photo holder creating the parallax effect when moving the mouse over the page.

EMM and ENN


Here we have less of the classical parallax effect but more a movement of different layers in different directions which, besides the header background, also creates a nice depth to the design.

Xhtml Slicing


On XHTMSlicing.com the parallax effect is achieved by moving the mouse over the header part. The layers with the website images also have a different degree of blurriness to them, which enhances the effect and makes the most blurry items appear more distant.

Head2Heart


On this incredibly beautiful website Head2Heart clicking on the arrows of the path (or of the bottom navigation) will guide you through the way of explaining the wonderful message, creating the parallax effect with the movement of the clouds that surround the path.

Originální, rucne vyrábené diáre 2011


This website has many different layers of backgrounds, all moving along with the website content when moving the mouse. Very strong parallax effect effect.

The Beatles Rock Band


The Beatles Rock Band website has a header with the classical effect on mousemove.

Juvelér Langaard


On Juvelér Langaard’s website you will notice the effect when using the content slider: the background will move less than the content.

Dezignus


On Dezignus you can experience a nice parallax effect when moving over the header. Subtle and beautiful.

Farmhouse Fare


On Farmhouse Fare, the effect is also very subtle and it enhances the beautifully crafted illustrations and images. Clicking on any menu item will lead you to another section and you will notice a slight difference of movement of the elements. Click on “Contact us” to see a stronger effect.

Nike Better World


Here we have a great example of the parallax scrolling effect. Just scroll down and see how the layers move with a different pace, creating a great amount of depth.

FillStudio


FillStudio has a slider that will move the items differently creating the effect.

b’Twin


Take a ride on this website! Moving the mouse will animate the different layers and you will also notice the elements that move by themselves, creating a 3D experience.

And that’s all! I hope you enjoyed this little collection!

Manoela Ilic

Manoela is the main tinkerer at Codrops. With a background in coding and passion for all things design, she creates web experiments and keeps frontend professionals informed about the latest trends.

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  3. Hi Mary Lou,

    nice collection, but the last 1 is most definitely a Flash-website – donno if that’s also defined as parallax-effect?

    Thanks for sharing, Cheers & Ciao ..

  9. Parallax is a nice effect if applied in the right way, but it seems a lot of sites have just for sake of having a parallax effect. In sites like The beatles Rockband, Billy’s Downtown Diner and Dezignus it’s just distracting and doesn’t do anything to help the design.

  10. Thanks for sharing these. Some are quite nice. I like the variety here.

    Some are well done but the rest of the site hurts the effect due to other ugly site features (popups, layout issues, poorly placed ads).

    A couple of them fall into the realm of “just because we can’t doesn’t mean we should”.

    Overall, most of them look good.

  11. I agree with Jorgen.

    Some instances of parallax is nice and compliments/works with the design.

    A lot of these examples are just distracting.

    Every link that’s been posted in the comments, for instance, are terrible implementations if not just ugly as sin.

    Design to communicate something. Don’t design just because you heard it was cool.

  15. Pretty wonderful examples here and I’ve really got to use this effect now!

  20. I think I’ve found my inspiration blog. Parallax is very cool stuff! Thanks for sharing.

  24. It was good to see Billy’s Downtown Diner make the list–I love eating there and pondering future web design projects over an awesome omelette.

  33. I have to agree with those who find the use of parallax distracting when not used to good purpose. Of the first four, only Kahrlsrule used it to create the sense of a “desktop bigger than the monitor,” as a navigation tool. And even there it had edge-effect bugs that made it seem a less than professional effort. I was unimpressed.