WP Plugin Animate It
Test report

Animate It!

Animate It! is a WordPress plugin developed by eLEOPARD Design Studios, that was released on 2014-09-12. With over 20 000+ active installations it has established itself as a useful tool for adding dynamic CSS3 animations to posts, widgets, and pages. What makes Animate It special is the wide range of animations it offers - over 50 entrance and exit variants as well as attention-grabbing animations are available. This makes it easy to increase the visual appeal of websites. The ability to trigger animations on scroll, click, or hover and the customizable control of duration and delay also offer great flexibility. The main audience consists of WordPress users who want to visually enhance their content with attractive animations. The plugin is listed in the official WordPress Plugin Directory with a rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars from 127 reviews. The following section takes a closer look at the plugin's specific features.

"This plugin integrates great animations and is easy to use. Top!"

Features - Diverse animation options and controls

The plugin "Animate It!" offers an impressive variety of features that set it apart from other animation plugins. In addition to the already mentioned over 50 different entrance and exit animations as well as attention animations, the plugin also enables detailed control of animation duration and delay. Another outstanding feature is the support for custom CSS classes, which allows users to tailor animations individually and thus create even more diverse design possibilities. This provides a higher degree of flexibility in application development.

"This plugin is exactly what I was looking for - simple, lightweight and with many useful options."

Free-Features - Comprehensive tools for free use

• Apply CSS3 animations to posts, widgets and pages - Apply animations to different content.
• 50+ entrance and exit as well as attention-seeking animations - Different animation options for creative designs.
• Apply animations on scroll - Enables animations that are triggered by scrolling.
• Different scroll offsets for individual animation blocks - Control the start position of animations.
• Apply animations on click and hover - Interactive animations triggered by user actions.
• Delay and control functions for animation duration - Create appealing animation sequences.
• Editor button for creating animation blocks - Easily insert animations into posts.
• Apply animations to WordPress widgets - Use the Class Generator to create custom animations.
• Completely disable animations on mobile devices - Improve the mobile user experience.
• Support for Spanish and German - Multilingual support.
• Compatibility with Gutenberg blocks - Integration of animations into other block types.

License - Free use with extensive functionality

The "Animate It!" plugin is free to use, making it a financially attractive solution for many WordPress users. Despite being freely available, it is generally regarded by users as very valuable, especially compared to some paid alternatives. This appreciation is also reflected in the numerous positive reviews that praise not only the functionality but also the support. Even though there is no pro version, the free version offers an impressive amount of functionality that covers many requirements.

"This plugin is easy to use, lightweight and offers many useful options."

Technical details - Insights for developers

When developing the "Animate It!" plugin care was taken to integrate technical tools that are relevant to both developers and technically savvy users. This includes support for shortcodes, hooks and an API that allow animations to be implemented flexibly. In addition, the so-called Class Generator provides a way to efficiently create the required animation classes. This feature makes it easier for developers to manage custom animations by integrating them directly into the website's existing storage structure. Despite the variety of features, the main advantage of the plugin lies in its lean design, which keeps the code footprint minimal and therefore does not unnecessarily extend the website's loading times.

System requirements - Compatibility requirements at a glance

To use the "Animate It!" plugin successfully, you need at least PHP version 7.4 or higher. The minimum required WordPress version is 4.7.0 or higher, ensuring that even older installations can benefit from the animation features. The plugin has been extensively tested up to WordPress version 6.8.8, providing a high degree of reliability and stability. Since the last update in 2025-11, which carries plugin version 2.7, no substantial changes to the system requirements have been made, indicating ongoing maintenance and development.

"The plugin impresses with its versatility and runs smoothly even on older WordPress versions."

Quality - Reliability and flexibility in use

The WordPress plugin "Animate It!" impresses with its high quality, which is mainly evident in the reliability and flexibility of its animation features. The ability to precisely control animation duration and delay gives animated elements a balanced mix of visibility and usability. Users appreciate the plugin's resource-efficient design, which ensures that site performance is hardly affected even with complex animations. Another quality aspect is support for custom CSS classes, which increases flexibility when customizing animations. Taken together, this helps users have a high-quality experience without the page load times suffering. Despite occasional confusion about the distinction between free and Pro features, the plugin overall provides a reliable and flexible solution for animation needs.

"Great plugin! It creates beautiful animations without slowing down the site!"

Support - Fast help and useful community assistance

Support for the "Animate It!" plugin is highly appreciated by users, especially for its quick response times and helpful assistance. Although the plugin description does not mention specific contact options or response times, many users report positive experiences with the development team. The official support area in the WordPress Plugin Directory provides a platform for user questions and problem solving. Additionally, some users describe direct support from the developer as helpful.

"I had an issue with animations restarting after the page fully loaded. The author put a lot of effort into finding a solution. Now everything is fine."

Rating - High user satisfaction

The WordPress plugin "Animate It!" is very popular and has an impressive average rating of 4.9 from a total of 127 reviews. Users particularly praise its ease of use and the variety of animations offered. Many reviews highlight the straightforward implementation and high-quality animations.

A frequently mentioned positive aspect is the time savings the plugin provides compared to manual animation. Users also appreciate the friendly and helpful developer support. The solid functionality and customization options of the plugin are regularly noted in reviews.

"This plugin offers great animations and is easy to use. Top!"

Despite the overall satisfaction, there are also negative comments. Some users report occasional complications when integrating with certain themes and a lack of advanced features that might be expected in a paid version. Another less positive feedback concerns the learning curve when first using it, which is mostly caused by previous confusion around implementing the shortcodes.

"At first I was confused by the shortcodes, but the developer was patient and helped me."

Overall, however, the positive aspects strongly outweigh the negatives, and many users are very satisfied with the performance and easy customization options.

"This is a really nice plugin, well documented and easy to use! The time saved from hand-coding these animations is amazing."

Criticism - User issues and potential for improvement

The "Animate It!" plugin, while praised for its positive qualities, has also received criticism relating to certain usability aspects and missing features. A frequently voiced criticism is the lack of clarity about the distinction between basic and Pro features, which has caused confusion for some users. In addition, compatibility issues with the Gutenberg block editor are a major critique, as the plugin appears to be primarily optimized for the classic editor. Users report difficulties integrating animations into the newer editor, which can limit the plugin's use.

Security concerns or specific security vulnerabilities were not explicitly mentioned in the available information, suggesting this has not been a dominant topic among users so far. Nevertheless, more detailed documentation and greater transparency regarding potential security aspects of the plugin could help further strengthen confidence in its safe use.

Improvement suggestions include expanding compatibility to the block editor and clearer labeling of features to avoid unwanted surprises. A more robust integration with the latest WordPress features and themes like Astra and Kadence could also be beneficial to gain broader acceptance.

"Some features are not clearly labeled as belonging to the free version or the Pro version; so I uninstalled it."

Conclusion - Versatile with Room for Improvement

The WordPress plugin "Animate It!" by eLEOPARD Design Studios offers an impressive variety of animation options and proves to be a valuable tool for users who want to visually enhance their websites. Notable are the flexibility and the many control options the plugin provides. Especially the support for custom CSS classes and the ability to trigger animations through various user actions set it apart from other plugins. Despite the free model, "Animate It!" offers surprising functionality that is popular with many users, even though there is occasional confusion about the availability of certain features.

There is room for improvement in optimized support for the Gutenberg block editor and clearer communication of available features. Positive reviews and the excellent support from the development team contribute to the plugin's popularity, which is reflected in high user satisfaction. Overall, "Animate It!" is a suitable choice for users who want powerful and flexible animations integrated into their WordPress websites.