Scrollytelling: Engage Website Visitors With a Unique Interactive Story

So, you’ve finished your website. You’ve worked hard to get great photos, write compelling copy, and communicate your brand’s message—well done! But how do you stand out? What’s the next step that will truly wow your website visitors? That’s where the art of scrollytelling comes in.

What is Scrollytelling?

Scrollytelling is a web design technique that turns storytelling into an interactive experience.

As users scroll down a page, they aren’t just passively reading content—they’re actively engaging with animations, videos, and interactive elements that reveal new pieces of your story. This creates a captivating journey that keeps visitors engaged from start to finish.

Examples of Scrollytelling

Check out this example from the Morningstar Ventures website.

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Here’s another cool example from the best soda on the planet—IMO, good ol’ Dr. Pepper.

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Apple uses this concept to showcase many of its products. Check out how they take you on a journey to introduce the AirPods Pro 2.

Scrollytelling was originally popularized by The New York Times with their award-winning project Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek.

These days, it’s expanded beyond journalism into brand storytelling, digital marketing, and education.

How Does Scrollytelling Work?

Like a comic book or a film, scrollytelling breaks a story into scenes.

But instead of flipping pages or pressing buttons, the user’s scroll triggers animations, text transitions, and multimedia effects on your website.

This seamless integration of storytelling and interaction makes content dynamic and engaging.

Key components of Scrollytelling:

• Infographics: Use data and visuals to make complex information easy to digest.
• 3D Graphics: Bring depth and realism to scenes, enhancing immersion.
• Interactive Scrolls: Allow users to interact with content by scrolling horizontally or vertically.
• Parallax Scrolling: Create depth and motion by having background elements move at different speeds than foreground content.
• Text Animations: Add emphasis to key information and guide the user’s attention.
• Audio Elements: Use sound effects or music to enhance the storytelling experience.

Benefits of Using Scrollytelling in Web Design

Scrollytelling offers tons of advantages that improve your website’s impact and keep a user’s attention:

1. Captures Attention: In a world of short attention spans, scrollytelling gives people an interactive experience that captures and retains attention.
2. Keeps Visitors Engaged: By offering dynamic content, scrollytelling encourages visitors to explore your website, keeping them interested until the end of the story.
3. Improves Brand Retention: By offering a unique, interactive experience, scrollytelling makes your brand more memorable, increasing the likelihood that visitors will return.
4. Personalized Experience: Interactive elements like infographics and animations can create a customized experience for each visitor, making your content more relatable.
5. Higher Engagement Rates: Studies show that users spend more time on pages with scrollytelling elements, increasing the likelihood of conversions or deeper brand engagement.

How to Use Scrollytelling in Web Content

We can break this down into 2 separate questions:

1. How does it work in theory?
2. How to actually set it up on my website?

How does scrollytelling work in theory?

1. Start with a Compelling Story: Every great website starts with a great story. Before you dive into design, map out the narrative you want to share with your audience. Make sure it’s relatable, engaging, and resonates with your target audience.
2. Plan the Structure: Break your story into digestible sections or scenes. Each scene should offer new insights, visuals, or interactive elements that are revealed as the user scrolls.
3. Choose Your Multimedia: Decide what kinds of media—like videos, infographics, or animations—will best support your story. Make sure each multimedia element is both visually appealing and functional.
4. Add Interactive Features: Incorporate features like parallax scrolling, animations, or dynamic text to make the experience interactive. These elements should complement the story and enhance the overall user experience, rather than distract from it.
5. Optimize for Performance: Scrollytelling is most effective when it works smoothly across all devices. Make sure to optimize your images, videos, and other multimedia elements so they load quickly without sacrificing quality.

How to Setup Scrollytelling on Your Website?

Tools to incorporate scrollytelling on your website

1. ScrollMagic + GSAP (GreenSock Animation Platform)

• What It Does: Combines JavaScript for high-quality, scroll-triggered animations and custom visual effects.
• Best For: Advanced users and developers creating intricate animations and interactions.

2. Canva (with Embeds and Image Sequences)

• What It Does: Allows the creation of visual storytelling elements like image sequences, infographics, and animated GIFs to embed on websites.
• Best For: Beginners who want to enhance visual storytelling with custom graphics and animations.

3. Adobe XD or Figma (for Prototyping)

• What It Does: Offers prototyping features to test scrollytelling elements, such as parallax effects and transitions, before implementation.
• Best For: Designers and developers who want to visually map the interactive experience before coding.

Techniques for Scrollytelling

1. Parallax Scrolling

• How to Do It: Use CSS for simple effects or plugins to control background and foreground element speeds.
• Best Practices: Apply parallax selectively to avoid clutter, adding depth and drawing attention to key parts of the story.

2. Scroll-Triggered Animations

• How to Do It: Use libraries like ScrollMagic to trigger animations.
• Best Practices: Trigger animations to reveal key points, like fading in elements as users scroll to keep them engaged.

3. Horizontal and Vertical Scrolling

• How to Do It: Use horizontal scrolling for specific content, like timelines or galleries, combined with vertical scrolling for the main narrative flow.
• Best Practices: Make it clear when to scroll horizontally for a seamless, intuitive experience.

4. Pinned Elements and Sticky Navigation

• How to Do It: Pin elements (e.g., headings or important info) using CSS or JavaScript libraries, allowing key elements to stay visible as users scroll.
• Best Practices: Use sticky elements for important callouts, like section headers, to break up content and maintain engagement.

5. Text and Visual Animations

• How to Do It: Incorporate animations for text and visuals that emphasize critical points, using fade-ins or zooms.
• Best Practices: Keep animations subtle and focused, highlighting essential stats, quotes, or visuals to reinforce your story.

Additional Resources

• Showit Scroll Actions Help Doc: For Showit users, this guide covers how to implement interactive features like revealing hidden canvases, transitioning between canvas views, and more to enhance your site’s visual storytelling.
• Scrollytelling Code Cheatsheet: For those looking to add advanced scrollytelling elements to their websites, a bit of coding might be necessary. This blog provides pre-written code snippets, step-by-step instructions, and demos, so you can see each effect in action and easily integrate it into your site.
• Example of a Showit Webpage with Scrollytelling Elements: Explore this Showit-built page that incorporates scrollytelling features, showcasing how interactive storytelling can enhance a website. Check it out for inspiration!

Is Scrollytelling Right for Your Website?

Let’s face it: attention spans are short, and anything you can do to hold someone’s attention for a few extra seconds can make all the difference.

In the examples above—Dr. Pepper and Apple—those sites use a complex, in-depth approach to scrollytelling.

If you look at this example built on Showit, you’ll notice the integrated scrollytelling elements, but they’re used in a subtle way that doesn’t complicate the overall message.

If you are building something like a homepage or a landing page for a specific product, this is where scrollytelling can be most effective.

But, while it can offer an engaging, immersive experience, it isn’t ideal for every website.

For example, if your website is primarily informational or heavily data-driven, it may not be the best option.

One big tip we would give is to start simply. Adding fun multimedia is good, but be sure the story of your brand is well told above all else.

Give Scrollytelling a Try

In an age where users expect websites to be more than just digital billboards, scrollytelling is the cheat code to create an interactive, immersive experience that draws in your ideal audience.

Whether you’re looking to tell your brand’s story, engage visitors with dynamic content, or simply stand out from the crowd, scrollytelling can help you achieve your goals.

If you need help getting started, scroll back up and check out the list of resources we provided to help you set up scrollytelling on your website.