Using 3D on Your Website

Three-dimensional animations and other 3D visuals can add so much. Aside from building instant interactivity and intrigue into your design, they help bring attention to the visual elements and text that you want visitors to focus on. Important parts of a website like messaging, product details, and other information can all be rolled out in a three-dimensional experience that’s far more interesting and captivating than a standard flat web design.

However, it’s worth mentioning that while 3D websites work well at fast internet speeds on modern laptops and mobile devices, they can be a bit buggy on slower and older gear. A website doesn’t have to be a completely three-dimensional experience—instead of creating a fully-immersive 3D world, you can still use 3D elements sparingly to great effect.

Essential 3D Website Tools and Resources

Whether you’re a motion graphics expert well versed in JavaScript and React, or someone more comfortable working in the no-code space, there are a variety of different apps you can use to build three-dimensional web designs. Here are a few of the more popular three-dimensional modeling software apps worth exploring:

• AutoCAD
• Blender
• SketchUp
• Vectary  

Many designers also find modeling libraries essential in crafting multi-dimensional websites. Some of the worthwhile 3D libraries worth checking out include cgTrader, SketchFab, 3DExport, and Vue.js. You can actually browse some of these directly inside Vev or upload your own .glb files to easily build a 3D web experience.

Of course, there are ways to create the illusion of dimensionality without creating complex graphics. Offsetting the speed that elements scroll by, adding drop shadows, and working with light, are all ways to create 3D visuals. Dimensionality can be faked through these techniques:

• Parallax scrolling
• Animated visuals
• Skeuomorphism
• Faux dimensional scrolling
• Glassmorphism