Solving the CSS Transition Issue with React and Styled Components

Discover how to fix your `CSS transitions` in `React` using `styled-components`. Learn the reason behind it and easier ways to implement effective animations seamlessly.
---

Visit these links for original content and any more details, such as alternate solutions, latest updates/developments on topic, comments, revision history etc. For example, the original title of the Question was: CSS Transition not working with react and styled components

If anything seems off to you, please feel free to write me at vlogize [AT] gmail [DOT] com.
---
Solving the CSS Transition Issue with React and Styled Components

If you’re developing a React application and experimenting with animated components using styled-components, you may find yourself stuck with transitions that simply don’t work as expected. This issue is particularly common when toggling visibility of components using state. In this guide, we will explore a specific case of a CSS transition not functioning properly and walk you through the solution step by step.

The Problem

In a recent query, a developer was struggling with a CSS transition for an element affected by a React state toggle. They were using the useState hook to modify the class of a styled component based on user interaction. However, the expected transition effects were missing. Here's the problematic snippet:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

What Went Wrong

The main issue lies in the conditionally rendered Description component. The transition fails due to the following logic:

When descStatus is false, Description is not rendered, which means it does not get a chance to have a height of 0.

When toggled to true, it is instantly rendered with a height assigned, preventing the transition effect from triggering.

The Solution

To fix this issue, we need to always render the Description component regardless of the state. This way, it can transition between the height values properly.

Instead of wrapping the Description in a conditional render, modify the code like this:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Why This Works

By always rendering the Description component:

When descStatus is false, it receives the class "content" with a height of 0.

Once descStatus changes to true, it then gets the "showContent" class with the height of 70px.

This change allows for a true CSS transition to take place, as the component can now transition from one height to another effectively.

Conclusion

CSS transitions can seem tricky when combined with React’s state management, especially when using styled-components. The key takeaway is that the element must always exist in the DOM to transition its properties smoothly. By keeping the component rendered at all times, you empower CSS with the ability to create beautiful, effective transitions that elevate user interaction.

If you have any questions or need further clarification, feel free to ask in the comments below! Happy coding!