Micro interactions are the small animations or responses in an app that guide, inform, or delight users—like a button changing when tapped or a loading spinner appearing.
Why It Matters
Why Founders Should Care About This Term:
- Enhances user experience through feedback and visual cues.
- Increases app usability by making interactions intuitive.
- Builds brand personality and emotional engagement.
- Helps reduce user errors by confirming actions.
- Improves retention by making the app feel more responsive and polished.
Use This Term When...
- Working on UI/UX design reviews.
- Planning app animations and transitions.
- Reviewing feedback cues for actions (e.g. submitting forms).
- Improving onboarding and user flow intuitiveness.
- Testing interaction patterns with users.
Real-World Example
In one of our projects, we used micro interactions to guide users through a multi-step sign-up process. These subtle animations improved task completion rates by 22%.
Founder Insight
Don’t overlook the small stuff—micro interactions are often the difference between an app that works and one that feels great. They're subtle, but they dramatically improve perceived quality.
Key Metrics / Concepts
- Tap Response Time – Measures the delay between tap and visual feedback.
- Completion Rate – Tracks how many users complete flows where micro interactions are used.
- Perceived Speed – A UX concept where animation helps users feel the app is faster.
- Feedback Consistency – Ensures micro interactions behave uniformly across the app.
- Delight Factor – Often assessed in UX research as a measure of emotional satisfaction.
Tools & Technologies
- Lottie – For adding lightweight animated elements in apps.
- Framer Motion – A powerful animation library for React-based apps.
- Figma/Adobe XD Prototyping – Used to prototype and test micro interactions in design.
What’s Next / Future Trends
Micro interactions are evolving into smart, context-aware animations driven by AI and user behaviour. Expect more personalisation, adaptive feedback, and accessibility-conscious motion design.
Related Terms
- Motion Design – Encompasses micro interactions as part of the broader animation system.
- UI Design – Where micro interactions are crafted.
- UX Design – Micro interactions are a UX enhancer.
- Interaction Design – The design discipline most closely tied to micro interactions.
- Prototypes – Used to test and refine micro interactions before development.
Helpful Videos / Articles / Pages
Call to Action
Still unsure how micro interactions can elevate your app experience? Book a discovery call and we’ll walk you through the magic of small details done right.