Parallax scrolling's been around for a while but it's a web design trend that refuses to go away. Parallax scrolling is when the website layout sees the background of the web page moving at a slower rate to the foreground, creating a 3D effect as you scroll. Used sparingly it can provide a nice, subtle element of depth that results in a distinctive and memorable website.

To show how it should be done, here are some sites that employ the technique to good effect. In some cases the parallax scrolling is the star of the show; in others it simply adds a touch of depth that makes the foreground seem to pop out a little (if it's a pared-back look you're after, explore our celebration of minimalist website design).

If you fancy really pushing the boat out, these impressive CSS animation examples showcase another great way to make your website stand out from the crowd. Now, let's take a look at some sites using parallax scrolling in very much the right way.

01. Canals

Canals is like leafing through big coffee table book (Image credit: Canals)

Designed by Marcus Brown and developed by Aristide Benoist, Canals takes you on a 400-year journey through the history of Amsterdam 17th century canals. The site's designed to provide an editorial-style experience, like leafing through a lush coffee table volume, and it make great use of parallax to draw your attention to new sections of its story, and to give the site a subtle depth effect.

02. The story of The Goonies

Get a sweet '80s retro hit here (Image credit: The story of The Goonies)

Anyone of a certain age is guaranteed love '80s teen adventure flick, The Goonies, and if that's you then this site is sure to get your nostalgia glands throbbing. Created by Joseph Berry using WebFlow, The Story of The Goonies is a tribute to a retro classic that uses parallax scrolling to draw you into the story, introduce you to the characters and reveal mode about the film.

03. Davide Perozzi

Perozzi's mainly text-based site is full of life [Image: Davide Perozzi]

Parallax scrolling is only the start of the web delights to be found at the online home of Davide Perozzi, a creative developer from Germany. His single-page, largely text-based site is full of surprises such as smooth scrolling, glitchy copy that changes as it moves, and project images that warp into view as you move the animated cursor over each project title. The look's decidedly brutalist, and an excellent demonstration of Perozzi's web skills.

04. Dogstudio

The animated 3D doggo is the star of the show here [Image: Dogstudio]

The immediate focal attraction of Dogstudio's site is a beautiful animated 3D dog – or is it a wolf? – in the centre of the page, that scales and rotates as you scroll your way down the parallax page. Its lighting changes colour as you hover over the titles of Dogstudio's recent projects, and perhaps our favourite bit is when it revolves in front of some of the page copy, obscuring some of the text.

05. ToyFight

Both Jonny and Leigh are anatomically correct [Image: ToyFight]

ToyFight is an award-winning creative agency, and its website is a whole lot of fun. Founders Jonny Lander and Leigh Whipday have turned themselves into 3D figures, which appear in a range of scenes throughout the site (including this cheeky Sagmeister & Walsh reference). Clever use of parallax amplifies the 3D effect, and paired with bold, bright, plain backgrounds, never becomes overwhelming or irritating.

06. Diesel: BAD Guide

Diesel's BAD Guide works like a virtual pinboard [Image: Diesel]

84.Paris created this impressive parallax website (and associated social media campaign) to accompany the launch of Diesel's BAD fragrance. The one-page site presents the series of rules that make up the 'BAD Guide'.

The user can explore by dragging the mouse around the parallax page, which is laid out like a pinboard of images to click through. There's advice on everything from Tinder ('Swipe right, right, right, right – you'll sort them out later') to Instagram ('Don't forget to get in touch with an ex on Thursdays #TBT'), accompanied by monochrome illustrations.

07. Firewatch

Each layer of trees moves independently [Image: Campo Santo]

One of the most beautiful examples of parallax scrolling we’ve seen is this website for the game Firewatch, which uses six moving layers to create a sense of depth. It’s great because there’s no scroll hijacking (something that often accompanies the parallax effect), and it’s only used at the top of the page – the rest of the site is still so you can read the information without getting seasick. If you want to see how it’s done, here’s a nice demo on CodePen.

08. Garden Studio

Layering of the landscape makes it seem three dimensional [Image: Garden Studio]

In a similar vein, Garden Studio has also opted to use the parallax technique in a sensible and delightful way at the top of its site, before moving into a mostly static page. The shifting landscape is subtle and unobtrusive yet also the star of the show – we found ourselves scrolling up and down again and again.

09. GitHub 404

GitHub's 404 breaks the rules of parallax for a disorienting effect [Image: GitHub]

GitHub's 404 page isn’t strictly parallax scrolling as the effect happens on mouse wiggle as opposed to scroll, but it’s a really fun page that uses layering to add depth. Unlike 'proper' parallax, the background moves faster than the foreground, creating a disorienting, otherworldly feel.

10. Jess & Russ

Every illustration has a sense of depth [Image: Jess & Russ]

It's no surprise that design power couple Russ Maschmeyer and Jessica Hische's wedding website is a beauty to behold. The site charts their romantic story, with parallax scrolling used throughout to add depth to the illustrations. They got married in 2012, but the website is still well worth a look.

11. Make Your Money Matter

Manage your finances with information and advice from Make Your Money Matter [Image: Public Service Credit Union]

Finance and money are hardly the most interesting of subjects. But New York-based digital agency Firstborn is quids in with this dynamic parallax scrolling website Make Your Money Matter for the Public Service Credit Union.

With the aim of teaching the public the benefits of joining a credit union, rather than using a bank, this brilliant site includes everything from how a credit union works, to where to find one and how to apply, as well as a calculator showing just how much banks profit from customer's deposits.

12. Madwell

New York agency Madwell uses parallax scrolling to add a sense of depth [Image: Madwell]

Design and development agency Madwell, based in New York, shows off its portfolio with a range of parallax scrolling effects to create a noticeable 3D style that adds a huge amount of depth.

13. Cultural Solutions

The circles move at different speeds for a subtle 3D effect [Image: Cultural Solutions]

Arts consultancy Cultural Solutions employs a subtle parallax scrolling effect to introduce depth to its homepage. Its main brand image is the use of colourful circles - the circles in the background move slower than those in the foreground, creating a subtle 3D effect.

14. Walking Dead

Walking Dead uses parallax scrolling to pull you into its gory world [Image: CableTV]

We're big fans of TV zombie drama The Walking Dead at Creative Bloq, and we were gripped by this website launched to promote it. The imaginative site harks back to the show's comic strip origins and makes clever use of parallax scrolling to pull you into its sick and depraved world.

"We came at this as fans of the show, first and foremost," says lead designer Gavin Beck. "With this drive, we wanted to create a world within the Walking Dead that fans could explore and appreciate.

"To achieve this, we looked to several existing technologies and techniques such as HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript/jQuery, Web Audio/HTML5 Audio, and parallax scrolling. The challenge was to find a unique approach to incorporate all these methods into a single engaging experience across all platforms."

15. New York Times: Tomato Can Blues

A beautiful experience is to be had with this parallax scrolling New York Times article [Image: ]

In today's era of low attention spans and bite-size media, how do you attract people to longform journalism? Tomato Can Blues is a great response to that problem from the New York Times, combining some clever web design techniques with storytelling and comic-inspired illustrations created by Atilla Futaki.

One of the best examples of parallax scrolling we've seen, the article takes you through the story of a cage fighter written by Mary Pilon. As you scroll through the content, the illustrations come alive with clever animations and alterations, allowing you to fully immerse yourself in the content.

Futaki's illustrations were based on police records, witness accounts, photographs and the reporter's notes, and the attention to detail shines through. All in all it's a great reading experience – is this the future of online journalism?

16. Snow Fall

The New York Times' 'Snow Fall' article kickstarted a whole new craze for rich parallax sites [Image: New York Times]

One of the first sites to really push the boundaries on what you could do with longform editorial content online, the New York Times' Snow Fall article combines a range of different elements, including parallax scrolling and web video.

The article, about the horror of an avalanche at Tunnel Creek, was published online in December 2012 but still stands strong as an example of what you can do with parallax scrolling. The newspaper presented the Pulitzer-winning article in an innovative way that grabbed the design community's attention worldwide.

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