[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #64471: Add cross-document View Transitions on the frontend

[WordPress Trac]

#64471: Add cross-document View Transitions on the frontend
-------------------------+---------------------
 Reporter:  westonruter  |       Owner:  (none)
     Type:  enhancement  |      Status:  new
 Priority:  normal       |   Milestone:  7.0
Component:  General      |     Version:
 Severity:  normal       |  Resolution:
 Keywords:               |     Focuses:  ui
-------------------------+---------------------
Description changed by westonruter:

Old description:

> Cross-document View Transitions enable multi-page applications (i.e.
> regular WordPress sites) to have a fluid navigation experience similar to
> a single-page app. They are [https://caniuse.com/cross-document-view-
> transitions now implemented] in all browsers, except for Firefox (see
> [https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1860854 Bugzilla 1860854]).
> The [https://wordpress.org/plugins/view-transitions/ View Transitions]
> feature plugin in Performance Lab has been very well received. (Source
> code is [https://github.com/WordPress/performance/tree/trunk/plugins
> /view-transitions available on GitHub].) This ticket is to propose
> merging that feature plugin into core.
>
> Note that the View Transitions feature goes best with Speculative Loading
> (initially [https://make.wordpress.org/core/2025/03/06/speculative-
> loading-in-6-8/ merged] in WP 6.8), since this reduces the latency
> between a link click and the transition starting. Increasing the
> eagerness of the speculations will improve the view transition experience
> (e.g. #64066).
>
> The plugin does have a `view-transitions` theme support with the
> following defaults:
>
> {{{#!php
> <?php
> array(
>         'post-selector'              => '.wp-block-post.post,
> article.post, body.single main',
>         'global-transition-names'    => array(
>                 'header' => 'header',
>                 'main'   => 'main',
>         ),
>         'post-transition-names'      => array(
>                 '.wp-block-post-title, .entry-title'     => 'post-title',
>                 '.wp-post-image'                         => 'post-
> thumbnail',
>                 '.wp-block-post-content, .entry-content' => 'post-
> content',
>         ),
>         'default-animation'          => 'fade',
>         'default-animation-duration' => 400,
> )
> }}}
>
> There is also a user interface in the plugin to be able to configure View
> Transitions for themes which haven't added `view-transitions` theme
> support. This UI should be out of scope for the core merge, given the
> [https://wordpress.org/about/philosophy/#:~:text=Decisions%2C%20not%20options
> Decisions, not options] philosophy of WordPress.
>
> Merging this feature into core may be premature given that there are
> still some
> [https://github.com/WordPress/performance/issues?q=state%3Aopen%20label%3A%22%5BPlugin%5D%20View%20Transitions%22
> outstanding issues], so it may need to move to Future Release.
>
> See #64470 for implementation in WP Admin.

New description:

 Cross-document View Transitions enable multi-page applications (i.e.
 regular WordPress sites) to have a fluid navigation experience similar to
 a single-page app. The [https://wordpress.org/plugins/view-transitions/
 View Transitions] feature plugin in Performance Lab has been very well
 received. (Source code is
 [https://github.com/WordPress/performance/tree/trunk/plugins/view-
 transitions available on GitHub].) This ticket is to propose merging that
 feature plugin into core.

 The feature is [https://caniuse.com/cross-document-view-transitions now
 implemented] in all browsers, except for Firefox (see
 [https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1860854 Bugzilla 1860854]).
 Nevertheless, it is purely a progressive enhancement, the same as
 Speculative Loading, so Firefox users will not experience a degraded
 experience.

 Note that the View Transitions feature goes best with Speculative Loading
 (initially [https://make.wordpress.org/core/2025/03/06/speculative-
 loading-in-6-8/ merged] in WP 6.8), since this reduces the latency between
 a link click and the transition starting. Increasing the eagerness of the
 speculations will improve the view transition experience (e.g. #64066).

 The plugin does have a `view-transitions` theme support with the following
 defaults:

 {{{#!php
 <?php
 array(
         'post-selector'              => '.wp-block-post.post,
 article.post, body.single main',
         'global-transition-names'    => array(
                 'header' => 'header',
                 'main'   => 'main',
         ),
         'post-transition-names'      => array(
                 '.wp-block-post-title, .entry-title'     => 'post-title',
                 '.wp-post-image'                         => 'post-
 thumbnail',
                 '.wp-block-post-content, .entry-content' => 'post-
 content',
         ),
         'default-animation'          => 'fade',
         'default-animation-duration' => 400,
 )
 }}}

 There is also a user interface in the plugin to be able to configure View
 Transitions for themes which haven't added `view-transitions` theme
 support. This UI should be out of scope for the core merge, given the
 [https://wordpress.org/about/philosophy/#:~:text=Decisions%2C%20not%20options
 Decisions, not options] philosophy of WordPress.

 Merging this feature into core may be premature given that there are still
 some
 [https://github.com/WordPress/performance/issues?q=state%3Aopen%20label%3A%22%5BPlugin%5D%20View%20Transitions%22
 outstanding issues], so it may need to move to Future Release.

 See #64470 for implementation in WP Admin.

--

-- 
Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/64471#comment:1>
WordPress Trac <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/>
WordPress publishing platform