Here’s a bonafide CSS/HTML trick from Brad Frost and Dave Rupert where they use the <picture> element to switch out a GIF file with an image if the user has reduced motion enabled. This is how Brad goes about implementing that:
<picture>
<!-- This image will be loaded if the media query is true -->
<source srcset="no-motion.jpg" media="(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)"></source>
<!-- Otherwise, load this gif -->
<img srcset="animated.gif" alt="brick wall"/>
</picture>
How nifty is this? It makes me wonder if there are other ways this image-switching technique can be used besides accessibility and responsive images…
Also, it’s worth noting that Eric Bailey wrote about the reduced motion media query a while back where he digs into its history and various approaches to use it.
