An animated CSS gradient is a background that smoothly transitions between color positions using @keyframes and background-position or background-size animations. It creates a live, moving backdrop without JavaScript, GIFs, or video — purely with CSS. It's widely used in hero sections, landing pages, and modern web design.

Yes! CSS @keyframes, background-position, and gradient functions (linear-gradient, radial-gradient, conic-gradient) are supported in all modern browsers including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. Conic gradients have slightly less support in older browsers (IE11 is not supported). For production, always test across target browsers.

When used correctly, CSS animated gradients are very performant. Browsers optimize background-position and transform animations on the compositor thread, meaning they don't trigger layout recalculations. For best performance: (1) avoid animating more than 2–3 gradient elements simultaneously, (2) use will-change: background-position sparingly, and (3) keep animation durations above 3 seconds to reduce CPU load on mobile devices.

Absolutely! Use background-clip: text and -webkit-background-clip: text with color: transparent to apply an animated gradient as text fill. The same CSS keyframes work — just target your heading or text element. This technique is popular for eye-catching headlines and logo effects.

Linear: Colors blend along a straight line defined by an angle (e.g., 45deg). Best for directional sweeps.
Radial: Colors radiate outward from a center point in a circular or elliptical shape. Great for spotlight effects.
Conic: Colors rotate around a center point like a pie chart or color wheel. Creates striking spinning effects when animated.

Simply copy the generated CSS from this tool and paste it into your stylesheet. Apply the .gradient-background class (or customize the selector) to any container element like a <div>, <section>, or <header>. The animation starts automatically on page load with zero JavaScript required.