Animating DOM elements such as divs, images, and buttons is a core part of creating engaging web experiences. When you animate these elements, you should always consider both performance and accessibility. For the best performance, focus on animating CSS transform properties like translate, scale, and rotate, as well as opacity. These properties are handled efficiently by the browser's compositor, leading to smoother animations without triggering expensive layout recalculations or repaints.

Avoid animating layout properties such as width, height, top, left, or margin frequently, as these can cause layout thrashing and reduce animation smoothness. Whenever possible, use transforms to move, scale, or rotate elements instead of changing their position or size directly. This approach also helps maintain accessibility, since the structure and semantics of the page remain intact.

To ensure your animations are accessible, make sure that important content is not hidden or moved in a way that confuses screen readers or keyboard users. Provide alternative ways for users to interact with animated elements, and avoid using animation as the only way to convey information. Keep animation durations reasonable and avoid excessive motion that could cause discomfort for some users. If your animation involves focusable elements, ensure that focus states are clearly visible and that keyboard navigation remains logical and predictable.