Optimize Rive Animations in HubSpot CMS

Everyone in the world knows that a picture is worth a million words…but what about an animation? Maybe ten million words? Maybe more. 

Today, Rive is one of the best web-based animation tools around. When it comes to HubSpot sites, though - how do you implement them? They are not out of the box modules, and if you stick to the standard way of doing things they can take a while to load. Error encountered? Oh no! Now half your visitors will never see your beautiful animations because they've scrolled past while waiting for the canvas to render or even worse–they’ve already bounced.

We've seen this scenario play out with multi-million dollar brands who come to us frustrated that their beautiful animations are actually hurting their conversion rates. The truth is, implementing Rive animations in HubSpot CMS without a performance strategy is like buying a Ferrari and filling it with regular gas—you're just not getting what you paid for.

Why Should I Worry About Animation Performance?

There are Hidden Costs for Poor Performance

When Rive animations load poorly, they don't just look bad—they can actively damage your business metrics. Every second of delay in loading animations can result in a 7% reduction in conversions. For enterprise clients, that's no mere statistic; it's millions in lost revenue.

The challenge with HubSpot CMS is that it wasn't originally built with complex animations or interactions in mind. While HubSpot has evolved tremendously, implementing high-performance animations requires deep understanding of both the platform's quirks and modern web optimization techniques.

Most developers make three critical mistakes when implementing Rive animations in HubSpot:

• Loading animation files synchronously, which blocks the entire page render
• Failing to implement proper placeholder strategies
• Ignoring viewport-based loading and resource management

How Can Rive Animation Performance Improve?

The Clevyr Approach: Preload, Placeholder, Perform

At Clevyr, we've battle-tested our Rive module implementation across dozens of enterprise sites. Here's how we ensure your animations load instantly while maintaining perfect visual quality.

Dual Preloading Strategy

The first thing our module does is preload both the Rive file AND the placeholder image. This parallel loading ensures resources are ready when needed:

<link rel="preload" href="MODULE_PLACEHOLDER_IMAGE" as="fetch"  crossorigin="anonymous">
<link rel="preload" href="MODULE_FILE_FIELD" as="fetch" crossorigin="anonymous">

Why both? The browser starts fetching these immediately—before parsing JavaScript, before calculating layouts, before anything else. By the time your Rive runtime initializes, the files are already in cache. This alone can cut perceived load time by 40-60%.

Intelligent Placeholder System with Layout Matching

Here's where most implementations fail—they show a generic loading spinner or nothing at all. Our approach respects the exact layout rules your Rive animation will use:

function calculateRiveLayout(srcWidth, srcHeight, canvasWidth, canvasHeight, fit, alignment) {
  var result = { x: 0, y: 0, width: srcWidth, height: srcHeight };
  var srcAspectRatio = srcWidth / srcHeight;
  var canvasAspectRatio = canvasWidth / canvasHeight;

  /* Match Rive's exact fit algorithms */
  if (fit === 'contain') {
    if (srcAspectRatio > canvasAspectRatio) {
      result.width = canvasWidth;
      result.height = canvasWidth / srcAspectRatio;
    } else {
      result.height = canvasHeight;
      result.width = canvasHeight * srcAspectRatio;
    }
  } else if (fit === 'cover') {
    /* Cover ensures no empty space */
    if (srcAspectRatio > canvasAspectRatio) {
      result.height = canvasHeight;
      result.width = canvasHeight * srcAspectRatio;
    } else {
      result.width = canvasWidth;
      result.height = canvasWidth / srcAspectRatio;
    }
  }
  
  /* Apply alignment for perfect positioning */
  if (alignment === 'center') {
    result.x = (canvasWidth - result.width) / 2;
    result.y = (canvasHeight - result.height) / 2;
  }
  return result;
}

This ensures your placeholder image appears exactly where the animation will be—no jarring shifts, no layout recalculations. The user sees content immediately, even on slow 3G connections.

DPR-Aware Canvas Rendering

Modern devices have varying pixel densities. Our implementation handles this elegantly:

function resizeCanvas(canvas) {
  var container = canvas.parentElement;
  var rect = container.getBoundingClientRect();
  var dpr = window.devicePixelRatio || 1;

  /* Size canvas backing store for device pixel ratio */
  canvas.width = Math.floor(rect.width * dpr);
  canvas.height = Math.floor(rect.height * dpr);

  /* Keep CSS size independent of backing store */
  canvas.style.width = rect.width + 'px';
  canvas.style.height = rect.height + 'px';

  /* Scale context to match device pixel ratio */
  var ctx = canvas.getContext('2d');
  if (dpr > 1) {
    ctx.scale(dpr, dpr);
  }
}

This prevents blurry animations on Retina displays while avoiding unnecessary memory usage on standard displays. It's the difference between "looks good" and "looks incredible."

Intersection Observer Performance Control

Here's the secret sauce—animations only play when visible:

function setupIntersectionObserver() {
  observer = new IntersectionObserver(
    function(entries) {
      entries.forEach(function(entry) {
        if (entry.isIntersecting) {
          if (!isRivePlaying) {
            r.play();
            isRivePlaying = true;
          }
        } else {
          if (isRivePlaying) {
            r.pause();
            isRivePlaying = false;
          }
        }
      });
    },
    {
      root: null,
      rootMargin: '50px',  /* Start loading just before visible */
      threshold: 0.1
    }
  );
  
  observer.observe(elm);
}

This approach means:

• Off-screen animations don't consume CPU/GPU resources
• Battery life improves on mobile devices
• Multiple animations on the same page don't compete for resources
• Animations feel responsive because they start just before scrolling into view

Graceful Fallback Handling

We know that not everything goes perfectly every time. Our implementation includes multiple fallback strategies:

var observerFallback = setTimeout(function() {
  if (!isRiveLoaded) {
    console.warn('Rive onLoad did not fire, setting up observer anyway');
    isRiveLoaded = true;
    setupIntersectionObserver();
  }
}, 3000);

/* Cleanup on navigation */
window.onbeforeunload = function(e) {
  if (observer) observer.disconnect();
  r.cleanup();  /* Prevent memory leaks */
};

Is All This Extra Effort Worthwhile?

Real-World Performance Gains

When we deployed this exact module for a recent HubSpot enterprise client with 12 Rive animations on their homepage:

• First Contentful Paint: Improved from 3.2s to 0.8s
• Cumulative Layout Shift: Dropped from 0.31 to 0.02
• Time to Interactive: Reduced from 5.4s to 2.1s
• Mobile Performance Score: Jumped from 42 to 91

But here's the business impact:

• Bounce rate decreased by 34%
• Average session duration increased by 2.3 minutes
• Conversion rate improved by 21%

Why Technical Details Matter for Business

Every optimization in our Rive module serves a business purpose:

• Preloading = Faster perceived performance = Lower bounce rates
• Placeholder matching = No layout shifts = Better user experience = Higher engagement
• Intersection Observer = Better resource usage = Happy mobile users = Broader audience reach
• DPR handling = Crystal clear animations = Premium brand perception

This isn't over-engineering—it's engineering for outcomes. Each line of code directly impacts your bottom line.

The Clevyr Difference

Most agencies would hand you a basic Rive implementation and call it done. At Clevyr, we've invested our time  perfecting the approach because we know that in the enterprise space, "good enough" isn't always good enough.

Our Rive module is battle-tested across industries—from education platforms serving thousands to luxury brands where every pixel matters. We don't just implement features; we architect experiences that convert.

Ready to make your animations work as hard as your business does? Let's talk about transforming your HubSpot site from a beautiful concept into a high-performing revenue engine. We'll show you exactly how our Rive optimization can improve your specific metrics—because at Clevyr, we measure success in business results, not just milliseconds.