diff --git a/craft/src/panels/topbar/TopBar.tsx b/craft/src/panels/topbar/TopBar.tsx
index 11a11a3..9a3d5e0 100644
--- a/craft/src/panels/topbar/TopBar.tsx
+++ b/craft/src/panels/topbar/TopBar.tsx
@@ -274,7 +274,7 @@ export const TopBar: React.FC<TopBarProps> = ({ showGuides, onToggleGuides }) =>
     const win = window.open('', '_blank');
     try {
       const serialized = query.serialize();
-      Promise.all([import('../../utils/html-export'), import('../../utils/sandboxed-preview')]).then(([{ exportToHtml, exportBodyHtml, buildAnimationScript }, { openSandboxedPreview }]) => {
+      Promise.all([import('../../utils/html-export'), import('../../utils/sandboxed-preview')]).then(([{ exportComposedPreviewHtml, exportBodyHtml }, { openSandboxedPreview }]) => {
         // Get header HTML
         let headerHtml = '';
         try {
@@ -295,18 +295,11 @@ export const TopBar: React.FC<TopBarProps> = ({ showGuides, onToggleGuides }) =>
           }
         } catch (e) { console.warn('Footer export failed:', e); }
 
-        // Compose full page: header + body + footer. `handlePreview` below
-        // replaces the ENTIRE wrapped-doc `<body>` inner (including the
-        // in-body reveal `<script>` wrapInDocument already emitted) with
-        // this composed string, so the script would otherwise be clobbered
-        // and animated elements would stay hidden forever
-        // ([data-animation]{opacity:0} with no IntersectionObserver to ever
-        // add `.animated`). Re-append the reveal script here -- built from
-        // the SAME composed content it will end up living alongside -- so
-        // it survives the replacement below and fires exactly once.
-        const composedBody =
-          headerHtml + bodyHtml + footerHtml +
-          buildAnimationScript(headerHtml + bodyHtml + footerHtml);
+        // Compose full page: header + body + footer. exportComposedPreviewHtml
+        // builds the head over this composed content (fonts + animation gate,
+        // like the published head) and swaps it in as the body with ONE reveal
+        // script, so animated elements in header/footer still reveal.
+        const composedHtml = headerHtml + bodyHtml + footerHtml;
 
         // PKG-H: fold the active page's own SEO overrides + the site-wide
         // design tokens/favicon into the Preview export so editor Preview
@@ -317,7 +310,7 @@ export const TopBar: React.FC<TopBarProps> = ({ showGuides, onToggleGuides }) =>
         const seo = activePage?.seo;
         const title = seo?.metaTitle?.trim() || activePage?.name || whpConfig?.siteName || 'Preview';
 
-        const result = exportToHtml(serialized, {
+        let html = exportComposedPreviewHtml(serialized, composedHtml, {
           title,
           includeFonts: true,
           headCode: design.headCode,
@@ -332,20 +325,8 @@ export const TopBar: React.FC<TopBarProps> = ({ showGuides, onToggleGuides }) =>
             ? `https://${whpConfig.siteDomain}/${activePage.slug === 'index' ? '' : activePage.slug}`
             : undefined,
           design,
-          // Fonts: scan header+body+footer like the published head does (head parity).
-          fontScanHtml: composedBody,
         });
 
-        // Replace the body in the full document with our composed version.
-        // Use a function replacer -- a plain string replacer treats
-        // `$&`/`$1`/`$$` sequences in user content as replacement
-        // patterns, silently corrupting the output.
-        let html = result.html;
-        const bodyMatch = html.match(/<body[^>]*>([\s\S]*)<\/body>/i);
-        if (bodyMatch) {
-          html = html.replace(bodyMatch[1], () => composedBody);
-        }
-
         // Make proxy URLs absolute so they resolve from the sandboxed (opaque-origin) frame.
         const origin = window.location.origin;
         html = html.replace(/src="\/api\//g, `src="${origin}/api/`);
diff --git a/craft/src/utils/history-restore.test.ts b/craft/src/utils/history-restore.test.ts
index 44f9261..93373c9 100644
--- a/craft/src/utils/history-restore.test.ts
+++ b/craft/src/utils/history-restore.test.ts
@@ -125,6 +125,20 @@ describe('buildSnapshotPreviewHtml', () => {
     expect(html).toContain('family=Inter:wght@300;400;500;600;700&family=Merriweather:wght@300;400;700&display=swap');
     expect(html).toContain('<title>Page A</title>');
   });
+  test('head parity: animation CSS + noscript gate on header+body+footer (animated footer only)', () => {
+    const footer = JSON.stringify({
+      ROOT: { type: { resolvedName: 'Container' }, isCanvas: true, props: { animation: 'fade-in' }, displayName: 'Container', custom: {}, hidden: false, nodes: [], linkedNodes: {}, parent: null },
+    });
+    const html = buildSnapshotPreviewHtml(
+      { pages_craft_state: [{ id: 'a', name: 'Page A', slug: 'index', craftState: state('Body') }], footer_craft_state: footer },
+      0,
+      'https://panel.example',
+    );
+    const head = html.slice(0, html.indexOf('</head>'));
+    expect(head).toContain('[data-animation]{opacity:0}');
+    expect(head).toContain('<noscript><style>[data-animation]{opacity:1}</style></noscript>');
+    expect(html.split("document.querySelectorAll('[data-animation]')").length - 1).toBe(1);
+  });
 });
 
 /**
diff --git a/craft/src/utils/history-restore.ts b/craft/src/utils/history-restore.ts
index ae4b889..93a8a94 100644
--- a/craft/src/utils/history-restore.ts
+++ b/craft/src/utils/history-restore.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import type { PageData, PageNav, PageSeo } from '../types';
 import { DEFAULT_SITE_DESIGN, type SiteDesign } from '../state/SiteDesignContext';
-import { exportBodyHtml, exportToHtml, buildAnimationScript } from './html-export';
+import { exportBodyHtml, exportComposedPreviewHtml } from './html-export';
 
 /**
  * Pure helpers for version history (#51). A snapshot is the gunzipped previous
@@ -150,12 +150,13 @@ export function buildSnapshotPreviewHtml(snapshot: Snapshot, pageIndex: number,
   const headerHtml = zoneHtml(snapshot.header_craft_state, 'header');
   const footerHtml = zoneHtml(snapshot.footer_craft_state, 'footer');
   const composed = headerHtml + bodyHtml + footerHtml;
-  const composedBody = composed + buildAnimationScript(composed);
 
   const design = snapshotDesign(snapshot);
   const fullDesign = { ...DEFAULT_SITE_DESIGN, ...(design || {}) } as SiteDesign;
   const seo = page.seo;
-  let html = exportToHtml(state, {
+  // Head (fonts + animation gate) is scanned over header+body+footer, like the
+  // published head (head parity); the body is the composed content.
+  let html = exportComposedPreviewHtml(state, composed, {
     title: seo?.metaTitle?.trim() || page.name || 'Preview',
     includeFonts: true,
     headCode: fullDesign.headCode,
@@ -166,13 +167,7 @@ export function buildSnapshotPreviewHtml(snapshot: Snapshot, pageIndex: number,
     noindex: seo?.noindex,
     favicon: fullDesign.favicon,
     design: fullDesign,
-    // Fonts: scan header+body+footer like the published head does (head parity).
-    fontScanHtml: composedBody,
-  }).html;
-
-  // Function replacer: user content may contain `$&` / `$1`.
-  const m = html.match(/<body[^>]*>([\s\S]*)<\/body>/i);
-  if (m) html = html.replace(m[1], () => composedBody);
+  });
 
   html = html.replace(/src="\/api\//g, `src="${apiOrigin}/api/`);
   html = html.replace(/url\('\/api\//g, `url('${apiOrigin}/api/`);
diff --git a/craft/src/utils/html-export.head-parity.test.ts b/craft/src/utils/html-export.head-parity.test.ts
index 75b0b0d..54d7e90 100644
--- a/craft/src/utils/html-export.head-parity.test.ts
+++ b/craft/src/utils/html-export.head-parity.test.ts
@@ -112,3 +112,36 @@ describe('buildFontsLink per-element presets (item 14/15)', () => {
     expect(link).not.toContain('undefined');
   });
 });
+
+/**
+ * Minor finding: Preview gated the animation CSS + noscript on the PAGE BODY
+ * only, while generateCompiledHTML gates on the composed header+body+footer
+ * ($hasAnim = strpos($html,'data-animation') over $composedBody). An animated
+ * element only in the header/footer therefore had no keyframes/noscript in
+ * Preview but did once published.
+ */
+describe('composed preview: animation head gate covers header+body+footer', () => {
+  const ANIM_CSS_MARK = '[data-animation]{opacity:0}';
+  const NOSCRIPT = '<noscript><style>[data-animation]{opacity:1}</style></noscript>';
+  const plainBody = root({});
+  const animatedHeader = '<header data-animation="fade-in">H</header>';
+
+  test('animation only in the header -> head has the animation CSS + noscript, one reveal script', async () => {
+    const { exportComposedPreviewHtml } = await import('./html-export');
+    const bodyHtml = exportBodyHtml(plainBody).html;
+    const html = exportComposedPreviewHtml(plainBody, animatedHeader + bodyHtml, { title: 'T' });
+    const head = html.slice(0, html.indexOf('</head>'));
+    expect(head).toContain(ANIM_CSS_MARK);
+    expect(head).toContain(NOSCRIPT);
+    expect(html.split("document.querySelectorAll('[data-animation]')").length - 1).toBe(1);
+    expect(html).toContain(animatedHeader);
+  });
+
+  test('no animation anywhere -> no animation CSS/noscript/script', async () => {
+    const { exportComposedPreviewHtml } = await import('./html-export');
+    const html = exportComposedPreviewHtml(plainBody, '<header>H</header>' + exportBodyHtml(plainBody).html, { title: 'T' });
+    expect(html).not.toContain(ANIM_CSS_MARK);
+    expect(html).not.toContain(NOSCRIPT);
+    expect(html).not.toContain("querySelectorAll('[data-animation]')");
+  });
+});
diff --git a/craft/src/utils/html-export.ts b/craft/src/utils/html-export.ts
index 5963644..bbb7418 100644
--- a/craft/src/utils/html-export.ts
+++ b/craft/src/utils/html-export.ts
@@ -32,6 +32,10 @@ export interface ExportOptions {
    *  the body. Preview passes the composed header+body+footer so it matches the
    *  published head, which scans all three (head parity). */
   fontScanHtml?: string;
+  /** HTML scanned for `data-animation` to gate the head animation CSS + noscript;
+   *  defaults to the body. Preview passes the composed header+body+footer, matching
+   *  generateCompiledHTML's $hasAnim over the composed body (head parity). */
+  animationScanHtml?: string;
   /** Full site design tokens -- drives the :root{} CSS-variable block (contract §2).
    *  Falls back to DEFAULT_SITE_DESIGN when omitted so every export (including legacy
    *  callers that don't pass it) still emits the token/base/a11y CSS -- see §7. */
@@ -474,7 +478,7 @@ function wrapInDocument(bodyHtml: string, options: ExportOptions): string {
   // data-animation (contract gate). `buildAnimationScript` is the single
   // source of the reveal-script string -- TopBar's Preview body-replacement
   // uses the same helper so the two emissions never drift apart.
-  const hasAnimations = bodyHtml.includes('data-animation');
+  const hasAnimations = (options.animationScanHtml ?? bodyHtml).includes('data-animation');
   const animationBlock = hasAnimations ? animation : '';
   const animationNoscript = hasAnimations ? `\n    ${ANIMATION_NOSCRIPT}` : '';
   const revealScript = buildAnimationScript(bodyHtml);
@@ -536,6 +540,28 @@ export function exportToHtml(
   }
 }
 
+/**
+ * Preview document for a page composed with its header/footer: the head is built
+ * over the composed content (fonts + animation gate, like generateCompiledHTML)
+ * and the body is replaced by the composed HTML plus ONE reveal script built from
+ * it. Function replacer: user content may contain `$&` / `$1`.
+ */
+export function exportComposedPreviewHtml(
+  serializedState: string,
+  composedHtml: string,
+  options: ExportOptions = {},
+): string {
+  const composedBody = composedHtml + buildAnimationScript(composedHtml);
+  let html = exportToHtml(serializedState, {
+    ...options,
+    fontScanHtml: composedBody,
+    animationScanHtml: composedBody,
+  }).html;
+  const m = html.match(/<body[^>]*>([\s\S]*)<\/body>/i);
+  if (m) html = html.replace(m[1], () => composedBody);
+  return html;
+}
+
 /**
  * Export just the body HTML + CSS (for WHP API save -- PHP wraps in document).
  */