Introduction
Lazy loading is a technique that loads elements on your page only when the user needs them This means that you don’t have to load all of the images, scripts and other resources at once. When an element is visible, it loads in full-view. As soon as it goes out of sight (usually when scrolling down), the rest of your website content remains static until it is needed again. This reduces bandwidth usage and speeds up page loading times.
Last year when we, at Reviews N Guides, were facing speed issues with our website, we implemented lazy loading and the situation definitely improved. So, we know it works. Here’s why you should take advantage of it as well.
What is lazy loading and why it’s important for WordPress sites?
Lazy loading is a technique that involves delaying the loading of images on your site. It can help to increase page performance and reduce bandwidth consumption by only loading images after they enter the viewport, which means that the user doesn’t need to wait for them to load before they can begin reading.
This guide will show you how to implement lazy loading on your WordPress site, as well as some of its benefits and drawbacks.
Pros of lazy loading
There are many benefits to using lazy loading on your site:
- Faster page load times. If you’re loading all of your images at once, then it will take longer for your website to load. With Lazy Loading, the images that aren’t visible in the current viewport load when they become visible and stop loading when they leave the viewport.
- Improved user experience (UX) by preventing users from having to wait for large images to load before seeing content on their screen.
- Increased conversions: Lazy Loading can help speed up the time it takes for users to complete certain actions on your site because it allows them to see important information sooner rather than later (such as product details or an FAQ). This helps increase conversions by getting people through each stage of a conversion faster!
Cons of lazy loading
There are some cons to lazy loading that you should be aware of.
- Lazy loading can confuse your users. In some cases, it may not be obvious that a page is taking longer than normal to load and can result in users abandoning the page completely. This is especially true for users on mobile devices or with slower internet connections.
- It’s not a cure-all for performance issues. While this technique does have many benefits, it shouldn’t be viewed as a silver bullet solution for all of your site’s performance problems—other techniques like caching and minimizing server requests could still prove useful in improving speed overall.
- It can sometimes be more difficult to debug lazy loading issues than other types of problems related directly to WordPress itself (e.g., plugins).
Lazy loading background images
To lazy load your background images, you need to use a plugin. The first option is to use the Lazy Loader plugin. This includes the ability to add in a custom class to the HTML element that is loading, so that when it loads on page scroll it becomes visible.
You can also implement this feature by adding code directly into your functions.php file if you’re not using any other plugins that also modify this file—in which case it may be easier just to install Lazy Loader and let it handle everything for you!
If there are certain elements on your site that don’t need to be loaded yet (like social media icons), then simply add them as data attributes with an empty value: data-src=””. This will prevent them from loading until they are visible onscreen.
Also Read: Best WordPress Page Builders
Lazy loading iframes
Iframes are a great way to embed content on your site, but they can also slow down your website if you have too many of them. Lazy loading iframes means that the browser will only render the portion of an iframe that contains relevant content and won’t load the rest until it is scrolled into view.
This method is useful for when you want to embed videos from YouTube or Vimeo into your site without having to wait for the entire video to load before viewing it in full screen mode, allowing users with slow internet connections to still enjoy watching videos on your site without having their experience interrupted by loading times and buffering issues.
WordPress lazy loading plugins
With so many different plugins to choose from, it can be hard to know which one is right for you. There are several options available, but it’s important to keep these things in mind:
- Free vs paid. Some of these plugins are free and others cost money. The free ones may have limitations that make them less than ideal, but they could still work perfectly well for your site. You might also want to experiment with the free versions of a few different plugins before deciding which one you want to start using on your site.
- Filters vs image-specific toggle buttons vs JavaScript performance monitoring tools (or all three). Some lazy loading plugins only apply filters or toggle buttons that activate after certain conditions have been met (like when an image enters into view), while others automatically load images as soon as they come into view without any additional user interaction required at all—which can lead down some unexpected paths depending on how much control over your site’s codebase you want!
Smush WordPress plugin
The Smush WordPress plugin will compress your images and make them smaller, which will speed up the load time of your site. It also improves security and makes sure images are mobile-friendly.
a3 Lazy Load plugin
Download the free plugin A3 Lazy Load from the WordPress repository. It’s easy to install and configure, even for a beginner.
The options panel for A3 Lazy Load has plenty of settings for tailoring its functionality to different scenarios. For example, you might want images to load after a certain period of inactivity on your site or only when they’re visible within the browser window—or both! This way, you get all the benefits of lazy loading without having any negative consequences like page speed issues or broken functionality.
And since A3 Lazy Load works with most browsers—including mobile devices—there’s no need to worry about compatibility issues either!
Implementing lazy loading on your site will speed up your site and save you visitors
It’s not a secret that we’re all in a hurry. We’re busy, and sometimes our sites need to keep up with us. Lazy loading is a technique that improves the loading speed of a web page by delaying the initial loading of images, scripts, and other assets until they come into view. It loads content only when visible to user.
Conclusion
Usually, lazy loading implementations are quite time-consuming. That is why we made this easy to use add-on for you. This handy tool will enable you to set up a complete WordPress lazy loading system with as little effort as possible. Add some features you like and remove the ones you don’t need in order to save more time. Lazy loading is a great WordPress performance booster and helps reduce page rendering times by around 70%. Start using it today and enjoy your fast loading website while saving valuable web hosting resources at the same time!
