How to Easily Lazy Load Images in WordPress | Best Lazy Load Plugin

How to Easily Lazy Load Images in WordPress, i think your WordPress website loading slowly that is why you are here ? Do your visitors become bored and leave? It’s time to make your website speedier by this conclusive guide.

Slow loading can make a significant impact for everyone who has a WordPress website. If you are a blogger, a photographer, or running an online store, you need your site to be quick. Lazy loading can greatly assist you out in this situation.

In this tutorial, we’ll take a look at how to quickly lazy load images in WordPress. We will look over the default lazy loading functionality in WordPress, how to use plugins for lazy loading, and how to manually implement lazy loading using code.

In addition, we will review the best lazy load plugins and provide a full data table for comparison. Finally, we shall respond to some frequently asked inquiries (FAQs) in a human-toned manner.

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What is WordPress Lazy Load?

WordPress Lazy Load optimizes website speed by limiting image loading to the screen, preventing further images from loading until the visitor scrolls down. This approach improves user experience and boosts search engine rankings, reducing page load times.

Default Lazy Loading Feature in WordPress

Beginning with WordPress 5.5, lazy loading for pictures is enabled by default. Therefore, WordPress will automatically apply the loading=”lazy” tag to your pictures, instructing the browser to delay loading them until they enter the viewport.

How to Check if Lazy Loading is Enabled

1. Inspect Your Page: Open your website in a browser and right-click on an image. Select “Inspect” to open the browser’s developer tools else press CTRL+Shift+C to open inspect element and mark the object to see the code.

Just like displayed below :

2.Check the Image Tag: Look for the img tag in the HTML code. If you see loading="lazy" within the img tag, lazy loading is enabled.

Benefits of Default Lazy Loading

• No Additional Setup: Lazy loading is enabled out of the box, so you don’t need to install any plugins or write any code.
• Improved Performance: By deferring the loading of images, your website loads faster, improving the user experience.
• SEO Benefits: Faster loading times can lead to better search engine rankings.

Using Plugins for Lazy Loading

While the default lazy loading feature in WordPress is sufficient for many users, some may prefer more control and additional features. In such cases, using a plugin can be beneficial.

Best Lazy Load Plugins

1. WP Rocket
2. Lazy Load by WP Rocket
3. a3 Lazy Load
4. Smush
5. Lazy Load for Images

How to Easily Lazy Load Images in WordPress

Plugin Name	Features	Ease of Use	Performance Impact	Price
WP Rocket	Comprehensive caching, lazy loading, CDN	Easy	Low	Premium
Lazy Load by WP Rocket	Lightweight, lazy loading for images and iframes	Very Easy	Low	Free
a3 Lazy Load	Lazy loading for images, videos, iframes	Easy	Low	Free
Smush	Image optimization, lazy loading	Easy	Low	Freemium
Lazy Load for Images	Simple lazy loading for images	Very Easy	Low	Free

How to Install and Configure a Lazy Load Plugin

1. Install the Plugin: Go to your WordPress dashboard, navigate to “Plugins” > “Add New,” and search for the lazy load plugin you want to install. Click “Install Now” and then “Activate.”
2. Configure the Plugin: Each plugin has its own settings. Navigate to the plugin’s settings page and configure the options according to your preferences. Most plugins allow you to enable or disable lazy loading for images, iframes, and videos.

Example: Configuring a3 Lazy Load

1. Install and Activate: Follow the steps above to install and activate the a3 Lazy Load plugin.
2. Settings: Go to “Settings” > “a3 Lazy Load.” Here, you can enable lazy loading for images, videos, and iframes. You can also exclude specific images or pages from lazy loading.

Manually Implementing Lazy Loading with Coding

For those who prefer a hands-on approach, you can manually implement lazy loading by adding custom code to your WordPress theme.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Edit Your Theme’s Functions.php File: Go to your WordPress dashboard, navigate to “Appearance” > “Theme Editor,” and open the functions.php file.

2. Add the Lazy Loading Code: Insert the following code snippet into the functions.php file:

function add_lazy_loading_to_images($content) {
    if (is_feed() || is_preview()) {
        return $content;
    }

    if (false !== strpos($content, 'loading="lazy"')) {
        return $content;
    }

    $content = preg_replace('/<img(.*?)src=/', '<img$1loading="lazy" src=', $content);
    return $content;
}
add_filter('the_content', 'add_lazy_loading_to_images');

3. Save the Changes: Click “Update File” to save the changes.

Explanation of the Code

• Function Definition: The add_lazy_loading_to_images function checks if the content is a feed or a preview. If it is, the function returns the content without modification.
• Check for Existing Lazy Loading: The function checks if the loading="lazy" attribute is already present in the content. If it is, the function returns the content without modification.
• Add Lazy Loading Attribute: The function uses a regular expression to add the loading="lazy" attribute to all img tags in the content.
• Filter Hook: The add_filter function applies the add_lazy_loading_to_images function to the content of posts and pages.

FAQs

Conclusion

Lazy loading images on your WordPress site can improve speed, performance, and SEO. Three methods are provided for using image lazy loading. For difficulties with enlarging images, a step-by-step tutorial is available.