How to Easily Lazy Load Images in WordPress (2 Ways)
Do you want to learn how to lazy load images in WordPress? Lazy loading allows your website to only load images when a user scrolls down to a specific image, which reduces the website load time and improves website performance. Many popular image-heavy sites use lazy loading to boost website speed and performance. In this article, we will show you how to easily lazy load images in WordPress, step by step. Why Lazy Load Images in WordPress? Lazy loading WordPress images can speed up your website and offer a better user experience. No one likes slow websites. In fact, a performance study found that a 1-second delay in page load time leads to 7% fewer conversions, 11% fewer pageviews, and a 16% decrease in customer satisfaction. Search engines like Google don’t like slow-loading websites, either. This is why faster sites rank higher in the search results. Images take the most time to load on your website compared...
Do you want to learn how to lazy load images in WordPress?Lazy loading allows your website to only load images when a user scrolls down to a specific image, which reduces the website load time and improves website performance. Many popular image-heavy sites use lazy loading to boost website speed and performance.In this article, we will show you how to easily lazy load images in WordPress, step by step.
Why Lazy Load Images in WordPress?
Lazy loading WordPress images can speed up your website and offer a better user experience.No one likes slow websites. In fact, a performance study found that a 1-second delay in page load time leads to 7% fewer conversions, 11% fewer pageviews, and a 16% decrease in customer satisfaction.Search engines like Google don’t like slow-loading websites, either. This is why faster sites rank higher in the search results.Images take the most time to load on your website compared to other web elements. If you add a lot of images to your articles, then each image increases your page load time.One way to handle this situation is to use a CDN service like BunnyCDN. A CDN will let users download images from a web server closest to them and reduce website loading speeds.However, your images will still be loaded and affect the overall page load time. To get past this issue, you can delay image loading by implementing lazy load on your website.How does lazy loading for images work?Instead of loading all your images at once, lazy loading downloads only the images visible on the user’s screen. It replaces all other images with a placeholder image or blank space.As a user scrolls down the page, your website loads images that are visible in the browser’s viewing area.Lazy loading can be very beneficial to your WordPress blog:
It reduces the initial web page loading time so that users will see your site faster.
It conserves bandwidth by only delivering images that are viewed, which can save you money on WordPress hosting costs.
The release of WordPress 5.5 added lazy loading as a default feature.However, if you want to customize how your images lazy load and also lazy load background images, then you will need to use a WordPress plugin.Let’s take a look at how to lazy load images in WordPress using two different plugins. You can use the quick links below to jump straight to the method you want to use:
Lazy Load Images in WordPress With WP Rocket (Recommended)
Lazy Load Images in WordPress With Optimole (Free)
Bonus Tips to Optimize Your WordPress Images
Method 1: Lazy Load Images in WordPress With WP Rocket
We recommend using the WP Rocket plugin to lazy load images in WordPress. It’s the best WordPress caching plugin on the market that lets you easily turn on image lazy loading.Aside from that, it’s a very powerful plugin that helps you optimize your website speed without knowing complex technical terms or configuring expert settings.Right out of the box, all of their default recommended caching settings will greatly speed up your WordPress website.The first thing you will need to do is install and activate the WP Rocket plugin. For more details, you can see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.To enable image lazy loading, all you have to do is check a few boxes. You can even enable lazy loading for videos, which will improve your website speed even more.All you need to do is go to Settings » WP Rocket in your WordPress dashboard and click on the ‘Media’ tab. Then, you can scroll to the ‘LazyLoad’ section and check the boxes next to ‘Enable for images’ and ‘Enable for iframes and videos’.For more details, see our guide on how to properly install and set up WP Rocket in WordPress.Note: If you are using Siteground as your WordPress hosting provider, then you can use the free SiteGround Optimizer plugin that has similar lazy loading features.
Method 2: Lazy Load Images in WordPress With Optimole
This method uses the free Optimole plugin. It’s one of the best WordPress image compression plugins that lets you easily enable image lazy loading.If you get over 5,000 visitors per month, then you will need the premium version of Optimole.First, you need to install and activate the Optimole plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.Upon activation, you will see a screen asking you to sign up for an API key. You can also find this screen by navigating to Optimole in the admin menu.You’ll need to make sure that the email address listed is correct and then click the ‘Create & connect your account’ b***on. Alternatively, if you are an existing user, then just click the ‘I already have an API key’ b***on.You may need to wait for a few seconds while the plugin connects to Optimole. After that, the plugin will automatically start to optimize your images so that your visitors will now see the best images for their devices.While that is happening, you can click on the ‘Settings’ tab to configure lazy load.Here, you need to make sure the ‘Scale images and & Lazy load’ setting is enabled. This will generate images based on your visitor’s screen size and improve loading speeds.Next, click on the ‘Advanced’ menu option and select ‘Lazyload’. On this screen, there are a few different settings that let you customize how your images will lazy load.First, you can adjust the ‘Exclude first number of images from lazyload’ setting. This will stop images at the top of your posts or pages from lazy loading, so images above the fold will always appear.You can set this to 0 if you want every image to lazy load.There are a few other advanced lazy load settings in Optimole that you can check. These settings are enabled by default.The first is the ‘Scale Images’ setting. This will scale images to the visitor’s screen size and make your page load faster.After that, you will see the ‘Enable lazyload for background images’ setting. This will lazy load your background images, which may be the largest images on your website.Another setting is lazy loading embedded videos and iframes. If you have a lot of embedded video content, then you will want to leave this setting on. It will load a placeholder image in place of the video. When the placeholder is clicked, the full video will load.You can continue to customize these settings and see what works best for your website and your images.Before you exit the plugin settings, make sure to click the ‘Save changes’ b***on at the bottom of the page.
Bonus Tips to Optimize Your WordPress Images
Although lazy loading will help to improve website loading speed, there are a few other ways to optimize your WordPress images for the best performance.For example, we recommend compressing your images before uploading them to your website using a tool like TinyPNG or JPEGmini. Alternatively, you can use an automated image compression plugin such as Optimole or EWWW Image Optimizer.It’s also important to choose the right WordPress image size and file format for your images. JPEGs are best for photos or images with many colors, PNGs are suitable for simple or transparent images, and GIFs are only for animated images.We hope this article helped you learn how to lazy load images in WordPress. You may also want to see our tutorial on how to easily optimize images for the web without losing quality and our expert picks of the best web design software.If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.The post How to Easily Lazy Load Images in WordPress (2 Ways) first appeared on WPBeginner.
Volvo teases a new affordable EV to replace discontinued EX30
Volvo's compact, quirky EX30 had a lot of problems when it was first released. Tariffs essentially erased its affordability, making it more expensive to own, and a battery recall made it dangerous to park indoors. But its discontinuation didn't spell the end of Volvo's efforts to sell more affordable electric...
Volvo's compact, quirky EX30 had a lot of problems when it was first released. Tariffs essentially erased its affordability, making it more expensive to own, and a battery recall made it dangerous to park indoors. But its discontinuation didn't spell the end of Volvo's efforts to sell more affordable electric models. In fact, the Swedish automaker is already at work on a new offering for the US market. The news of an affordable Volvo EV for the US came during a media roundtable this week related to the US launch of the new EX60. Luis Rezende, president of Volvo Cars America, said that the decision to discontinue the EX30 was not solely abo …Read the full story at The Verge.
Daniel Martinez Dallas
Published by: aplhsindia.in
These 5 simple habits make my PC feel much faster
Over time, Windows PCs start to feel slow. It happens to most of us, and we automatically assume this is linked to hardware limitations. But more often than not, Windows system slowdowns are due to neglect and bad usage habits. Over the years, I have made simple changes to my...
Over time, Windows PCs start to feel slow. It happens to most of us, and we automatically assume this is linked to hardware limitations. But more often than not, Windows system slowdowns are due to neglect and bad usage habits. Over the years, I have made simple changes to my workflow, and it has noticeably improved performance, even on my roughly 10-year-old laptop.
Jane Smith Los Angeles
Published by: aplhsindia.in
I stopped using Claude for coding, but now I can’t live without it for everything else
Up until recently, Claude was only spoken about in hushed tones in developer communities. It was the quiet favorite of people who lived in their terminals, and the biggest reason for that was just how good Anthropic's models were at coding. To everyone else, Claude was either invisible or vaguely...
Up until recently, Claude was only spoken about in hushed tones in developer communities. It was the quiet favorite of people who lived in their terminals, and the biggest reason for that was just how good Anthropic's models were at coding. To everyone else, Claude was either invisible or vaguely intimidating. And then the tables turned around for Anthropic, and suddenly Claude went from a niche AI tool to the one people couldn't stop talking about.
Freja Mortensen Denmark
Published by: aplhsindia.in
This Altoids tin ESP32 computer comes with a keyboard, and yes, it runs DOOM
Did you know that there's an entire scene around stuffing chips into an Altoids tin and making it do all sorts of things? We've seen it before with the Raspberry Pi, where someone even created a Kickstarter to help get an Altoid tin console up and running. There's something about...
Did you know that there's an entire scene around stuffing chips into an Altoids tin and making it do all sorts of things? We've seen it before with the Raspberry Pi, where someone even created a Kickstarter to help get an Altoid tin console up and running. There's something about the size of an Altoid tin that makes people want to turn them into teeny-tiny electronic devices.
Jane Smith Los Angeles
Published by: aplhsindia.in
Your SSD has built-in maintenance tools that Windows keeps hidden from you
Modern-day SSDs are fast enough for most of us to not really think about their upkeep every day. Back when SSD technology was new, everyone treated their SSDs like fragile glass, sharing notes and advice on how to prolong the life of their drive by any means unnecessary.
Modern-day SSDs are fast enough for most of us to not really think about their upkeep every day. Back when SSD technology was new, everyone treated their SSDs like fragile glass, sharing notes and advice on how to prolong the life of their drive by any means unnecessary.
Allan Nelson Ireland
Published by: aplhsindia.in
ChatGPT finally got the memory transparency feature it needed — it still isn’t enough to beat Claude
Every time OpenAI releases a new model for ChatGPT, the buzz it generates makes me think I may be missing out if I don't switch. The latest update is GPT-5.5 Instant, and it's the default model for all ChatGPT users. It's paired with an upgraded memory system that shows you...
Every time OpenAI releases a new model for ChatGPT, the buzz it generates makes me think I may be missing out if I don't switch. The latest update is GPT-5.5 Instant, and it's the default model for all ChatGPT users. It's paired with an upgraded memory system that shows you which past conversations and saved memories the model pulled from to shape its response. That's a really nice feature that felt long overdue. With the new memory transparency and claims that hallucinations have been reduced by over 50% in certain domains, it's an alluring update for those who were already on the fence about ChatGPT.
William Garcia Boston
Published by: aplhsindia.in
Claude is still the best agentic coding tool, but Anthropic’s tightening grip is the best argument yet for going local
Claude is typically considered the best agentic coding tool on the market right now. There are plenty of developers I know who use it daily, and Anthropic has spent the last year and a half giving plenty of reasons for that confidence. Opus 4.7 just launched last month, Claude Code...
Claude is typically considered the best agentic coding tool on the market right now. There are plenty of developers I know who use it daily, and Anthropic has spent the last year and a half giving plenty of reasons for that confidence. Opus 4.7 just launched last month, Claude Code continues to be one of the go-to agentic tools on the market (despite the proliferation of alternatives), and the likes of Sonnet and even Haiku are still valid models to use for different tasks.
Daniel Martinez Dallas
Published by: aplhsindia.in
You don’t need a 4K monitor to make DLSS 4.5 worth it
I totally understand why many people think enabling DLSS makes the most sense on a 4K monitor. At native 4K, you're almost always GPU-bound even if you have a flagship card like the RTX 5090, so DLSS is a great way to avoid paying the performance tax that comes with...
I totally understand why many people think enabling DLSS makes the most sense on a 4K monitor. At native 4K, you're almost always GPU-bound even if you have a flagship card like the RTX 5090, so DLSS is a great way to avoid paying the performance tax that comes with maxed-out settings and ray tracing. But here's the thing. Most people aren't using flagship cards, so they're GPU-bound even at 1440p, especially in newer AAA titles.
Daniel Martinez Dallas
Published by: aplhsindia.in
Microsoft has spent six months turning Windows Terminal into a rival to Warp, and it’s working
For the last few years, Warp has largely dominated the modern terminal space. The command blocks, AI command generation, agentic mode, Warp Drive, and other QoL features all made it a popular choice, and when Warp arrived natively on Windows early last year, it made the default Windows Terminal look...
For the last few years, Warp has largely dominated the modern terminal space. The command blocks, AI command generation, agentic mode, Warp Drive, and other QoL features all made it a popular choice, and when Warp arrived natively on Windows early last year, it made the default Windows Terminal look like yet another first-party app that needs replacing.
Emily Brown Houston
Published by: aplhsindia.in
I stopped using motherboard audio after one cheap USB DAC solved every problem I had
For years, I treated motherboard audio as one of those PC features that simply existed in the background. As long as sound came through my headphones and my microphone worked well enough for Discord calls, I never paid much attention to the audio side of my setup. I spent more...
For years, I treated motherboard audio as one of those PC features that simply existed in the background. As long as sound came through my headphones and my microphone worked well enough for Discord calls, I never paid much attention to the audio side of my setup. I spent more time thinking about GPUs, monitors, and storage upgrades while completely ignoring the fact that my PC audio experience had quietly become frustrating.
Wanda Adams United States
Published by: aplhsindia.in
PlayStation exclusives aren’t coming to PC anymore
Sony reportedly won't release its major single-player PlayStation games on PC anymore. According to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, Hermen Hulst, who heads up PlayStation's studios business, informed employees in a town hall on Monday about the change in strategy. Schreier had previously reported on the shift in March, saying that Sony...
Sony reportedly won't release its major single-player PlayStation games on PC anymore. According to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, Hermen Hulst, who heads up PlayStation's studios business, informed employees in a town hall on Monday about the change in strategy. Schreier had previously reported on the shift in March, saying that Sony scrapped plans to launch PC versions of last year's Ghost of Yōtei and "other internally developed games." Online games will still come to multiple platforms following this change in strategy, Schreier reported at the time.In recent years, Sony has released many of its biggest games on PC, including Spider-Man 2 …Read the full story at The Verge.
William Garcia Boston
Published by: aplhsindia.in
I self-host my PC game library with Moonlight instead of paying for a second PC or GeForce Now
Nothing ever quite beats couch gaming. That's why I often prefer playing on my PS5 Pro sitting under the TV. However, a problem that kept nagging me over and over again was that most of the experiences I wanted simply lived on my desktop PC instead. High ray-tracing, path tracing,...
Nothing ever quite beats couch gaming. That's why I often prefer playing on my PS5 Pro sitting under the TV. However, a problem that kept nagging me over and over again was that most of the experiences I wanted simply lived on my desktop PC instead. High ray-tracing, path tracing, DLSS, endless mod support, and my entire Steam and Epic library I've built over years — these weren't going to migrate themselves over to a console. Plus, after getting a new TV, I found myself wanting to spend more time in the living room than I used to.
