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Free Plugin by Florian Brinkmann v8.2.0

Lazy Loader

Lazy loading plugin that supports images, iFrames, video and audio elements and uses the lightweight lazysizes script. With manual modification of the …

Lazy Loader

The facts

Rating
4.7★ from 49
Active installs
9k+
Price
Free
Last updated
14 Apr 2024
Added
Dec 2015
Requires WP
4.9.8
Tested up to
WP 6.5.10
Requires PHP
7.0
Downloads
217,806

Our analysis

AI-assisted

Lazy Loader is a WordPress plugin designed to improve site performance by implementing lazy loading for various media elements, including images, iFrames, videos, and audio. It uses the lightweight lazysizes script and offers options for manual modification of markup to extend its functionality to background images, scripts, and styles.

The plugin allows you to exclude specific elements from lazy loading using CSS classes and provides a range of settings to configure how lazy loading is applied across your site. It is suitable for users looking to enhance loading speed and performance without extensive technical knowledge.

Best for: This plugin suits WordPress users aiming to optimise their site's loading speed and performance.

What it does well

  • Supports images, iFrames, videos, and audio elements
  • Offers options to exclude specific elements from lazy loading
  • Includes fallback for disabled JavaScript
  • Allows manual markup modification for advanced users
  • Lightweight implementation using lazysizes script

Where it falls short

  • Limited information on compatibility with other plugins or themes
  • Some features require manual markup adjustments

Verdict

Lazy Loader provides a straightforward solution for implementing lazy loading on various media elements. It is a practical choice for those looking to improve site performance with minimal effort.

From the developer

Florian Brinkmann's own description of Lazy Loader, lightly tidied.

Lazy loading plugin that supports images, iFrames, video and audio elements and uses the lightweight lazysizes script. With manual modification of the markup it is also possible to lazy load background images, scripts, and styles.

Lazy loads (without the need of any manually modifications):

  • Images inserted via img or picture in posts, pages, Custom Post Types, Text Widgets, …
  • Post thumbnails.
  • Inline background images.
  • Or all images and other enabled media in the markup (that is not excluded or already has a lazy loading attribute), via the option to process the complete markup.
  • iFrames.*
  • Video elements.*
  • Audio elements.*

* Can be enabled in the plugin options.

The plugin comes with the following options (under Settings › Media › Lazy Loader options):

  • Do not lazy load elements with specific CSS classes (you can use the class skip-lazy by default).
  • Add filters that should be processed by Lazy Loader.
  • Enable lazy loading for iFrames.
  • Include the lazysizes native loading plugin that modifies images and iFrames to use the native lazy loading feature of browsers that already support it.
  • Include the lazysizes unveilhooks plugin that adds support for more elements, for example, video and audio elements.*
  • Enable lazy loading for the poster frame of video elements.
  • Enable lazy loading for audio elements.
  • Enable lazy loading for inline background images.
  • Display a loading spinner.
  • Disable the plugin on specific posts/pages (this shows a checkbox in the edit view of all public post types (except attachments) to disable lazy loading for an entire post).
  • Process the complete markup of the site.
  • A textarea to modify the default lazysizes config values.

* The unveilhooks extension of lazysizes supports more than video and audio elements, but you need to manually modify the markup to use it for:

  • Background images not inserted with inline styles.
  • Scripts.
  • Styles.

The plugin adds a noscript element as fallback for disabled JavaScript (can be disabled with the lazy_loader_generate_noscript filter).

You can disable lazy loading for elements with specific CSS classes by defining them via the plugin settings (SettingsMediaLazy Loader options). Or use the skip-lazy class or the data-skip-lazy attribute. skip-lazy and data-skip-lazy also work on wrapper elements to exclude the wrapper and its children from being processed.

Read the full description on the official page →

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