Do you know how you can speed your WordPress website? Let’s find out through WordPress Lazy Load plugins!
In the digital world, we all know the importance of quick loading time. If a website takes too long to load, there are high chances of visitors leaving the website and never coming back.
One of the major reasons for websites taking too long to load is the higher number of images on the website. So, what is the solution to this problem? The answer is lazy loading. Now, you might be thinking what is lazy loading and how to lazy load images?
Lazy loading is when a website loads images when a user reaches a specific image. Now, that we have given you a basic explanation of how lazy loading images work, we will come to the main point of discussion.
This blog is all about WordPress lazy load plugins. We have put together a list of top WordPress plugins that can do the job for you. If you want a piece of detailed expert advice on this topic, you can always talk to the WordPress development company that you hire for your project.
12+ Best WordPress Lazy Load Plugins:
Let’s get started with the list of top WordPress lazy load plugins!
1. Smush Image Optimization
This is the most popular one-stop image optimization plugin. It includes everything that you need to make your images load faster.
The lazy load has been recently included in the free version of Smush as well as turbo-charged Smush Pro. The process to activate lazy loading with Smush is extremely simple.
Just go to the Lazy loading section and click on the Activate button. You can change settings further once it is activated.
But we don’t think you would need it as this WordPress lazy load plugin’s default settings are enough to see a noticeable improvement in performance.
Top Features:
- Super Smush
- Backup original images
- Optimize huge photos up to 32 MB
- Smush unlimited images in a click
- Automatic resize and scale
Download Here
2. a3 Lazy Load
A3 Lazy Load is the second most popular option on the list. It is known for lazy loading images, videos, iframes, and various other elements on your website.
The plugin comes with various settings so that you can control how the media loads on your site. Moreover, A3 lazy load is completely compatible with plugins like WooCommerce, variety of CDNs, and Advanced Custom Fields.
Top Features:
- Image lazy load
- Video lazy load
- iFrame lazy load
- WordPress AMP
- Jetpack Site Accelerator
Download Here
3. BJ Lazy Load
This lazy load WordPress plugin will enable you to lazy load the selected images, Gravatar images, and iFrames. Moreover, you can replace the content with a placeholder.
Simple settings in the plugin will allow you to customize its working. Also, the plugin works with size-optimized images and automatically provides scaled-down images for responsive website designs.
Top Features:
- Retina Support
- Responsive Image
- Skip Lazy Loading on Certain Posts
Download Here
4. Lazy Load
Lazy Load is the easiest plugin to use. There is no hassle of settings to customize things. It is one of those WordPress lazy load plugins that just work.
It makes use of jQuery.sonar for loading images only when they are visible above the fold. An interesting fact about the plugin is that it is a combination of codes written by multiple teams.
The contributors include WordPress.com VIP team at Automattic, Jake Goldman from WordPress consultancy 10up, and the TechCrunch 2011 Redesign team.
Download Here
5. Crazy Lazy
Crazy lazy is again one of those WordPress lazy load plugins that just work! You don’t need any complicated configuration.
But if you insist on configuration, then you can set your own placeholder images through CSS and exclude images. As per the theme of your website, Crazy Lazy may use the modified version of jQuery plugin Unveil.js or native JavaScript library lazyload.js.
Top Features
- User-friendly
- Option to set your own placeholder images
- Uses plugins as per the theme of your website
Download Here
6. Lazy Load for Videos
All the lazy load plugins don’t work with videos, which should be possible because videos affect the loading time more than images.
Lazy Load for videos will enable you to lazy load the videos that are hosted on YouTube or Vimeo. It will initially load the placeholder image but will only load the full video if a visitor clicks on it.
It is an essential WordPress lazy load plugin if your website has a lot of videos.
Top Features:
- Simple & user-friendly interface
- Works on thumbnails
- Script wright is less than 10 kb
- Replace YouTube iFrames with preview thumbnails
Download Here
7. WordPress Infinite Scroll
This plugin, with the help of Ajax-powered queries, is too lazy load images, single posts, posts, comments, etc. Ajax Load More specializes in infinite scrolling.
You can also build custom WordPress queries with WordPress Infinite Scroll. Furthermore, it is compatible with WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads. Other features are Repeater templates, Query Parameter, Ajax Filtering, and Multiple Instances.
Top Features:
- Shortcode builder
- Query parameters
- Repeater templates
- Multiple instances
- Multisite compatibility
- Ajax filtering
Download Here
8. WP YouTube Lyte
WP YouTube Lyte is crafted for the videos on your website. Your videos will be lazy-loaded by inserting “Lite YouTube Embeds” that loads videos faster.
This plugin can be used efficiently if you want to embed multiple videos on a single page. It has also been tested for maximum compatibility with browsers.
Top Features:
- Search engine optimized
- Responsive YouTube videos
- High-performance YouTube videos
Download Here
9. Speed Up
Speed Up uses the lazy loading image technique and will avoid downloading pictures and iFrames that are currently not being displayed on the screen.
A lazy loading example, in this case, is the images at the bottom of the page that will appear only when a user wants to view them. This process will ultimately result in page load speed improvement and bandwidth saving.
Top Features:
- User-friendly interface
- Minimal tweaking required
- Minimize HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
- Page caching
- Cache pre-load
Download Here
10. Lazy Loader
It is another simple WordPress lazy load plugin that will allow you to lazy load videos, images, audio elements, and iFrames. Lazy Loader makes use of a lightweight script.
You can lazy load background images, scripts, and styles with manual modification of the markup. It has multiple lazy loading options so that you can easily enable/disable lazy load.
Top Features
- Post thumbnails
- Inline background images
- iFrames
- Audio elements
- Video elements
Download Here
11. WooCommerce Infinite Scroll & Ajax
It uses WooCommerce Lazyload and will convert the default product listing in a Scroll or Ajax Pagination. This WordPress lazy load plugin allows infinite scrolling so that the next page can be automatically retrieved.
WooCommerce Infinite Scroll & Ajax is the best option for your WooCommerce site. You can customize different pagination types for smartphones. The plugin will also lazy load the WooCommerce thumbnail images.
Top Features:
- Enables infinite scrolling on the category page
- Upload a loader image of your choice
- Select types of Pagination
- Choose a loading effect
- Multiple styling options
Download Here
12. SEO Friendly Images Pro for WordPress
You can optimize the alt and title attributes for all the images on your website to make them SEO friendly. It boosts website performance by delaying the loading of images in long posts or pages.
SEO Friendly Images Pro will use unveil.js to carry out lazy loading. Moreover, you can also optimize other important factors like links in the posts, custom post types, or pages.
Top Features:
- Sync existing alt to title and vice versa
- Override existing alt and title attributes
- Supports content from Advanced Custom Fields
- Works perfectly with images in posts and thumbnails as well
Download Here
13. JCH Optimize
Although this is not a dedicated lazy loading plugin but has the same functionality. It is a feature-packed plugin that will increase your website speed and provides multiple optimization options.
JCH optimize will combine the CSS/JS files to decrease the total number of HTTP requests and also minimize your HTML.
Top Features:
- Combine files
- Minification
- Sprite Generator
- CDN/Cookieless domain
- Optimize CSS delivery
Download Here
Conclusion
Adding plugins to your WordPress site is the easiest way to enable lazy loading. But let us tell you, it is not the only way.
You can also do that by using JavaScript on your WordPress site. We hope that by now you are clear on the concept of lazy loading and its advantages.
If you want to retain your visitors then it is extremely crucial to implement lazy loading on your website. The list of WordPress lazy load plugins that we have presented here is definitely not exclusive. You can find a lot more options to do the job.
We selected the best few plugins to make the process easier for you. We hope you can find the right choice for your project from the above-mentioned options.
On the other hand, if you have landed here from a developers’ perspective, then these WordPress plugins are sure to provide you some inspiration.
You can hire a WordPress plugin developer for all the expert advice. The developers will know everything about how plugins work and how to make them popular among the audience.
However, before you hire a developer you need to make sure a few things. First and foremost, the developers’ team should align with your mindset. Secondly, they should have relevant experience and expertise.
Furthermore, their published portfolio will also give you an idea of how well they fit in your requirements. If you take all these things into consideration, then we are sure you are good to go!
Want to hire WordPress plugin developers? Do you want to know the feasibility and approximate time required to implement your project idea? Talk to our WordPress experts on [email protected] and we will take care of the rest!
