This plugin adds the loading attribute to IMG tags found when filtering the_content() to support native image lazy loading.
For more information about lazy loading images using this new native browser image attribute, check out this article: https://addyosmani.com/blog/lazy-loading/ and for a little more depth into what we’re doing here, check out our explainer post.
Historically, to limit the impact offscreen images have on page load times, developers have needed to use a JavaScript library (like LazySizes or Vanilla-LazyLoad) in order to defer fetching these images until a user scrolls near them. What if the browser could avoid loading these offscreen images for you?
The loading attribute instructs a browser to defer loading offscreen images until users scroll near them. It comes in three flavors: eager, auto, and lazy. Install this plugin and you can set the first image’s loading attribute and the loading attribute for all the subsequent images sent through the_content() in the plugin’s settings page.
Simple is Beautiful
There is no JavaScript or CSS included in the plugin. It just works in browsers that support the new loading image attribute.
For browsers that don’t support this new image loading attribute, that’s ok. You can still use whatever JavaScript-based image lazy loader you want as a fallback until browser support becomes a little more mainstream.