WordPress is one of the most rapidly developing platforms on the Internet that exceeds all expectations daily. Millions of users tend to expect improvements all the time and WordPress answers. The latest news announced is that WordPress 5.4 will feature image lazy-loading by default.
Most bloggers usually add third-party plugins or ask developers to help. Now, this won’t be needed, due to the expected changes on March 31, 2020. The release date might vary due to how ready they are but WordPress is not known for missing deadlines.
WordPress first considered enabling lazy-loading for images in WordPress content in 2018. But at the time, the feature required a custom JavaScript-based approach, and this would have introduced many edges and failures.
Now, the long-awaited feature will enable the “loading” HTML attribute on all IMG elements. The usage of JavaScript will no longer be needed as well as those plugins for lazy-loading. Users can enjoy a standardized experience without content shifting.
Where Will the Lazy-Loading from WordPress be Available?
- Images in post content
- Images in post excerpts
- Images in comments
- Images in the text widget content
- Individual images rendered via wp_get_attachment_image()
- Avatar images rendered via get_avatar()
What Does Lazy-Loading Mean?
Whether the browser should wait before downloading an image or download it right away, is told by that lazy-loading HTML attribute. This means there is no need for JavaScript to run. The lazy loading attribute will be added automatically to the HTML code of all images and visual content will upload once users approach it as they scroll down the page.
The Eager attribute is quite the opposite. All images and videos are uploaded when the user accessed the page no matter if the content is on the browser’s radar or not. This slows down websites and generates a large number of simultaneous HTTP requests.
If there is no need for a loading attribute, it will be easy to remove it.
WordPress announced:
“With WordPress enabling native lazy-loading by default, it would significantly impact performance and user experience for millions of sites, without requiring any technical knowledge or even awareness of lazy-loading as a concept.”
All of this is significant to the progress WordPress is making not only for its platform but also for faster web improvement. Users, as well as us, are excited about the end of March when we will all hopefully try the feature.