Wordpress: Optimize Image Loading with Lazy Loading

Improving page load speeds by optimizing image loading can significantly enhance site performance and user experience. This snippet implements lazy loading for images, ensuring that images are only loaded as they enter the viewport, reducing initial page load time.

The 'the_content' filter is utilized to modify the HTML output of images, adding the 'loading="lazy"' attribute to img tags within post content.

The snippet provides a simple way to add lazy loading to images without requiring any additional JavaScript, using native browser support for the lazy loading attribute.

Best practices for ensuring that lazy loading does not affect the user experience negatively, such as when images are critical to initial content, are discussed.

Considerations for SEO, ensuring that images are still indexed properly by search engines despite being loaded lazily, are also covered.