Smart LazyLoad – Lazy Load Images, Videos and Iframes

The best free, lightweight lazy load plugin for WordPress. Lazy loading images, videos, and iframes to improve performance and Core Web Vitals scores.

Description

Smart LazyLoad is a fast, lightweight, and SEO-friendly lazy loading plugin for WordPress. It improves page speed and Core Web Vitals by loading images, iframes, videos, and background images only when they are about to enter the viewport.

Built with pure JavaScript, Smart Lazy Load does not rely on jQuery or other third-party libraries, keeping your site fast and bloat-free.

Unlike heavy optimization plugins, Smart LazyLoad focuses on one thing only: reducing unnecessary resource loading while maintaining compatibility, accessibility, and SEO best practices.

All features are optional — you can use the plugin with default settings or fine-tune it as needed.

Features

• Lazy load images in posts, pages, widgets, thumbnails, avatars, and comments
• Lazy load iframes and embedded videos
• Lazy load background images from inline styles and data attributes
• Optional YouTube iframe replacement with video thumbnails
• Intelligent first-image skipping for better LCP scores
• Supports both JavaScript-based and native browser lazy loading
• Inline plugin CSS and JavaScript (optional)
• Option to disable lazy loading for logged-in users
• Fully responsive and mobile-friendly
• SEO-friendly with noscript fallbacks
• Accessibility-aware
• Pure JavaScript (no jQuery dependency)
• Lightweight and performance-focused
• Open source and available on GitHub

Installation

Automatic Installation

1. Open your WordPress site dashboard
2. Go to Plugins → Add New in your WordPress admin
3. Search for Smart LazyLoad
4. Click Install Now, then Activate

Manual Installation

1. Download the plugin ZIP file
2. Upload it to WP /wp-content/plugins/
3. Activate the plugin from Plugins → Installed Plugins
4. Go to the plugin setting page and enable lazy load
5. Now, lazy loading starts working automatically

Configuration

You can configure the plugin from:

Settings → LazyLoad

Available options include:

• Enable or disable lazy loading
• Lazy load images, iframes, and videos
• Enable background image lazy loading
• Replace YouTube videos with thumbnails
• Adjust lazy load threshold
• Enable native browser lazy loading
• Inline plugin CSS and JavaScript
• Disable lazy loading for logged-in users

Need more help?

For detailed documentation, usage examples, available filters, and advanced configuration options for Smart LazyLoad are available.

See the the detailed guide on how to implement lazy load in WordPress?

Support

We are here to help. Feel free to open a new thread on the Support Forum.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Smart LazyLoad lazy load all images?

Yes. It supports lazy loading for:

• Post and page content images
• Featured images
• Widget images
• Avatars and comments
• Background images

You can control what is lazy loaded from the settings page.

How can I exclude a specific image or iframe?

Add one of the following attributes or classes to the element:

• no-lazyload
• skip-lazy
• data-no-lazy
• data-skip-lazy

You can also use filters:

• mozedia_lazyload_excluded_attributes
• mozedia_lazyload_iframe_excluded_patterns

Can I disable lazy loading on specific pages?

Yes. Use the following filter:

add_filter( 'do_mozedia_lazyload', '__return_false' );

Or conditionally disable it:

add_action( 'wp', 'disable_mozedia_lazyload' );
function disable_mozedia_lazyload() {
	if ( is_single() ) {
		add_filter( 'do_mozedia_lazyload', '__return_false' );
	}
}

Is Smart LazyLoad compatible with caching and optimization plugins?

Yes. It works well with most caching, CDN, and optimization plugins.

Is this plugin SEO-friendly?

Yes. Smart LazyLoad preserves original content using noscript fallbacks, supports native lazy loading, and allows skipping the first image for better LCP performance.

Does it support background images?

Yes. Smart LazyLoad can automatically lazy-load background images defined via the style attribute, such as:

<div style="background-image: url(image-slug.jpg);">

You can also apply it manually yourself.

Simply add this special markup to the element on which you want to apply lazy loading:

<div class="mozedia-lazyload" data-bg="url(../img/image-slug.jpg)"></div>

Can I use a custom placeholder image or GIF?

Yes. Change the SVG placeholder using this filter:

add_filter( 'mozedia_svg_placeholder', 'mozedia_replace_image_placeholder');
function mozedia_replace_image_placeholder() {
	return 'data:image/svg+xml,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1 1"></svg>';
}

Lazy loaded iframes use a separate placeholder value (default: about:blank).

You can customize the iframe placeholder using the following filter:

add_filter( 'mozedia_lazyload_placeholder', function () {
	return 'about:blank';
});

What should I do if the plugin is not working?

If Smart LazyLoad plugin is not working as expected, please check the following:

• Make sure the plugin is enabled
• Clear browser, plugin, and CDN caches
• Check if lazy loading is disabled for logged-in users
• Disable other lazy load plugins to avoid conflicts
• Ensure elements are not excluded using no-lazy attributes
• View the page on the frontend (not page builder editor)

If the issue persists, feel free to contact us