vanilla lazyload

LazyLoad is a lightweight (2.4 kB) and flexible script that speeds up your web application by deferring the loading of your below-the-fold images, animated SVGs, videos and iframes to when they will enter the viewport. It’s written in plain “vanilla” JavaScript, it leverages the IntersectionObserver API, it supports responsive images, it optimizes your website for slower connections, and can enable native lazy loading. See all features for more.

➡️ Jump to: 👨‍💻 Getting started - HTML - 👩‍💻 Getting started - Script - 🥧 Recipes - 📺 Demos - 😋 Tips & tricks - 🔌 API - 😯 All features compared

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👨‍💻 Getting started - HTML

In order to make your content be loaded by LazyLoad, you must use some data- attributes instead of the actual attributes. Examples below.

Lazy image:

<img alt="A lazy image" class="lazy" data-src="lazy.jpg" />

Lazy image with low quality placeholder:

<img alt="A lazy image" class="lazy" src="lazy-lowQuality.jpg" data-src="lazy.jpg" />

Lazy responsive image with srcset and sizes:

<img
  alt="A lazy image"
  class="lazy"
  data-src="lazy.jpg"
  data-srcset="lazy_400.jpg 400w, 
    lazy_800.jpg 800w"
  data-sizes="100w"
/>

To have a low quality placeholder, add the src attribute pointing to a very small version of the image. E.g. src="lazy_10.jpg".

Lazy responsive image with hi-dpi support using the picture tag:

<picture>
  <source media="(min-width: 1200px)" data-srcset="lazy_1200.jpg 1x, lazy_2400.jpg 2x" />
  <source media="(min-width: 800px)" data-srcset="lazy_800.jpg 1x, lazy_1600.jpg 2x" />
  <img alt="A lazy image" class="lazy" data-src="lazy.jpg" />
</picture>

To have a low quality placeholder, add the src attribute pointing to a very small version of the image to the img tag. E.g. src="lazy_10.jpg".

Lazy responsive image with automatic WebP format selection, using the picture tag:

<picture>
  <source
    type="image/webp"
    data-srcset="lazy_400.webp 400w, 
      lazy_800.webp 800w"
    data-sizes="100w"
  />
  <img
    alt="A lazy image"
    class="lazy"
    data-src="lazy.jpg"
    data-srcset="lazy_400.jpg 400w, 
      lazy_800.jpg 800w"
    data-sizes="100w"
  />
</picture>

To have a low quality placeholder, add the src attribute pointing to a very small version of the image to the img tag. E.g. src="lazy_10.jpg".

Lazy background image

⚠ IMPORTANT NOTE: To display content images on your pages, always use the img tag. This would benefit the SEO and the accessibility of your website. To understand if your images are content or background, ask yourself: “would my website user like to see those images when printing out the page?”. If the answer is “yes”, then your images are content images and you should avoid using background images to display them.

Single background image:

<div class="lazy" data-bg="lazy.jpg"></div>

Single background, with HiDPI screen support:

<div class="lazy" data-bg="lazy.jpg" data-bg-hidpi="[email protected]"></div>

Multiple backgrounds:

<div
  class="lazy"
  data-bg-multi="url(lazy-head.jpg), 
    url(lazy-body.jpg), 
    linear-gradient(#fff, #ccc)"
>
  ...
</div>

Multiple backgrounds, HiDPI screen support:

<div
  class="lazy"
  data-bg-multi="url(lazy-head.jpg),
    url(lazy-body.jpg),
    linear-gradient(#fff, #ccc)"
  data-bg-multi-hidpi="url([email protected]),
    url([email protected]),
    linear-gradient(#fff, #ccc)"
>
  ...
</div>

Backgrounds with image-set:

<div class="lazy" data-bg-set="url('[email protected]') 1x, url('[email protected]') 2x">...</div>

Multiple backgrounds with image-set:

<div
  class="lazy"
  data-bg-set="
    url('[email protected]') 1x, url('[email protected]') 2x | 
    url('[email protected]') 1x, url('[email protected]') 2x
  "
>
  ...
</div>

Lazy animated SVG

<object class="lazy" type="image/svg+xml" data-src="lazy.svg"></object>

Lazy video

<video class="lazy" controls width="620" data-src="lazy.mp4" data-poster="lazy.jpg">
  <source type="video/mp4" data-src="lazy.mp4" />
  <source type="video/ogg" data-src="lazy.ogg" />
  <source type="video/avi" data-src="lazy.avi" />
</video>

Please note that the video poster can be lazily loaded too.

Lazy iframe

<iframe class="lazy" data-src="lazyFrame.html"></iframe>

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👩‍💻 Getting started - Script

The latest, recommended version of LazyLoad is 19.1.3.
Note that if you need to support Internet Explorer 11, you need to use version 17.9.0 or below.

Quickly understand how to upgrade from a previous version reading the practical upgrade guide.

The simple, easiest way

The easiest way to use LazyLoad is to include the script from a CDN.

<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/[email protected]/dist/lazyload.min.js"></script>

OR, if you prefer to import it as an ES module:

<script type="module">
  import LazyLoad from "https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/[email protected]/+esm";
</script>

Then, in your javascript code:

var lazyLoadInstance = new LazyLoad({
  // Your custom settings go here
});

To be sure that DOM for your lazy content is ready when you instantiate LazyLoad, place the script tag right before the closing </body> tag.

If more DOM arrives later, e.g. via an AJAX call, you’ll need to call lazyLoadInstance.update(); to make LazyLoad check the DOM again.

lazyLoadInstance.update();

Using an async script

If you prefer, it’s possible to include LazyLoad’s script using async script and initialize it as soon as it’s loaded.

To do so, you must define the options before including the script. You can pass:

• {} an object to get a single instance of LazyLoad
• [{}, {}] an array of objects to get multiple instances of LazyLoad, each one with different options.

<script>
  // Set the options globally
  // to make LazyLoad self-initialize
  window.lazyLoadOptions = {
    // Your custom settings go here
  };
</script>

Then include the script.

<script
  async
  src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/[email protected]/dist/lazyload.min.js"
></script>

Possibly place the script tag right before the closing </body> tag. If you can’t do that, LazyLoad could be executed before the browser has loaded all the DOM, and you’ll need to call its update() method to make it check the DOM again.

Using an async script + getting the instance reference

Same as above, but you must put the addEventListener code shown below before including the async script.

<script>
  // Set the options globally
  // to make LazyLoad self-initialize
  window.lazyLoadOptions = {
    // Your custom settings go here
  };
  // Listen to the initialization event
  // and get the instance of LazyLoad
  window.addEventListener(
    "LazyLoad::Initialized",
    function (event) {
      window.lazyLoadInstance = event.detail.instance;
    },
    false
  );
</script>

Then include the script.

<script
  async
  src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/[email protected]/dist/lazyload.min.js"
></script>

Now you’ll be able to call its methods, like:

lazyLoadInstance.update();

DEMO - SOURCE ← for a single LazyLoad instance

DEMO - SOURCE ← for multiple LazyLoad instances

Local install

If you prefer to install LazyLoad locally in your project, you can!

Using npm

npm install vanilla-lazyload

Using bower

bower install vanilla-lazyload

Manual download

Download one the latest releases. The files you need are inside the dist folder. If you don’t know which one to pick, use lazyload.min.js, or read about bundles.

Local usage

Should you install LazyLoad locally, you can import it as ES module like the following:

import LazyLoad from "vanilla-lazyload";

It’s also possible (but unadvised) to use the require commonJS syntax.

More information about bundling LazyLoad with WebPack are available on this specific repo.

Usage with React

Take a look at this example of usage of React with LazyLoad on Sandbox.

This implementation takes the same props that you would normally pass to the img tag, but it renders a lazy image. Feel free to fork and improve it!

Bundles

Inside the dist folder you will find different bundles.

Filename	Module Type	Advantages
lazyload.min.js	UMD (Universal Module Definition)	Works pretty much everywhere, even in common-js contexts
lazyload.iife.min.js	IIFE (Immediately Invoked Function Expression)	Works as in-page <script src="...">, ~0.5kb smaller than UMD version
esm/lazyload.js	ES Module	Exports LazyLoad so you can import it in your project both using <script type="module" src="..."> and a bundler like WebPack or Rollup

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🥧 Recipes

This is the section where you can find ready to copy & paste code for your convenience.

Hide alt text and empty image

💡 Use case: when your lazily loaded images show their alt text and the empty image icon before loading.

CSS

img:not([src]):not([srcset]) {
  visibility: hidden;
}

Just that, really.

Image errors handling

💡 Use case: when you want to prevent showing unexisting/broken images on your website.

Javascript

var myLazyLoad = new LazyLoad({
  // Other options here...
  callback_error: (img) => {
    // Use the following line only if your images have the `srcset` attribute
    img.setAttribute("srcset", "[email protected] 1x, [email protected] 2x");
    img.setAttribute("src", "[email protected]");
  }
});

NOTE: if the error was generated by a network down (navigator if temporarily offline), vanilla-lazyload will try and load the images again when the network becomes available again.

EXAMPLE - API

Dynamic content

💡 Use case: when you want to lazily load images, but the number of images change in the scrolling area changes, maybe because they are added asynchronously.

Javascript

var myLazyLoad = new LazyLoad();
// After your content has changed...
myLazyLoad.update();

DEMO - SOURCE - API

Mixed native and JS-based lazy loading

💡 Use case: you want to use the use_native option to delegate the loading of images, iframes and videos to the browsers engine where supported, but you also want to lazily load background images.

HTML

<img class="lazy" alt="A lazy image" data-src="lazy.jpg" />
<iframe class="lazy" data-src="lazyFrame.html"></iframe>
<video class="lazy" controls data-src="lazy.mp4" data-poster="lazy.jpg">...</video>
<object class="lazy" type="image/svg+xml" data-src="lazy.svg"></object>
<div class="lazy" data-bg="lazy.jpg"></div>

Javascript

// Instance using native lazy loading
const lazyContent = new LazyLoad({
  use_native: true // <-- there you go
});

// Instance without native lazy loading
const lazyBackground = new LazyLoad({
  // DON'T PASS use_native: true HERE
});

DEMO - SOURCE - API

Scrolling panel(s)

💡 Use case: when your scrolling container is not the main browser window, but a scrolling container.

HTML

<div class="scrollingPanel">
  <!-- Set of images -->
</div>

Javascript

var myLazyLoad = new LazyLoad({
  container: document.querySelector(".scrollingPanel")
});

DEMO - SOURCE - API

If you have multiple scrolling panels, you can use the following markup and code.

HTML

<div id="scrollingPanel1" class="scrollingPanel">
  <!-- Set of images -->
</div>
<div id="scrollingPanel2" class="scrollingPanel">
  <!-- Set of images -->
</div>

Javascript

var myLazyLoad1 = new LazyLoad({
  container: document.getElementById("scrollingPanel1")
});
var myLazyLoad2 = new LazyLoad({
  container: document.getElementById("scrollingPanel2")
});

DEMO - SOURCE - API

Lazy functions

💡 Use case: when you want to execute arbitrary scripts or functions when given elements enter the viewport

HTML

<div class="lazy" data-lazy-function="foo">...</div>
<div class="lazy" data-lazy-function="bar">...</div>
<div class="lazy" data-lazy-function="buzz">...</div>
<div class="lazy" data-lazy-function="booya">...</div>

JS

// It's a best practice to scope the function names inside a namespace like `lazyFunctions`.
window.lazyFunctions = {
  foo: function (element) {
    element.style.color = "red";
    console.log("foo");
  },
  bar: function (element) {
    element.remove(element);
    console.log("bar");
  },
  buzz: function (element) {
    var span = document.createElement("span");
    span.innerText = " - buzz!";
    element.appendChild(span);
    console.log("buzz");
  },
  booya: function (element) {
    element.classList.add("boo");
    console.log("booya");
  }
};

function executeLazyFunction(element) {
  var lazyFunctionName = element.getAttribute("data-lazy-function");
  var lazyFunction = window.lazyFunctions[lazyFunctionName];
  if (!lazyFunction) return;
  lazyFunction(element);
}

var ll = new LazyLoad({
  unobserve_entered: true, // <- Avoid executing the function multiple times
  callback_enter: executeLazyFunction // Assigning the function defined above
});

Use unobserve_entered to avoid executing the function multiple times.

That’s it. Whenever an element with the data-lazy-function attribute enters the viewport, LazyLoad calls the executeLazyScript function, which gets the function name from the data-lazy-function attribute itself and executes it.

DEMO - SOURCE - API

Lazy initialization of multiple LazyLoad instances

💡 Use case: when you have a lot of horizontally scrolling containers and you want to instantiate a LazyLoad instance on them, but only when they entered the viewport.

HTML

<div class="horizContainer">
  <img
    src=""
    alt="Row 01, col 01"
    data-src="https://placeholdit.imgix.net/~text?txtsize=19&amp;txt=row_01_col_01&amp;w=200&amp;h=200"
  />
  <img
    src=""
    alt="Row 01, col 02"
    data-src="https://placeholdit.imgix.net/~text?txtsize=19&amp;txt=row_01_col_02&amp;w=200&amp;h=200"
  />
  <!-- ... -->
</div>
<div class="horizContainer">
  <img
    src=""
    alt="Row 02, col 01"
    data-src="https://placeholdit.imgix.net/~text?txtsize=19&amp;txt=row_02_col_01&amp;w=200&amp;h=200"
  />
  <img
    src=""
    alt="Row 02, col 02"
    data-src="https://placeholdit.imgix.net/~text?txtsize=19&amp;txt=row_02_col_02&amp;w=200&amp;h=200"
  />
  <!-- ... -->
</div>

Javascript

var lazyLoadInstances = [];

var initOneLazyLoad = function (horizContainerElement) {
  // When the .horizContainer element enters the viewport,
  // instantiate a new LazyLoad on the horizContainerElement
  var oneLL = new LazyLoad({
    container: horizContainerElement
  });
  // Optionally push it in the lazyLoadInstances
  // array to keep track of the instances
  lazyLoadInstances.push(oneLL);
};

// The "lazyLazy" instance of lazyload is used to check
// when the .horizContainer divs enter the viewport
var lazyLazy = new LazyLoad({
  elements_selector: ".horizContainer",
  callback_enter: initOneLazyLoad,
  unobserve_entered: true // Stop observing .horizContainer(s) after they entered
});

That’s it. Whenever a .horizContainer element enters the viewport, LazyLoad calls the initOneLazyLoad function, which creates a new instance of LazyLoad on the .horizContainer element.

DEMO - SOURCE - API

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📺 Demos

Didn’t find the recipe that exactly matches your case? We have demos!

The demos folder contains 30+ use cases of vanilla-lazyload. You might find there what you’re looking for.

Type	Title	Code	Demo
Content	Simple lazy loaded images, not using any placeholder	Code	Live
Content	Lazy images that use an inline SVG as a placeholder	Code	Live
Content	Lazy images that use an external SVG file as a placeholder	Code	Live
Content	Lazy responsive images with srcset	Code	Live
Content	Lazy responsive images with the <picture> tag and the media attribute (art direction)	Code	Live
Content	Lazy responsive images with srcset and sizes (using data-sizes)	Code	Live
Content	Lazy responsive images with srcset and sizes (using plain sizes)	Code	Live
Content	Lazy video with multiple <source> tags, different preload options, NO autoplay	Code	Live
Content	Lazy video with multiple <source> tags, different preload options, WITH autoplay	Code	Live
Content	Lazy loading background images	Code	Live
Content	Lazy loading multiple background images	Code	Live
Content	Lazy loading background images with image-set()	Code	Live
Content	Lazy loading iframes	Code	Live
Content	Lazy loading animated SVGs and PDF files	Code	Live
Content	Lazy WebP images with the <picture> tag and the type attribute for WebP	Code	Live
Loading	Asynchronous loading LazyLoad with <script async>	Code	Live
Loading	Asynchronous loading multiple LazyLoad instances with <script async>	Code	Live
Error	Test error loading behaviour when restore_on_error is false	Code	Live
Error	Test error loading behaviour when restore_on_error is true	Code	Live
Technique	Fade in images as they load	Code	Live
Technique	Lazy load images in CSS-only horizontal sliders (Netflix style)	Code	Live
Technique	Lazily create Swiper instances and lazily load Swiper images	Code	Live
Technique	Lazily execute functions as specific elements enter the viewport	Code	Live
Technique	How to manage the print of a page with lazy images	Code	Live
Technique	A popup layer containing lazy images in a scrolling container	Code	Live
Settings	Multiple scrolling containers	Code	Live
Settings	Single scrolling container	Code	Live
Methods	How to restore() DOM to its original state, and/or destroy() LazyLoad	Code	Live
Methods	Adding dynamic content, then update() LazyLoad	Code	Live
Methods	Adding dynamic content, then update() LazyLoad passing a NodeSet of elements	Code	Live
Methods	Load punctual images using the load() method	Code	Live
Methods	Load all images at once using loadAll()	Code	Live
Test	Test for multiple thresholds	Code	Live
Test	Test behaviour with hidden images	Code	Live
Test	Test performance, lazy loading of hundreds of images	Code	Live
Native	Test the native lazy loading of images WITHOUT any line of javascript, not even this script	Code	Live
Native	Test the native lazy loading of images conditionally using the use_native option (see API)	Code	Live

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😋 Tips & tricks

Minimize CLS by occupy space beforehand

It’s very important to make sure that your lazy images occupy some space even before they are loaded, otherwise the img elements will be shrinked to zero-height, causing your layout to shift and making lazyload inefficient.

The best way to do that is to set both width and height attributes to img and video elements and, if you choose not to use a placeholder image, apply the display: block CSS rule to every image.

You can find more details and demos in my article aspect-ratio: A modern way to reserve space for images and async content in responsive design.

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🔌 API

Constructor arguments

The new LazyLoad() instruction you execute on your page can take two parameters:

Parameter	What to pass	Required	Default value	Type
Options	The option object for this instance of LazyLoad	No	{}	Plain Object
Nodeset	A NodeSet of elements to execute LazyLoad on	No	null	NodeSet

The most common usage of LazyLoad constructor is to pass only the options object (see “options” in the next section). For example:

var aLazyLoad = new LazyLoad({
  /* options here */
});

In the unusual cases when you can’t select the elements using elements_selector, you could pass the elements set as a second parameter. It can be either a NodeSet or an array of DOM elements.

var elementsToLazyLoad = getElementSetFromSomewhere();
var aLazyLoad = new LazyLoad(
  {
    /* options here */
  },
  elementsToLazyLoad
);

Options

For every instance of LazyLoad you can pass in some options, to alter its default behaviour.
Here’s the list of the options.

Name	Meaning	Default value	Example value
container	The scrolling container of the elements in the elements_selector option.	document	document.querySelector('.scrollPanel')
elements_selector	The CSS selector of the elements to load lazily, which will be selected as descendants of the container object.	".lazy"	".lazyload"
threshold	A number of pixels representing the outer distance off the scrolling area from which to start loading the elements.	300	0
thresholds	Similar to threshold, but accepting multiple values and both px and % units. It maps directly to the rootMargin property of IntersectionObserver (read more), so it must be a string with a syntax similar to the CSS margin property. You can use it when you need to have different thresholds for the scrolling area. It overrides threshold when passed.	null	"500px 10%"
data_src	The name of the data attribute containing the element URL to load, excluding the "data-" part. E.g. if your data attribute is named "data-src", just pass "src"	"src"	"lazy-src"
data_srcset	The name of the data attribute containing the image URL set to load, in either img and source tags, excluding the "data-" part. E.g. if your data attribute is named "data-srcset", just pass "srcset"	"srcset"	"lazy-srcset"
data_sizes	The name of the data attribute containing the sizes attribute to use, excluding the "data-" part. E.g. if your data attribute is named "data-sizes", just pass "sizes"	"sizes"	"lazy-sizes"
data_bg	The name of the data attribute containing the URL of background-image to load lazily, excluding the "data-" part. E.g. if your data attribute is named "data-bg", just pass "bg". The attribute value must be a valid value for background-image, including the url() part of the CSS instruction.	"bg"	"lazy-bg"
data_bg_hidpi	The name of the data attribute containing the URL of background-image to load lazily on HiDPI screens, excluding the "data-" part. E.g. if your data attribute is named "data-bg-hidpi", just pass "bg-hidpi". The attribute value must be a valid value for background-image, including the url() part of the CSS instruction.	"bg-hidpi"	"lazy-bg-hidpi"
data_bg_multi	The name of the data attribute containing the value of multiple background-image to load lazily, excluding the "data-" part. E.g. if your data attribute is named "data-bg-multi", just pass "bg-multi". The attribute value must be a valid value for background-image, including the url() part of the CSS instruction.	"bg-multi"	"lazy-bg-multi"
data_bg_multi_hidpi	The name of the data attribute containing the value of multiple background-image to load lazily on HiDPI screens, excluding the "data-" part. E.g. if your data attribute is named "data-bg-multi-hidpi", just pass "bg-multi-hidpi". The attribute value must be a valid value for background-image, including the url() part of the CSS instruction.	"bg-multi-hidpi"	"lazy-bg-multi-hidpi"
data_bg_set	The name of the data attribute containing the value of the background to be applied with image-set, excluding the "data-" part. E.g. if your data attribute is named "data-bg-set", just pass "bg-set". The attribute value must be what goes inside the image-set CSS function. You can separate values with a pipe (|) character to have multiple backgrounds.	"bg-set"	"lazy-bg-set"
data_poster	The name of the data attribute containing the value of poster to load lazily, excluding the "data-" part. E.g. if your data attribute is named "data-poster", just pass "poster".	"poster"	"lazy-poster"
class_applied	The class applied to the multiple background elements after the multiple background was applied	"applied"	"lazy-applied"
class_loading	The class applied to the elements while the loading is in progress.	"loading"	"lazy-loading"
class_loaded	The class applied to the elements when the loading is complete.	"loaded"	"lazy-loaded"
class_error	The class applied to the elements when the element causes an error.	"error"	"lazy-error"
class_entered	The class applied to the elements after they entered the viewport.	"entered"	"lazy-entered"
class_exited	The class applied to the elements after they exited the viewport. This class is removed if an element enters the viewport again. The unobserve_entered option can affect the appliance of this class, e.g. when loading images that complete loading before exiting.	"exited"	"lazy-exited"
cancel_on_exit	A boolean that defines whether or not to cancel the download of the images that exit the viewport while they are still loading, eventually restoring the original attributes. It applies only to images so to the img (and picture) tags, so it doesn’t apply to background images, iframes, objects nor videos.	true	false
unobserve_entered	A boolean that defines whether or not to automatically unobserve elements once they entered the viewport	false	true
unobserve_completed	A boolean that defines whether or not to automatically unobserve elements once they’ve loaded or throwed an error	true	false
callback_enter	A callback function which is called whenever an element enters the viewport. Arguments: DOM element, intersection observer entry, lazyload instance.	null	(el)=>{console.log("Entered", el)}
callback_exit	A callback function which is called whenever an element exits the viewport. Arguments: DOM element, intersection observer entry, lazyload instance.	null	(el)=>{console.log("Exited", el)}
callback_loading	A callback function which is called whenever an element starts loading. Arguments: DOM element, lazyload instance.	null	(el)=>{console.log("Loading", el)}
callback_cancel	A callback function which is called whenever an element loading is canceled while loading, as for cancel_on_exit: true.	null	(el)=>{console.log("Cancelled", el)}
callback_loaded	A callback function which is called whenever an element finishes loading. Note that, in version older than 11.0.0, this option went under the name callback_load. Arguments: DOM element, lazyload instance.	null	(el)=>{console.log("Loaded", el)}
callback_error	A callback function which is called whenever an element triggers an error. Arguments: DOM element, lazyload instance.	null	(el)=>{console.log("Error", el)}
callback_applied	A callback function which is called whenever a multiple background element starts loading. Arguments: DOM element, lazyload instance.	null	(el)=>{console.log("Applied", el)}
callback_finish	A callback function which is called when there are no more elements to load and all elements have been downloaded. Arguments: lazyload instance.	null	()=>{console.log("Finish")}
use_native	This boolean sets whether or not to use native lazy loading to do hybrid lazy loading. On browsers that support it, LazyLoad will set the loading="lazy" attribute on images, iframes and videos, and delegate their loading to the browser.	false	true
restore_on_error	Tells LazyLoad if to restore the original values of src, srcset and sizes when a loading error occurs.	false	true

Methods

Instance methods

You can call the following methods on any instance of LazyLoad.

Method name	Effect	Use case
update()	Make LazyLoad to re-check the DOM for elements_selector elements inside its container.	Update LazyLoad after you added or removed DOM elements to the page.
loadAll()	Loads all the lazy elements right away and stop observing them, no matter if they are inside or outside the viewport, no matter if they are hidden or visible.	To load all the remaining elements in advance
restoreAll()	Restores DOM to its original state. Note that it doesn’t destroy LazyLoad, so you probably want to use it along with destroy().	Reset the DOM before a soft page navigation (SPA) occures, e.g. using TurboLinks.
destroy()	Destroys the instance, unsetting instance variables and removing listeners.	Free up some memory. Especially useful for Single Page Applications.

Static methods

You can call the following static methods on the LazyLoad class itself (e.g. LazyLoad.load(element, settings)).

Method name	Effect	Use case
load(element, settings)	Immediately loads the lazy element. You can pass your custom options in the settings parameter. Note that the elements_selector option has no effect, since you are passing the element as a parameter. Also note that this method has effect only once on a specific element.	To load an element at mouseover or at any other event different than “entering the viewport”
resetStatus(element)	Resets the internal status of the given element.	To tell LazyLoad to consider this element again, for example: if you changed the data-src attribute after the previous data-src was loaded, call this method, then call update() on the LazyLoad instance.

Properties

You can use the following properties on any instance of LazyLoad.

Property name	Value
loadingCount	The number of elements that are currently downloading from the network (limitedly to the ones managed by the instance of LazyLoad). This is particularly useful to understand whether or not is safe to destroy this instance of LazyLoad.
toLoadCount	The number of elements that haven’t been lazyloaded yet (limitedly to the ones managed by the instance of LazyLoad)

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😯 All features, compared

A list of all vanilla-lazyload features, compared with other popular lazy loading libraries.

vanilla-lazyload VS lazysizes

It	vanilla-lazyload	lazysizes
Is lightweight	✔ (2.8 kB)	✔ (3.4 kB)
Is extendable	✔ (API)	✔ (plugins)
Is SEO friendly	✔	✔
Optimized for INP (uses IntersectionObserver instead of [these]https://gist.github.com/paulirish/5d52fb081b3570c81e3a)	✔
Optimizes performance by cancelling downloads of images that already exited the viewport	✔
Retries loading after network connection went off and on again	✔
Supports conditional usage of native lazyloading	✔
Works with your DOM, your own classes and data-attributes	✔
Can lazyload responsive images	✔	✔
…and automatically calculate the value of the sizes attribute		✔
Can lazyload iframes	✔	✔
Can lazyload animated SVGs	✔
Can lazyload videos	✔
Can lazyload background images	✔
Can lazily execute code, when given elements enter the viewport	✔
Can restore DOM to its original state	✔

Weights source: bundlephobia. Find others table rows explanation below.

Is extendable

Both scripts are extendable, check out the API.

Is SEO friendly

Both scripts don’t hide images/assets from search engines. No matter what markup pattern you use. Search engines don’t scroll/interact with your website. These scripts detects whether or not the user agent is capable to scroll. If not, they reveal all images instantly.

Optimizes performance by cancelling downloads of images that already exited the viewport

If your mobile users are on slow connections and scrolls down fast, vanilla-lazyload cancels the download of images that are still loading but already exited the viewport.

Retries loading after network connection went off and on

If your mobile users are on flaky connections and go offline and back online, vanilla-lazyload retries downloading the images that errored.

Supports conditional usage of native lazyloading

If your users are on a browser supporting native lazyloading and you want to use it, just set the use_native option to true.

Works with your DOM, your own classes and data-attributes

Both scripts work by default with the data-src attribute and the lazy class in your DOM, but on LazyLoad you can change it, e.g. using data-origin to migrate from other lazy loading script.

Can lazyload responsive images

Both scripts can lazyload images and responsive images by all kinds, e.g. <img src="..." srcset="..." sizes="..."> and <picture><source media="..." srcset="" ...><img ...></picture>.

…and automatically calculate the value of the sizes attribute

lazysizes is it can derive the value of the sizes attribute from your CSS by using Javascript.
vanilla-lazyload doesn’t have this feature because of performance optimization reasons (the sizes attribute is useful to eagerly load responsive images when it’s expressed in the markup, not when it’s set by javascript).

Can lazyload iframes

Both scripts can lazyload the iframe tag.

Can lazyload animated SVGs

Only vanilla-lazyload can load animated SVGs via the object tag.

Can lazyload videos

Only vanilla-lazyload can lazyload the video tag, even with multiple sources.

Can lazyload background images

Only vanilla-lazyload can lazyload background images. And also multiple background images. And supporting HiDPI such as Retina and Super Retina display.

Can lazily execute code, when given elements enter the viewport

Check out the lazy functions section and learn how to execute code only when given elements enter the viewport.

Can restore DOM to its original state

Using the restoreAll() method, you can make LazyLoad restore all DOM manipulated from LazyLoad to how it was when the page was loaded the first time.

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Tested on real browsers

This script is tested in every browser before every release using BrowserStack live, thanks to the BrowserStack Open Source initiative.