← DictionaryLazy Loading
Deferring the loading of offscreen assets until they are needed.
Only load images when someone scrolls to them.
What It Is
Lazy Loading is a Website item, filed under Performance. The canonical meaning is deferring the loading of offscreen assets until they are needed.
It is a mechanism rather than an opinion: set up properly it behaves predictably, and set up badly it fails just as predictably. That definition is deliberately narrow — the narrowness is what makes it usable.
How It's Used
Lazy Loading earns its keep in site builds, page structure and the technical decisions underneath them. In real work it sits close to Site Speed, Image Optimisation and Core Web Vitals. The practical test is whether it is configured, documented and actually working.
Why It Matters
The cost of being vague about Lazy Loading shows up later, not today. When it is unclear, the site still launches — it just quietly underperforms. Deciding it deliberately costs one conversation. Leaving it undecided costs several.
Think of a tool in a drawer — dull until the moment you need exactly it. Only load images when someone scrolls to them.
Termshift™
How the meaning shifts depending on who is using it, and where.
Inside the industry, Lazy Loading is used tightly and assumed to be understood: deferring the loading of offscreen assets until they are needed.
Away from the jargon, it is only load images when someone scrolls to them.
The Bottom Line
Lazy Loading pays off when it is specific and costs you when it is not. Only load images when someone scrolls to them.