How to Implement Lazy Loading Images React

If you’re a programmer, you know that one of the keys to efficiency is laziness. And when it comes to loading images in React, there’s no reason to be anything other than lazy.

With lazy loading, your images will only load when they’re needed, which can save you time and bandwidth. By using the 'loading' attribute on the image element, you can ensure efficient loading. In this blog post, we’ll show you how to lazy load images in React.

Whether you’re just getting started with React or you’re a seasoned pro, this should be a quick and easy guide for you.

What is lazy loading?

Lazy loading is an important web development technique that can have a significant impact on the performance of your website and the experience of your users. It works by only loading the necessary components when they are needed, rather than all at once upon page load. That way, visitors quickly begin interacting with your site instead of waiting; not to mention, your pages also won’t be overloaded with heavy objects that don’t need to be there in the first place. Lazy loading libraries, such as react-lazyload, can further optimize app performance by reducing initial load times and bandwidth usage.

Sites with lazy loading are also beneficial for search engine optimization since bots won’t have to crawl excess code or graphics right away. Whether you’re a web developer or simply curious about how things work under-the-hood, it’s worth learning more about lazy loading.

Benefits of Lazy Loading Images

Lazy loading images can significantly enhance the performance of your website or application by reducing initial load times and conserving bandwidth. Here are some key benefits of lazy loading images:

• Improved Page Load Time: By delaying the loading of images until they are needed, lazy loading can drastically improve page load times. This means users can start interacting with your site faster, leading to a better overall experience.

• Reduced Bandwidth Usage: Lazy loading images ensures that only the images visible to the user are loaded. This can save a considerable amount of bandwidth, especially for websites with high traffic or large image files.

• Enhanced User Experience: A faster and more responsive website is always a win for user experience. Lazy loading images help achieve this by ensuring that users aren’t waiting for unnecessary elements to load.

• Better SEO: Search engines like Google consider page load time when ranking websites. By improving load times and user experience through lazy loading images, you can potentially boost your site’s SEO performance.

How to lazy load images in React using react-lazy-load-image-component

If you’re using React, one of the best ways to optimize loading speeds on websites and apps is by lazy loading images. Luckily, it’s easy to do with react-lazy-load-image-component. All you need to do is add the lazy load component and use the img tag with the loading attribute for lazy loading. Then, wherever you want an image to appear, just use the provided <LazyLoadImage> tag in-place of <img> tags and your work is done! Additionally, make sure to import the css file that controls the blur effect to enhance the visual output of images as they load.

That way, when the user opens up your page, only low resolution images are loaded first — saving time and data. Once the user scrolls down to where full resolution versions of the images would appear, they will be loaded automatically in a fraction of a second.

Step 1 – Install React Lazy Load Image Component

Installing react-lazy-load-image-component is a very simple and straightforward process. First, you need to use the npm package manager and install the library with the command 'npm install react-lazy-load-image-component'. This will add the necessary files to your project and make them available for import.

// yarn
$ yarn add react-lazy-load-image-component
// npm
$ npm i --save react-lazy-load-image-component

Step 2 – Import the component

The next step after installing react-lazy-load-image-component is to import the component into your project. To do this, you need to add a line of code that will tell your application where to find the components it needs.

import { LazyLoadImage } from "react-lazy-load-image-component";
import Image from "../images/large.jpg";
import Placeholder from "../images/placeholder.jpg";

Step 3 – Using the LazyLoadImage component

To use the LazyLoadImage component, you first need to wrap the desired image in the <LazyLoadImage> tag, then specify a placeholder (such as a low-resolution version of the original image) and set the actual source of the image.

This way, when a user opens up your page, they will only be presented with the placeholder image first — saving on both time and data through optimized image loading.

// Image with a placeholder 
<LazyLoadImage src={Image} alt="My large image" placeholderSrc={Placeholder} />

Optimizing Lazy Loading for Performance

To get the most out of lazy loading, it’s crucial to optimize its implementation. Here are some best practices to ensure your lazy loading strategy is as effective as possible:

• Use a Lazy Loading Library: Simplify the implementation of lazy loading by using a library like react-lazy-load or react-lazy-load-image-component. These libraries are designed to make lazy loading straightforward and efficient.

• Optimize Image Size: Compress your images and use low-resolution versions as placeholders. This not only speeds up the initial load but also reduces the amount of data that needs to be transferred.

• Use a Placeholder Image: Display a placeholder image while the actual image is loading. This provides a visual cue to users that the image is on its way, enhancing the user experience.

• Lazy Load Only Necessary Images: Focus on lazy loading only the images that are essential for the user experience. This helps in reducing bandwidth usage and improving page load times.

• Test and Monitor Performance: Regularly test and monitor your website’s performance to ensure that lazy loading is functioning correctly and not negatively impacting the user experience. Tools like Google Lighthouse can be helpful in this regard.

By following these best practices, you can ensure that your lazy loading implementation is optimized for performance, providing a faster and more efficient user experience.

Conclusion

Lazy loading images in React can be a simple way to improve the performance of your website or app and provide a better user experience. By using the react-lazy-load-image-component library, you can easily implement lazy loading into your project with just a few lines of code.