Seoxpert.io
mediumPerformance

Image-Heavy Pages Not Using Lazy Loading

Pages with many images load all at once without lazy loading, increasing initial load time and page weight.

By Seoxpert Editorial · Published

Why it matters

When all images load eagerly, especially those not immediately visible, it increases page load times and delays interactivity. This negatively affects Core Web Vitals, impacting both user experience and search rankings.

Impact

If unresolved, pages may load slowly, harming SEO performance and user satisfaction.

How it's detected

An automated crawler scans pages for multiple <img> tags and checks if images below the fold lack loading="lazy".

Common causes

  • Images below the fold missing the loading="lazy" attribute
  • Developers unaware of native lazy loading support
  • Legacy code or frameworks that do not add lazy loading by default
  • Copy-pasting image code without optimizing for performance

How to fix it

Identify images that are not visible on initial page load (below the fold) and add loading="lazy" to their <img> tags. Keep above-the-fold or LCP candidate images as loading="eager" or use fetchpriority="high". This reduces initial page weight and speeds up time-to-interactive.

Code examples

Problem: All images load eagerly

<img src="photo1.jpg" alt="">
<img src="photo2.jpg" alt="">
<img src="photo3.jpg" alt="">

Fix: Use lazy loading for images below the fold

<img src="photo1.jpg" alt=""> <!-- Above the fold -->
<img src="photo2.jpg" loading="lazy" alt=""> <!-- Below the fold -->
<img src="photo3.jpg" loading="lazy" alt=""> <!-- Below the fold -->

FAQ

Should all images use loading="lazy"?

No, only images below the fold should use loading="lazy". Above-the-fold images should load eagerly for best performance.

How do I identify which images are below the fold?

Images not visible when the page first loads (without scrolling) are considered below the fold.

Will lazy loading affect SEO image indexing?

Modern search engines support lazy loading and will still index images with loading="lazy".

What if my framework handles images automatically?

Verify that your framework adds loading="lazy" to below-the-fold images, or configure it to do so.

Found this issue on your site?

Run a scan to see if Image-Heavy Pages Not Using Lazy Loading affects your pages.

Scan my website →