What is the Difference Between Lazy Loading vs Eager Loading?

🐌 Lazy Loading

Lazy loading is a feature that enhances the speed and performance of your website by loading only the necessary page elements and preserving unnecessary resources if the user doesn't scroll down the page. This results in a smoother browsing experience for your users, as the website loads more quickly and efficiently.

Pros

• faster initial load times - because only the immediate visible content is loaded
• reduced resource usage - because it only loads pieces of content gradually
• improved page speed 

Cons

• potential slower overall load times - if the user scrolls quickly 
• SEO damage - it can impact the SEO if it's not correctly applied

📝 Note: In our products' case, you can enable the lazy loading of images - using Optimole, charts - using Visualizer, and feeds - using Feedzy RSS Feeds.

🏃 Eager Loading

In contrast, eager loading loads all page content as soon as the visitor enters the page, regardless of whether they scroll or not. This can lead to slower loading times and greater resource consumption.

Pros

• faster load times - if can improve page load times by loading all the content at once
• improved user experience - users can have immediate access to the whole content
• reduced server load - reduces the number of requests made to the server by loading all the content at once

Cons

• higher resource usage - it can consume more server resources for pages with a large amount of content
• longer initial load times - the initial load may take a longer time 
• potential compatibility issues - some WordPress plugins or themes may have conflicts