Lazy Loading Isn’t Just for Images: What Else Can You Delay?

When we talk about lazy loading, most developers think of one thing:

<img src="cat.jpg" loading="lazy" />

It’s an awesome performance win — only load images when they're needed.
But what if I told you lazy loading doesn’t stop at images?

There’s a whole world of assets, components, and even logic that you can delay to give users a faster, smoother experience.

Let’s dig in. 👇

🧱 1. Lazy Loading JavaScript Modules

Modern bundlers like Webpack, Vite, and Rollup support dynamic import() for splitting your JS into chunks and loading them on demand.

Example:

button.addEventListener("click", async () => {
  const { showModal } = await import("./modal.js");
  showModal();
});

✅ Benefits:

• Smaller initial bundle
• Faster initial load
• Only load what the user interacts with

🎨 2. Lazy Loading CSS

Yes — you can lazy load styles too.

Example (with JavaScript):

const link = document.createElement("link");
link.rel = "stylesheet";
link.href = "extra-styles.css";
document.head.appendChild(link);

Useful for styles needed only after a user navigates to a specific section or opens a modal.

💡 Pro Tip: Tools like vite-plugin-style-import or Webpack’s code splitting can help automate this.

🧩 3. Lazy Loading Web Components or UI Sections

Using frameworks or raw JavaScript, you can defer loading complex components:

Example with React:

const Comments = React.lazy(() => import('./Comments'));

<Suspense fallback={<Spinner />}>
  <Comments />
</Suspense>

Example without React (vanilla JS):

Load a custom element only when it enters the viewport:

const observer = new IntersectionObserver(entries => {
  entries.forEach(entry => {
    if (entry.isIntersecting) {
      import('./fancy-widget.js');
      observer.disconnect();
    }
  });
});

observer.observe(document.querySelector('#widget'));

🧠 4. Lazy Execution of Expensive Logic

Not everything needs to run at page load.

• Analytics
• Animations
• Non-critical API calls

Instead, defer them until idle time:

window.requestIdleCallback(() => {
  expensiveNonCriticalWork();
});

Or delay them slightly:

setTimeout(() => {
  loadAnalytics();
}, 3000);

🔌 5. Lazy Loading Fonts

Fonts can be large and render-blocking if not handled well.

Use font-display: swap in your @font-face CSS rule:

@font-face {
  font-family: 'MyFont';
  src: url('myfont.woff2') format('woff2');
  font-display: swap;
}

This tells the browser to render fallback text immediately and swap in your custom font once it's loaded.

🗺 6. Lazy Loading Routes in SPAs

If you're building a single-page app with client-side routing, don’t load all pages upfront.

With tools like React Router or Vue Router:

const AboutPage = React.lazy(() => import('./About'));

Each route gets its own chunk — users only download the code they need.

🧩 7. Lazy Hydration (Advanced)

For sites using static or SSR (like Next.js, Astro, or Qwik), consider hydrating interactivity lazily, either:

• On user interaction (e.g., click, scroll)
• When components enter the viewport

This can drastically reduce time to interactive (TTI).

⚠️ Caveats

Lazy loading is powerful, but:

• Don't overdo it: delaying too much can make your app feel sluggish or unresponsive.
• Measure: Use tools like Lighthouse, WebPageTest, or Chrome DevTools to ensure lazy loading is helping, not hurting.
• Test fallback behavior: Always account for unsupported features or timing issues.

🧪 Final Thoughts

Lazy loading is no longer just an image optimization trick — it’s a mindset.

Load only what the user needs, when they need it.
It improves performance, saves bandwidth, and enhances UX — especially on mobile or slow connections.

So next time you ship a feature, ask yourself:

Can this wait just a little bit longer?

Chances are… it probably can.