Native Image Lazy Loading vs Better REST API Featured Images

Note: You probably do not need this plugin. The REST API already supports adding the query param ?_embed to your URL and the response will then include all “embedded media”, including the featured image, and the data you get there is exactly what this plugin gives you. The only reasons to use this plugin at this point are if you prefer to have the featured image data in a top level field in the response rather than among other embedded media in the _embedded field, and if you always want the featured image data in the response rather than having to ask for it with ?_embed. I still use this plugin because I do usually want both these things, but definitely give ?_embed a try before using this plugin. 🙂 Version 2 of the WordPress REST API returns a featured_media field (formerly featured_image) on the post object by default, but this field is simply the image ID. This plugin adds a better_featured_image field to the post object that contains the available image sizes and urls, allowing you to get this information without making a second request. It takes this: "featured_media": 13, And turns it into this: "featured_media": 13, "better_featured_image": { "id": 13, "alt_text": "Hot Air Balloons", "caption": "The event featured hot air balloon rides", "description": "The hot air balloons from the big event", "media_type": "image", "media_details": { "width": 5760, "height": 3840, "file": "2015/09/balloons.jpg", "sizes": { "thumbnail": { "file": "balloons-150x150.jpg", "width": 150, "height": 150, "mime-type": "image/jpeg", "source_url": "http://api.example.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/balloons-150x150.jpg" }, "medium": { "file": "balloons-300x200.jpg", "width": 300, "height": 200, "mime-type": "image/jpeg", "source_url": "http://api.example.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/balloons-300x200.jpg" }, "large": { "file": "balloons-1024x683.jpg", "width": 1024, "height": 683, "mime-type": "image/jpeg", "source_url": "http://api.example.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/balloons-1024x683.jpg" }, "post-thumbnail": { "file": "balloons-825x510.jpg", "width": 825, "height": 510, "mime-type": "image/jpeg", "source_url": "http://api.example.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/balloons-825x510.jpg" } }, "image_meta": { "aperture": 6.3, "credit": "", "camera": "Canon EOS 5D Mark III", "caption": "", "created_timestamp": 1433110262, "copyright": "", "focal_length": "50", "iso": "100", "shutter_speed": "0.004", "title": "", "orientation": 1 } }, "post": null, "source_url": "http://api.example.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/balloons.jpg" }, The format of the response is nearly identical to what you would get sending a request to /wp-json/wp/v2/media/13 or using ?_embed. When no featured image has been set on the post the better_featured_image field will have a value of null. I’ve done some basic performance tests that indicate the difference in response times with and without this plugin to be about 10-15ms for a collection of 10 posts and 0-5ms for a single post. For me this is much faster than making a second request to /media/, especially for multiple posts. As of version 1.1.0, there is a filter better_rest_api_featured_image that allows you to add custom data to the better_featured_image field. The filter is directly on the return value of the function that returns the better_featured_image field. This can be used to do things like add custom image meta or an SVG version of the image to the response. Here’s an example of how you might use it: add_filter( 'better_rest_api_featured_image', 'xxx_modify_rest_api_featured_image', 10, 2 ); /** * Modify the Better REST API Featured Image response. * * @param array $featured_image The array of image data. * @param int $image_id The image ID. * * @return array The modified image data. */ function xxx_modify_rest_api_featured_image( $featured_image, $image_id ) { // Add an extra_data_string field with a string value. $featured_image['extra_data_string'] = 'A custom value.'; // Add an extra_data_array field with an array value. $featured_image['extra_data_array'] = array( 'custom_key' => 'A custom value.', ); return $featured_image; } This plugin is on on Github and pull requests are always welcome. 🙂

This plugin adds the loading attribute to IMG tags found when filtering the_content() to support native image lazy loading. For more information about lazy loading images using this new native browser image attribute, check out this article: https://addyosmani.com/blog/lazy-loading/ and for a little more depth into what we’re doing here, check out our explainer post. Historically, to limit the impact offscreen images have on page load times, developers have needed to use a JavaScript library (like LazySizes or Vanilla-LazyLoad) in order to defer fetching these images until a user scrolls near them. What if the browser could avoid loading these offscreen images for you? The loading attribute instructs a browser to defer loading offscreen images until users scroll near them. It comes in three flavors: eager, auto, and lazy. Install this plugin and you can set the first image’s loading attribute and the loading attribute for all the subsequent images sent through the_content() in the plugin’s settings page. Simple is Beautiful There is no JavaScript or CSS included in the plugin. It just works in browsers that support the new loading image attribute. For browsers that don’t support this new image loading attribute, that’s ok. You can still use whatever JavaScript-based image lazy loader you want as a fallback until browser support becomes a little more mainstream.