lazy-load-image-lit

A lightweight, framework-agnostic lazy loading image component built with Lit Element. Load images only when they're visible to improve page performance and user experience.

Live Demo

Why I Built This

I was inspired by the popular react-lazy-load-image-component, which works great but is limited to React applications. I wanted to create something with the same powerful lazy loading capabilities but that would work universally across all frameworks and vanilla JavaScript.

By building with Lit Element, this component:

• Works in any framework (React, Vue, Angular, Svelte) or no framework at all
• Stays lightweight with minimal dependencies
• Achieves excellent performance through efficient rendering
• Provides a clean, standards-based API

Features

Performance Focused

Images load only when they enter (or approach) the viewport, significantly reducing initial page load time and saving bandwidth.

Progressive Enhancement

Uses IntersectionObserver API for modern browsers with intelligent fallback to optimized scroll events for older browsers.

Visual Transitions

Smooth loading effects with multiple options:

• Blur Effect: Starts with a blurred placeholder that sharpens when loaded.
• Black and White Effect: Shows a grayscale version that transitions to full color.

Highly Configurable

• Control threshold distance for preloading images.
• Choose between debounce or throttle for scroll performance optimization.
• Configure with visible-by-default option for above-the-fold content.
• Set specific dimensions or use responsive sizing.

Responsive & Mobile-Friendly

Works seamlessly across all device sizes and adapts to different viewport dimensions.

Zero External Dependencies

Only depends on Lit, which is included in the bundle.

Framework Agnostic

Works natively in any environment:

• Vanilla HTML/JS projects.
• React applications with proper event handling.
• Vue.js with native custom element support.
• Angular with CUSTOM_ELEMENTS_SCHEMA.
• Any other modern framework.

Peer Dependency Required

Important: This package requires lit as a peer dependency. You must install it in your project:

npm install lit

Installation

npm install lazy-load-image-lit

Basic Usage

<!-- Import the component -->
<script type="module" src="node_modules/lazy-load-image-lit/dist/lazy-load-image-lit.es.js"></script>

<!-- Use it in your HTML -->
<lazy-img
  src="high-quality-image.jpg"
  placeholderSrc="low-quality-thumbnail.jpg"
  effect="blur"
  threshold="200"
></lazy-img>

Framework Examples

React

import React, { useRef, useEffect } from 'react';
import 'lazy-load-image-lit';

function MyImage({ src, placeholder }) {
  const imgRef = useRef(null);
  
  useEffect(() => {
    // Use event listener for React integration
    if (imgRef.current) {
      imgRef.current.addEventListener('image-loaded', (e) => {
        console.log('Image loaded in React!', e.detail);
      });
    }
  }, []);

  return (
    <lazy-img
      ref={imgRef}
      src={src}
      placeholderSrc={placeholder}
      effect="blur"
    ></lazy-img>
  );
}

Vue

<template>
  <lazy-img
    :src="imageUrl"
    :placeholderSrc="placeholderUrl"
    @image-loaded="onImageLoaded"
  ></lazy-img>
</template>

<script>
import 'lazy-load-image-lit';

export default {
  methods: {
    onImageLoaded(e) {
      console.log('Image loaded in Vue!', e.detail);
    }
  }
}
</script>

Angular

// app.module.ts
import { CUSTOM_ELEMENTS_SCHEMA, NgModule } from '@angular/core';
import 'lazy-load-image-lit';

@NgModule({
  schemas: [CUSTOM_ELEMENTS_SCHEMA] // Required for custom elements
})

<!-- component.html -->
<lazy-img
  [attr.src]="image.src"
  [attr.placeholderSrc]="image.placeholder"
  (image-loaded)="onImageLoaded($event)"
></lazy-img>

Properties & Attributes

Property	Type	Default	Description	Available Options
src	String	''	The URL of the main image to be lazy-loaded. When the image is about to enter the viewport, this is set as the src of the <img> element.	Any valid image URL
placeholderSrc	String	''	The URL of the placeholder image shown before the main image loads. This is always rendered until the main image is loaded and visible.	Any valid image URL
effect	String	'blur'	Visual effect applied to the image during loading. 'blur' applies a blur to the placeholder, 'black-and-white' shows a grayscale effect. The effect is removed when the main image loads.	'blur', 'black-and-white'
threshold	Number	0	Distance in pixels from the viewport or scroll container at which the image should start loading. For IntersectionObserver, this is used as rootMargin. For scroll/resize fallback, the image loads when it is within this many pixels of entering the visible area, allowing for preloading before the image is actually visible.	Any number (e.g., 200 for 200px)
useIntersectionObserver	Boolean	true	If true, uses the IntersectionObserver API for efficient lazy loading. If false, falls back to scroll/resize event listeners for visibility detection.	true, false
visibleByDefault	Boolean	false	If true, the image loads immediately without lazy loading. Useful for above-the-fold images. If false, lazy loading is enabled.	true, false
delayMethod	String	'debounce'	Method for handling scroll/resize events: 'debounce' waits for a pause in events, 'throttle' limits event frequency. Only used when not using IntersectionObserver.	'debounce', 'throttle'
delayTime	Number	300	Time in milliseconds for throttling or debouncing scroll/resize events. Controls how often visibility checks are performed.	Any positive number
width	Number	0	Width of the image in pixels. Passed directly to the <img> element. If 0, the attribute is omitted and the image uses its natural width or CSS.	Any valid pixel value
height	Number	0	Height of the image in pixels. Passed directly to the <img> element. If 0, the attribute is omitted and the image uses its natural height or CSS.	Any valid pixel value
imgStyle	String	''	Additional inline styles to apply to the <img> element. Useful for custom styling or responsive images.	Any valid CSS style string

Events

Event Name	When It Fires	Data Provided
image-loaded	When the main image has finished loading	Original image load event in the detail property

Window Scroll

Vertical-Container

Horizontal Scroll

Advanced Configuration

Preloading Images Just Before Scrolling

<!-- Start loading when image is 500px before entering viewport -->
<lazy-img 
  threshold="500" 
  src="large-image.jpg" 
  placeholderSrc="thumbnail.jpg"
></lazy-img>

Controlling Scroll Event Performance

By default, the lazy loading component uses the debounce method for handling scroll and resize events. This means images are only checked and loaded after scrolling has paused for a short period, reducing unnecessary work and improving performance. You can also use throttle if you prefer more frequent checks.

How it works:

• When you scroll quickly through a long list of images, debounce ensures that only the images currently in (or near) the viewport are loaded. For example, if you scroll rapidly to the bottom, only the last few images will load, and images in between are skipped until you scroll back up.
• As you scroll back up, images will load one by one as they come into view, rather than all at once. This makes the experience smoother and more efficient, especially for pages with many images.

Example (using debounce):

<lazy-img 
  delayMethod="debounce" 
  delayTime="150"
  src="image.jpg" 
  placeholderSrc="small.jpg"
></lazy-img>

This approach helps keep your page fast and responsive, even with a large number of images, by only loading what the user is actually about to see.

Common Errors

All Images Load at Once (Scroll Container Issue)

A common issue when using this package is that all images load immediately, even if they are not visible. This usually happens because the package first checks for the nearest parent element with overflow: auto or overflow: scroll to determine which container should be used for lazy loading.

If you set overflow: auto or overflow: scroll on a parent element that isn't actually scrollable (for example, if it doesn't have a fixed height or enough content to scroll), the component may think all images are in view and load them right away. This defeats the purpose of lazy loading.

Best Practice:

• Only add overflow: auto or overflow: scroll to a parent container if you really need a scrollable area (e.g., a div with a fixed height and lots of images inside).
• If you don't need scrolling, avoid setting these overflow properties. Let the package use the window as the scroll container, so images are only loaded as they enter the viewport.

This small adjustment can make a big difference in how well lazy loading works in your app!