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Ran a side-by-side test between lazy loading images manually vs using a plugin
I spent last Wednesday comparing load times on my portfolio site, one page with my own lazy loading script and another using a free plugin from the repo. The plugin cut my Largest Contentful Paint by almost 40% according to Lighthouse, and it handled all the weird edge cases I kept missing. Anybody else waste a whole afternoon rolling their own solution when a plugin was the obvious call?
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cooper.max6mo ago
Bet you the plugin also handles screen readers better than your manual code ever did.
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jason9586mo ago
The plugin is usually built by people who actually test with screen readers. Manual code is often someone guessing and hoping it works. There's a reason accessibility audits flag so many custom implementations. Plugins have their own problems but at least they get the basics right most of the time. Your average developer just does not think about focus management or ARIA roles. It's a hard truth but the data backs it up.
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