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Preload LCP Image

By Rhys Wynne

Performance & Optimization / Caching Solutions

Reviewed by Omar Dabbas

Trusted WordPress expert with 20+ years of experience evaluating plugins for the WP ecosystem.

Preload LCP Image Review - In-Depth Analysis

Preload the Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) Image for faster page loading. Specify LCP images on individual pages or posts.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

6.85/10

User Rating

4.8/5 (based on 5+ reviews)

Active Installations

3,000+

Update Frequency

Below Average It is calculated using the weighted average of same category plugins.

Security Score

1 / 10 (Very Low Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

This plugin will add the ability to preload the largest contentful paint (LCP) Image on an individual page or post. This is designed to remove the 'Preload the image used by the LCP element in order to improve your LCP time' warning that Google's Pagespeed Insights sometimes serves.

For support, you can contact me directly for urgent support or use the WordPress.org forums for less urgent inquiries.

This project is also available on GitHub, where you can view the repository and track development.

Comparing to Alternatives

Preload LCP Image is a specialized plugin focused on preloading the Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) image to improve website performance. It has a couple of close alternatives that offer similar image preloading features.

Top alternatives

Strengths

Effectively improves real-world website performance by preloading key images.
Includes 'fetchpriority high' attribute for better resource prioritization.
Simple and focused functionality with minimal configuration.
Responsive developer support addressing issues promptly.
Supports preloading featured images and some custom post types.

Weaknesses

Does not automatically support preloading images by class name or for large numbers of posts without manual updates.
Lacks automatic support for certain taxonomy thumbnails like product_cat backgrounds.
No built-in support for preloading category images beyond featured images.
Limited to image preloading without broader performance optimization features.

User Sentiment Analysis

User reviews are overwhelmingly positive with a 4.8 out of 5 rating and no negative reviews, indicating strong satisfaction with the plugin's performance and support.

Positive highlights

"Works! Plugin working as described, really like that you added 'fetchpriority high'" - Jimmy Lee
"Great Plugin. We have just been testing this plugin and found that it can really give your website real-world performance improvements." - EncodeDotHost
"Excellent plugin that does exactly what it says. I had an issue with avif format images and the developer promptly resolved it." - wpcheetah
"I've built custom post types with its own categories. Each category has its own featured image, is there any way I can use your plugin on these category images?" - Fanus
"Good Plugin! Works Well but I use product_cat thumbnail as a background image and it's not automatically applied like the product featured images do for products." - alexandreromani2206

Common complaints

Weaknesses

Limited automatic support for large sites with many posts or custom image classes.
Does not automatically preload taxonomy or category background images.
No pro version means some advanced features are unavailable.

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Website owners and developers looking for a lightweight, effective plugin to preload their LCP images and improve page load performance without complex setup.

Not ideal for

Users needing automatic support for large-scale sites with thousands of posts or those requiring preloading of category or taxonomy images beyond featured images may find this plugin limited.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version includes all core features to preload LCP images effectively, including support for featured images and basic custom post types.

Final Verdict

Preload LCP Image is a highly rated, focused plugin that delivers on its promise to improve website performance by preloading the largest contentful paint image. Its simplicity and developer responsiveness make it a reliable choice for many users.

While it lacks some automation for large sites and category image preloading, it remains a valuable tool for those seeking straightforward image preloading without additional complexity or cost.