Technical quality Kiwi insights
How images affect a website’s loading experience
Make image choices that preserve layout, protect critical loading, and avoid sending unnecessary data to visitors.
Images can make an offer easier to understand, but they can also delay the content people came to read. Treat them as part of the loading and layout plan, not a final decorative layer.
Protect the critical image
Identify whether a visible image is likely to be the page’s largest contentful element. Do not lazy-load an image that appears in the initial viewport. Choose dimensions and a file size that fit the displayed role.
Reserve space and serve proportionate files
Provide width and height so the browser can reserve layout space. Use responsive candidates when the same source image is displayed at substantially different sizes. Sending desktop-scale media to small devices can waste data and delay more important resources.
Defer what is genuinely offscreen
Browser lazy loading is appropriate for images below the initial viewport. Test the actual page: hidden content, carousels, and layout changes can make assumptions about loading order wrong.
Kiwi can help define an image and performance approach for a website release; image licensing and subject approvals remain the client’s responsibility unless explicitly agreed.