LCP · high impact

Your main image is lazy-loaded (LCP penalty)

The Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) image is being lazy-loaded. Lazy loading tells the browser to wait to load the image until it scrolls into view, but because this image is at the top of your page, waiting causes a massive performance delay.

Why it matters

LCP is a Core Web Vital. Delaying your most important image guarantees a failed LCP score.

How to fix it in WordPress

  1. Identify the plugin or theme feature handling image lazy loading (e.g., Jetpack, a caching plugin, or your theme settings).
  2. Find the setting for 'Lazy Load Exclusions'.
  3. Add the filename of the LCP image to the exclusion list, or add a CSS class like 'no-lazy' to the image.
  4. Clear your page cache.

Plugin-specific steps

Already using one of these plugins? Follow the exact steps for your setup.

Perfmatters

  1. 1Open WordPress Admin and go to Settings → Perfmatters.
  2. 2Navigate to the Lazy Load tab.
  3. 3Find the 'Exclude from Lazy Loading' box.
  4. 4Enter the filename of the LCP image (or the CSS class of the image container).
  5. 5Save changes and clear your cache.

WP Rocket

  1. 1Open WordPress Admin and go to Settings → WP Rocket.
  2. 2Navigate to the Media tab.
  3. 3Under 'Excluded images or iframes', enter the filename of the LCP image.
  4. 4Save changes and WP Rocket will automatically clear the cache.

LiteSpeed Cache

  1. 1Open WordPress Admin and go to LiteSpeed Cache → Page Optimization.
  2. 2Navigate to the Media Excludes tab.
  3. 3Enter the filename of the LCP image into the 'Lazy Load Image Excludes' field.
  4. 4Save changes and purge the LiteSpeed cache.

Autoptimize

  1. 1Open WordPress Admin and go to Settings → Autoptimize.
  2. 2Navigate to the Images tab.
  3. 3Find the 'Lazy-load exclusions' field.
  4. 4Add the filename of the LCP image to the comma-separated list.
  5. 5Save changes.

How to verify the fix

  • Run Maki again.
  • Verify the LCP image loads immediately instead of popping in late.
  • Check your LCP time before and after.

Related LCP fixes

Your main image isn't prioritized →LCP image is too heavy →Eliminate render-blocking CSS →

Find out which of these your site has.

Free scan with real Google data. Exact fixes for your plugins.