Prefetching vs Lazy Loading

Developers should use prefetching when building applications where speed and responsiveness are critical, such as in web pages with predictable user navigation (e meets developers should use lazy loading when building applications with large datasets, media-heavy content, or complex user interfaces to enhance performance and user experience. Here's our take.

Prefetching

Nice Pick

Developers should use prefetching when building applications where speed and responsiveness are critical, such as in web pages with predictable user navigation (e

Pros

• g
• Related to: caching, lazy-loading

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Lazy Loading

Developers should use lazy loading when building applications with large datasets, media-heavy content, or complex user interfaces to enhance performance and user experience

Pros

• It is particularly useful in web development for loading images, videos, or JavaScript modules only when they become visible in the viewport, reducing bandwidth and speeding up page loads
• Related to: code-splitting, dynamic-imports

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

Use Prefetching if: You want g and can live with specific tradeoffs depend on your use case.

Use Lazy Loading if: You prioritize it is particularly useful in web development for loading images, videos, or javascript modules only when they become visible in the viewport, reducing bandwidth and speeding up page loads over what Prefetching offers.

The Bottom Line

Prefetching wins

Developers should use prefetching when building applications where speed and responsiveness are critical, such as in web pages with predictable user navigation (e