Tutorials · June 20, 2026 · 4 min
Understanding Delay Time: Waiting for Dynamic Content to Load
Single-page applications and JavaScript-heavy websites often render content after the initial page load. Without accounting for this, screenshots can capture loading spinners or blank sections instead of the final content.
The delay parameter
GET /api/screenshot?url=https://example.com&delay=3000&key=YOUR_API_KEYThis tells the engine to wait a specified number of milliseconds after the page loads before capturing the image, giving animations, API calls, and lazy-loaded assets time to finish.
Finding the right value
Start with 1-2 seconds for most sites, and increase to 4-5 seconds for pages with heavy JavaScript frameworks or slow third-party scripts. Avoid excessive delays, as they increase processing time unnecessarily.