diff --git a/layouts/_default/list.html b/layouts/_default/list.html
index 833f9239..2640f164 100644
--- a/layouts/_default/list.html
+++ b/layouts/_default/list.html
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@
 
 <article class="{{ $class }}">
   {{- $isHidden := (.Param "cover.hiddenInList") | default (.Param "cover.hidden") | default false }}
-  {{- partial "cover.html" (dict "cxt" . "IsHome" true "isHidden" $isHidden) }}
+  {{- partial "cover.html" (dict "cxt" . "IsSingle" false "isHidden" $isHidden) }}
   <header class="entry-header">
     <h2>
       {{- .Title }}
diff --git a/layouts/_default/single.html b/layouts/_default/single.html
index ee0fec43..837f6197 100644
--- a/layouts/_default/single.html
+++ b/layouts/_default/single.html
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
     {{- end }}
   </header>
   {{- $isHidden := (.Param "cover.hiddenInSingle") | default (.Param "cover.hidden") | default false }}
-  {{- partial "cover.html" (dict "cxt" . "IsHome" false "isHidden" $isHidden) }}
+  {{- partial "cover.html" (dict "cxt" . "IsSingle" true "isHidden" $isHidden) }}
   {{- if (.Param "ShowToc") }}
   {{- partial "toc.html" . }}
   {{- end }}
diff --git a/layouts/partials/cover.html b/layouts/partials/cover.html
index 0f8bfbce..e92b5557 100644
--- a/layouts/partials/cover.html
+++ b/layouts/partials/cover.html
@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
 {{- with .cxt}} {{/* Apply proper context from dict */}}
 {{- if (and .Params.cover.image (not $.isHidden)) }}
 {{- $alt := (.Params.cover.alt | default .Params.cover.caption | plainify) }}
+{{- $loading := cond $.IsSingle "eager" "lazy" }}
 <figure class="entry-cover">
     {{- $responsiveImages := (.Params.cover.responsiveImages | default site.Params.cover.responsiveImages) | default true }}
-    {{- $addLink := (and site.Params.cover.linkFullImages (not $.IsHome)) }}
+    {{- $addLink := (and site.Params.cover.linkFullImages $.IsSingle) }}
     {{- $pageBundleCover     := (.Resources.ByType "image").GetMatch (printf "*%s*" (.Params.cover.image)) }}
     {{- $globalResourcesCover := (resources.ByType "image").GetMatch (printf "*%s*" (.Params.cover.image)) }}
     {{- $cover := (or $pageBundleCover $globalResourcesCover)}}
@@ -17,7 +18,7 @@
         {{- end -}}
         {{- $prod := (hugo.IsProduction | or (eq site.Params.env "production")) }}
         {{- if (and (in $processableFormats $cover.MediaType.SubType) ($responsiveImages) (eq $prod true)) }}
-        <img loading="lazy" srcset="{{- range $size := $sizes -}}
+        <img loading="{{$loading}}" srcset="{{- range $size := $sizes -}}
                         {{- if (ge $cover.Width $size) -}}
                         {{ printf "%s %s" (($cover.Resize (printf "%sx" $size)).Permalink) (printf "%sw ," $size) -}}
                         {{ end }}
@@ -25,16 +26,16 @@
             sizes="(min-width: 768px) 720px, 100vw" src="{{ $cover.Permalink }}" alt="{{ $alt }}" 
             width="{{ $cover.Width }}" height="{{ $cover.Height }}">
         {{- else }}{{/* Unprocessable image or responsive images disabled */}}
-        <img loading="lazy" src="{{ (path.Join .RelPermalink .Params.cover.image) | absURL }}" alt="{{ $alt }}">
+        <img loading="{{$loading}}" src="{{ (path.Join .RelPermalink .Params.cover.image) | absURL }}" alt="{{ $alt }}">
         {{- end }}
     {{- else }}{{/* For absolute urls and external links, no img processing here */}}
         {{- if $addLink }}<a href="{{ (.Params.cover.image) | absURL }}" target="_blank"
             rel="noopener noreferrer">{{ end -}}
-            <img loading="lazy" src="{{ (.Params.cover.image) | absURL }}" alt="{{ $alt }}">
+            <img loading="{{$loading}}" src="{{ (.Params.cover.image) | absURL }}" alt="{{ $alt }}">
     {{- end }}
     {{- if $addLink }}</a>{{ end -}}
     {{/*  Display Caption  */}}
-    {{- if not $.IsHome }}
+    {{- if $.IsSingle }}
         {{ with .Params.cover.caption }}<p>{{ . | markdownify }}</p>{{- end }}
     {{- end }}
 </figure>