To create a simple web application that pulls random images from Imgur based on user-defined criteria, you can leverage the Imgur API along with JavaScript for a seamless experience. You will first need to set up an API key by registering your application with Imgur. Once you have your key, you can use the endpoint for searching images by tags or album IDs. For randomness, you might want to fetch a list of images that meet the specified criteria and then select one at random from that list. Here’s a simplified code snippet using JavaScript with the Fetch API:

const fetchRandomImage = async (tag) => {
        const clientId = 'YOUR_IMGUR_CLIENT_ID';
        const response = await fetch(`https://api.imgur.com/3/gallery/search/top/all/0?q=${tag}`, {
            headers: {
                'Authorization': `Client-ID ${clientId}`
            }
        });
        const data = await response.json();
        if (data.data.length > 0) {
            const randomIndex = Math.floor(Math.random() * data.data.length);
            const imageUrl = data.data[randomIndex].link;
            document.getElementById('imageDisplay').src = imageUrl;
        } else {
            console.log('No images found for this tag.');
        }
    };

    document.getElementById('fetchButton').addEventListener('click', () => {
        const tag = document.getElementById('tagInput').value;
        fetchRandomImage(tag);
    });

This code fetches images based on the tag provided by the user. It first defines an asynchronous function to get a random image, handling the API request and parsing the response. When the button is clicked, it retrieves the tag from the input, calls the fetch function, and updates an img element to display the random image. This approach minimizes overhead by only fetching and processing data as needed, ensuring a snappy experience. Do be mindful of the API rate limits and potential error handling for a more robust application.