10 Placeholder Text Best Practices

Placeholder text is a great way to give your website visitors a better idea of what kind of content they should expect to see in a particular area. It can also help you to quickly create a prototype of your website or application. However, it’s important to use placeholder text correctly in order to ensure that it’s effective.

In this article, we’ll discuss 10 placeholder text best practices that you should follow when creating placeholder text for your website or application. By following these best practices, you can ensure that your placeholder text is effective and helpful for your users.

1. Use real content

Placeholder text is often used to give a sense of what the final content will look like, but if it’s not real content, then it won’t accurately represent the finished product.

Using real content also helps designers and developers get an accurate idea of how the page or app will look with actual words and phrases in place. This can help them make better decisions about layout, design, and functionality.

Finally, using real content makes sure that any accessibility issues are addressed early on in the development process. Placeholder text should be written in plain language so that screen readers can interpret it correctly.

2. Keep it short and sweet

Placeholder text is meant to be a temporary solution until the actual content can be added. If it’s too long, it will take up valuable space and distract from other elements on the page.

It’s also important to make sure that placeholder text is relevant to the context of the page. For example, if you’re designing an e-commerce website, use words like “product name” or “price” instead of generic phrases like “lorem ipsum.” This helps give readers a better idea of what type of content should eventually appear in the space.

3. Make it relevant to the page

Placeholder text should be used to give users an idea of what type of information they should enter into a field. If the placeholder text is not relevant, it can confuse and frustrate users, leading them to abandon the page or form altogether.

For example, if you have a field for entering a phone number, your placeholder text should say something like “Enter your phone number” instead of “Enter your address”. This way, users know exactly what kind of information they need to provide in order to complete the form.

It’s also important to make sure that the placeholder text is concise and easy to understand. Avoid using jargon or overly technical language as this could further confuse users.

4. Don’t use lorem ipsum

Lorem ipsum is a Latin phrase that has no meaning in English, so it doesn’t give the reader any context. It’s also not representative of the actual content you’ll be using on your website or app.

Instead, use placeholder text that reflects the type of content you plan to include. For example, if you’re designing an ecommerce site, use product descriptions and prices as placeholders. This will help you get a better idea of how the design looks with real content. You can also use dummy images instead of lorem ipsum for visuals.

5. Avoid using placeholder text in live sites

Placeholder text is meant to be a temporary placeholder for content that will eventually be replaced with real, meaningful copy. However, if it’s left in place on a live site, it can give visitors the impression that your website isn’t finished or up-to-date.

Additionally, placeholder text often contains generic phrases and words that don’t accurately reflect the tone of your brand. This can make your website seem unprofessional and sloppy.

Finally, placeholder text can also contain typos and grammatical errors which can further damage your reputation as a professional business. For these reasons, it’s important to replace placeholder text with real, meaningful copy before launching your website.

6. Consider your audience

Placeholder text should be meaningful and relevant to the user, so that they can easily understand what it is asking for. For example, if you are creating a form for a medical website, using placeholder text such as “Enter your name” or “Select your gender” would make more sense than generic phrases like “Lorem ipsum”.

Additionally, when writing placeholder text, try to keep it concise and clear. Long sentences with complex words will only confuse users and may lead them to abandon the form altogether. Finally, consider adding some personality to your placeholder text by making it friendly and inviting. This will help create an enjoyable experience for the user and encourage them to complete the form.

7. Be consistent

Placeholder text should be used to give users an idea of what type of information they need to enter in a field. If the placeholder text is inconsistent, it can confuse users and lead them to enter incorrect data or leave fields blank.

To ensure consistency, use the same placeholder text for all similar fields throughout your website or application. For example, if you’re asking for a user’s first name, make sure that the placeholder text reads “first name” on every page where this field appears. This will help create a more intuitive experience for users and reduce errors.

8. Use a tool or generator

Placeholder text should be realistic and relevant to the context of your design. It should also be easy to read, so that it doesn’t distract from the overall look and feel of the page.

Using a tool or generator ensures that you get placeholder text that is both realistic and relevant. There are many tools available online that can generate placeholder text for you, such as Lorem Ipsum generators, which provide Latin-based filler text. Other tools, like Placehold.it, allow you to customize the size and color of the placeholder text.

By using a tool or generator, you can quickly and easily create placeholder text that looks professional and fits in with the rest of your design.

9. Use dummy images

When you’re designing a website or app, it’s important to have visuals that represent the content. This helps users understand what they are looking at and how to interact with it.

Using dummy images in place of real ones can help designers get an idea of how their design will look without having to worry about finding the right image for each element. It also allows them to quickly test different layouts and color schemes without having to search for new images every time. Dummy images also make it easier to create mockups and prototypes since they don’t require any additional work.

10. Optimize for accessibility

Placeholder text is often used to provide a hint or example of what should be entered into an input field. However, if the placeholder text isn’t accessible, it can create confusion for users who rely on assistive technologies such as screen readers.

To ensure accessibility, make sure that your placeholder text is descriptive and concise. Avoid using phrases like “Enter your name here” since this doesn’t give any context about what type of information should be entered. Instead, use something more specific like “Please enter your full name”. Additionally, avoid using placeholder text that could be mistaken for actual content, such as “Lorem ipsum…”.