Itqualityassurance
- Should you use placeholder text in forms?
- Should I use placeholder?
- When to use placeholder HTML?
- Why are placeholders important?
Should you use placeholder text in forms?
Placeholder text can be used as an attribute for almost every HTML input type, and misguided designers and developers don't hesitate. It is tempting to provide text help for complex forms or omit input labels to improve aesthetics. However, employing placeholder text to do so causes many usability issues.
Should I use placeholder?
Avoid Providing Instructions Using a Placeholder Attribute
As placeholders disappear when the user starts filling in the form, users might miss critical information. For example, password instructions should not be provided using a placeholder attribute.
When to use placeholder HTML?
If you want to set a hint for text area or input field, then use the HTML placeholder attribute. The hint is the expected value, which gets displayed before the user enters a value, for example, name, details, etc.
Why are placeholders important?
Placeholders are frequently used to provide important input formatting instructions or are used in place of a more appropriate label element (more on that in a bit).
