What is lorem ipsum?
Lorem ipsum is dummy text used by designers and developers to fill a layout before the real content is ready. Because it looks like ordinary text but has no readable meaning, it lets viewers focus on typography, spacing and structure instead of the words.
The text comes from a scrambled passage of De finibus bonorum et malorum, a work on ethics written by Cicero in 45 BC. It has been used by printers and typesetters for centuries and became widespread with desktop publishing software in the 1980s.
When to use placeholder text
- Wireframes, mockups and website templates.
- Testing fonts, line lengths and page layouts.
- Filling databases and forms with sample content.
Replace it before publishing: placeholder text left on a live page looks unfinished and is poor for search engines.