What is Lorem Ipsum?
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text used in the printing and typesetting industry. It has been the industry's standard placeholder text since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.
It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It was popularized in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum.
The Original Text
The Lorem Ipsum text is derived from sections 1.10.32 and 1.10.33 of Cicero's "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum" (The Extremes of Good and Evil), written in 45 BC:
"Neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit..."
Translation: "There is no one who loves pain itself, who seeks after it and wants to have it, simply because it is pain..."
Why Use Lorem Ipsum?
For Designers
- ✓Focus on Visual Design: Prevents distraction from readable content, allowing focus on layout, typography, and spacing.
- ✓Realistic Layouts: Provides text that looks natural and flows like real content without requiring final copy.
- ✓Client Presentations: Keeps stakeholders focused on design elements rather than critiquing placeholder content.
- ✓Quick Prototyping: Enables rapid creation of mockups and wireframes without waiting for final content.
For Developers
- ✓Template Testing: Test layout behavior with various text lengths without needing real content.
- ✓Database Seeding: Populate test databases with realistic-looking text data for development and testing.
- ✓Responsive Testing: Verify how designs handle text wrapping, truncation, and overflow at different screen sizes.
- ✓Performance Testing: Generate large amounts of text to test application performance with realistic data volumes.
Common Use Cases
Web Design
Fill website mockups, landing pages, and UI designs with placeholder text to showcase layout and typography without final content.
App Development
Test mobile and desktop app interfaces with varying text lengths to ensure designs work across all content scenarios.
Print Design
Create brochures, magazines, and print layouts with placeholder text to visualize final products before content is ready.
Client Presentations
Present design concepts to clients without distracting them with "coming soon" or repetitive placeholder phrases.
Testing & QA
Generate test data for quality assurance, automated testing, and database population during development cycles.
Content Planning
Estimate content requirements and plan information architecture by using realistic text volumes in early stages.
Best Practices
Do This
- ✓Replace Before Launch: Always replace Lorem Ipsum with real content before going live.
- ✓Test Edge Cases: Use both short and long text to test how your design handles various content lengths.
- ✓Use Realistic Amounts: Generate text volumes similar to what you expect in production.
- ✓Add TODO Comments: Leave comments in code to remind yourself to replace placeholder text.
- ✓Consider Accessibility: Ensure your design works for screen readers even with placeholder text.
Avoid This
- ✗Shipping Lorem Ipsum: Never launch a website or app with placeholder text still visible.
- ✗Using "Content Here": Lorem Ipsum looks more professional than repetitive placeholder phrases.
- ✗Ignoring Text Length: Don't assume all content will be the same length as your placeholder.
- ✗Overusing in One Design: Too much Lorem Ipsum can make mockups look unfinished or lazy.
- ✗Relying on It Too Long: Get real content as early as possible to make better design decisions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to common questions
Need Help with Your Web Development Project?
Our expert developers can help you build professional websites, web applications, and digital experiences that engage your audience.