HTML <input> placeholder Attribute
Example
Two input fields with a placeholder text:
<form action="/action_page.php">
<input type="text" name="fname" placeholder="First name"><br>
<input type="text" name="lname" placeholder="Last name"><br>
<input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>
Try it Yourself »
Definition and Usage
The placeholder attribute specifies a short hint that describes the expected value of an input field (e.g. a sample value or a short description of the expected format).
The short hint is displayed in the input field before the user enters a value.
Note: The placeholder attribute works with the following input types: text, search, url, tel, email, and password.
Browser Support
The numbers in the table specify the first browser version that fully supports the attribute.
| Attribute | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| placeholder | 10.0 | 10.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 11.0 |
Differences Between HTML 4.01 and HTML5
The placeholder attribute is new in HTML5.
Syntax
<input placeholder="text">
Attribute Values
| Value | Description |
|---|---|
| text | Specifies a short hint that describes the expected value of the input field |
❮ HTML <input> tag
