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HTML <input> placeholder Attribute

❮ HTML <input> tag

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