{
    "version" : "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1",
    "content" : "news",
    "type" : "single",
    "title" : "Placeholder Text: Think Outside the Box |Digital.gov",
    "description": "Placeholder Text: Think Outside the Box",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/11/24/placeholder-text-think-outside-the-box/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"Placeholder Text: Think Outside the Box","summary" : "The verdict is in. Placeholder text is harmful in search boxes. Searchers are on your site to complete a task. Having placeholder text inside a search box distracts from the task and it reduces the usability and accessibility of the search box. Placeholders look simple, but are in fact very tricky to use. When people","date" : "2014-11-24T10:00:43-04:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"rachel-mundstock" : "Rachel Mundstock"},"topics" : {
        
            "content-strategy" : "Content strategy",
            "social-media" : "Social media"
            },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"2014-11-24-placeholder-text-think-outside-the-box.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2014/11/2014-11-24-placeholder-text-think-outside-the-box.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2014/11/2014-11-24-placeholder-text-think-outside-the-box.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2014/11/2014-11-24-placeholder-text-think-outside-the-box.md","slug" : "placeholder-text-think-outside-the-box","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/11/24/placeholder-text-think-outside-the-box/","content" :"\u003cp\u003eThe verdict is in. Placeholder text is harmful in search boxes.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSearchers are on your site to complete a task. Having placeholder text \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003einside\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e a search box distracts from the task and it reduces the \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/topics/user-experience/\"\u003eusability\u003c/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/topics/accessibility/\"\u003eaccessibility\u003c/a\u003e of the search box. Placeholders look simple, but are in fact very tricky to use.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen people are trying to accomplish a goal, their focus is not on the form an organization requires them to use. It’s on achieving their goal.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2013/02/dont-put-labels-inside-text-boxes-unless-youre-luke-w.php\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eDon’t Put Labels Inside Text Boxes (Unless You’re Luke W)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e, UX Matters\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"what-is-placeholder-text\"\u003eWhat Is Placeholder Text?\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlaceholder text is the label for possible content in a text box. It can normally be found when there are prompts to fill out a form. It’s the hint that tells you ‘Last name’ or the format with which to enter your birthdate or phone number. Placeholder text typically exists as a hint to fill in actual text.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"put-labels-and-placeholders-outside-the-box\"\u003ePut Labels and Placeholders Outside the Box\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese hints can be essential to help identify what information to input, but they shouldn’t be be put \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003einside\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e the text box. They should be placed \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eoutside\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e the box.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you include hint text inside your form’s text boxes, many users—quite likely, the majority—will interpret the hint text as a default.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003ca href=\"http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2010/03/dont-put-hints-inside-text-boxes-in-web-forms.php\"\u003eDon’t Put Hints Inside Text Boxes in Web Forms\u003c/a\u003e,\u003c/em\u003e UX Matters\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInside the Box Is Hard to Use\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/11/368-x-43-Placeholder-search-inside-box.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Placeholder text inside the search box\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOutside the Box Is Better\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/11/368-x-62-Placeholder-search-outside-box.jpg\"\n    alt=\"368-x-62-Placeholder-search-outside-box\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003ePlaceholder text inside the search box can hinder more than help. Some sites use placeholder text within a search box, and inadvertently searchers don’t remove it. This leads to searches with a query consisting entirely of placeholder text, or a query that is an amalgamation of the two.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor example, some sites will have “What are you looking for?” or “Search…” within the search box. Though such hints can be helpful, studies have shown that text in a field makes the search box—and all other types of Web forms and content boxes—less noticeable.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlaceholder text within a form field makes it difficult for people to remember what information belongs in a field, and to check for and fix errors. It also poses additional burdens for users with visual and cognitive impairments.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"http://www.nngroup.com/articles/form-design-placeholders/\"\u003e\u003cem\u003ePlaceholders in Form Fields Are Harmful\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e, Nielsen Norman Group\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"conclusion\"\u003eConclusion\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn summary, avoid inline placeholder text in search boxes. The best solution is to have clear, visible labels and placeholders that are placed outside the box.\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
  ]
}