Placeholder Image Generator: Create Custom Placeholder Images for Mockups

Every design mockup and frontend prototype needs placeholder images. Whether you are building a blog layout, testing a product grid, or wireframing a landing page, you need images with exact dimensions to see how the real content will fit. Generating them on the spot saves you from hunting through stock photo sites or resizing screenshots.

Why Use Placeholder Images?

Placeholder images serve a specific purpose in the design and development workflow. They fill the space where real content will eventually go, letting you focus on layout, spacing, and responsiveness without getting distracted by actual imagery.

Common Use Cases

• Wireframes and mockups: Show clients how a layout works before final assets are ready
• Frontend development: Test responsive image behavior with exact dimensions
• Email templates: Verify image slots render correctly across email clients
• CMS development: Populate content templates during theme development
• Documentation: Illustrate image size requirements in style guides
• Prototyping: Build interactive prototypes with realistic proportions

How Placeholder Dimensions Work

The most important property of a placeholder image is its size. Different contexts require different aspect ratios:

Context	Common Size	Aspect Ratio
Hero banner	1200x600	2:1
Blog thumbnail	400x300	4:3
Social card (OG image)	1200x630	~1.9:1
Avatar / profile photo	200x200	1:1
Product card	300x400	3:4
Full-width banner	1920x480	4:1

Getting these dimensions right during development prevents layout shifts when real images are swapped in later. If your placeholder is 400x400 but the real image is 400x300, your layout will jump when the content goes live.

How to Use Our Placeholder Image Generator

1. Set the width and height in pixels for the image you need
2. Choose a background color — pick from presets or enter a custom hex code
3. Choose a text color — make sure it contrasts well against the background
4. Add display text — the default shows dimensions, but you can enter custom labels like “Hero Image” or “Product Photo”
5. Generate and download your placeholder image instantly

Customization Options

Colors: Custom background and text colors let you match your project’s color palette. This is especially useful when presenting mockups to clients — branded placeholder colors look more polished than generic gray boxes.

Text: By default, the tool displays the image dimensions (e.g., “1200 x 630”) which is helpful during development. Custom text lets you label each placeholder with its intended purpose, making handoff to content teams clearer.

Practical Tips

• Match real aspect ratios early. If your design calls for 16:9 hero images, generate placeholders at 1600x900 — not 800x600. This prevents layout surprises later.
• Use distinct colors for different slots. When a page has multiple image areas, give each placeholder a different background color so you can quickly identify which slot is which during development.
• Include the size in the text. When handing designs to other developers, dimension labels eliminate guesswork about what size images need to be produced.
• Test retina sizes. If you serve 2x images for high-DPI screens, generate placeholders at double the display size to verify your srcset and sizes attributes work correctly.
• Use placeholders in component libraries. When building reusable components in Storybook or similar tools, placeholder images with labeled dimensions make props and layout behavior self-documenting.

Placeholder Images vs. Real Images During Development

Some teams skip placeholders entirely and use random stock photos during development. This creates problems:

• Inconsistent dimensions cause layout shifts between pages
• Heavy file sizes slow down development builds
• Licensing issues if stock photos accidentally ship to production
• Distraction from the actual design and layout work

Placeholder images keep your focus on structure. They load instantly, have exact dimensions, and make it obvious which areas still need final content.

Frequently Asked Questions

What format are the generated images? The tool generates PNG images, which work everywhere — browsers, email clients, design tools, and documentation.

Can I use these placeholders in production? They are intended for development and design workflows. For production, replace them with optimized real images. However, they work well as permanent fallback images for content that has not been uploaded yet.

What is the maximum image size I can generate? You can generate images up to several thousand pixels in each dimension. For most use cases, sizes between 100x100 and 2000x2000 cover everything you need.

Do the placeholder images have any watermarks? No. The images are clean with just your chosen background color and text. They are ready to use in any context without visual clutter.

Can I match my brand colors? Yes. Enter any hex color code for both the background and text, so your placeholders can align with your project’s design system.

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Try our free Placeholder Image Generator to create custom placeholder images for your projects instantly.