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Placeholder Image Generator
This free Placeholder Image Generator makes a dummy image at exactly the size you need — a 300×250 ad box, a 728×90 banner, a 1200×630 social card — with your choice of background colour, text colour and label, ready to download as a PNG or JPG. Designers and developers use placeholders to build layouts before the real photos exist. The image is drawn on a canvas in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Sizes from 1 × 1 up to 4000 × 4000 pixels. The preview shrinks to fit this page — the downloaded file is always full size.
How to use this tool
- Click a preset size, or type your own width and height in pixels.
- Pick a background colour and a text colour that reads well on it.
- Add a label if you like — leave it empty and the image labels itself with its dimensions.
- Choose PNG or JPG and press Download Image.
How placeholder images work
A placeholder is a stand-in: a real file with the exact dimensions of a picture that does not exist yet, so a layout can be built, tested and shown to a client before the photography arrives. This generator draws yours on an HTML canvas — a rectangle filled with your background colour, a hairline border, and the label centred in a bold font sized to the box:
The label defaults to the dimensions themselves — “1200 × 630” — because that is what a designer checking a layout actually needs to read. PNG is the sharper, slightly larger file and keeps the colours exact; JPG is smaller and fine for photographic slots. Either way the downloaded file is pixel-for-pixel the size you asked for: a 728 × 90 request is a 728 × 90 file, never a scaled look-alike.
| Size | Known as | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| 300 × 250 | Medium Rectangle | Ads, sidebars, cards |
| 728 × 90 | Leaderboard | Top-of-page banners, ads |
| 300 × 600 | Half Page | Tall sidebar ads |
| 1200 × 630 | Social / Open Graph | Link previews on social apps |
| 1080 × 1080 | Square | Instagram posts, product grids |
| 1280 × 720 | HD 720p | YouTube thumbnails |
| 1920 × 1080 | Full HD | Hero images, wallpapers |
Two habits make placeholders earn their keep. First, generate at the real display size of the slot — a layout tested with the wrong size is a layout tested wrong. Second, use a label that says something (“Homepage hero — pending”) while a project is in motion; the day a placeholder survives into a launch by mistake, a clear label is the difference between a laugh and a complaint.
Worked example
A shop owner is building her homepage and the banner photograph is still with the photographer. She clicks the 1200 × 630 preset, leaves the label empty, and downloads the PNG. The file arrives as placeholder-1200x630.png — a grey 1200 × 630 image with “1200 × 630” written across the middle. She drops it into the banner slot, checks the page on her phone, and the layout holds its shape around it. When the real photograph lands next week, it swaps into a space that is already exactly right.
FAQ
What is a placeholder image?
It is a dummy image file with exact dimensions — say 1200 × 630 pixels — used to hold the place of a real picture while a website, app, advert or document is being designed. Because it is a genuine file at the real size, layouts, galleries and upload systems can be built and tested honestly before the final photographs or graphics exist.
Which size placeholder do I need?
The size of the slot the real image will fill. Common ones: 1200 × 630 for social link previews (Open Graph), 300 × 250 for medium-rectangle ads and sidebars, 728 × 90 for leaderboard banners, 1080 × 1080 for Instagram-style squares, 1280 × 720 for YouTube thumbnails and 1920 × 1080 for full-HD hero images. This tool has presets for the popular sizes and accepts any custom size from 1 × 1 to 4000 × 4000.
Should I download PNG or JPG?
PNG keeps colours and edges perfectly sharp and is the safer default for graphics, wireframes and anything with text — like these labelled placeholders. JPG produces smaller files and suits photographic slots where a little softness is invisible. The dimensions are identical either way; only the file weight and edge sharpness differ.
Can I put my own words on the placeholder?
Yes — type anything in the label field and it is drawn in the centre of the image: a project name, 'Hero image — pending', a client's brand, whatever helps your team. Leave the field empty and the label defaults to the dimensions ('1200 × 630'), which is what most designers want when checking that a layout uses the right size.
Why does the preview look smaller than the file?
The preview is scaled down by your browser so a 1920-pixel-wide image can fit inside this page. The downloaded file is always the full, exact size you set — open it in any image viewer and check its properties: the dimensions will match your request pixel for pixel.
Is anything uploaded when I generate an image?
No. The image is drawn on a canvas in your browser and the download is created on your device. No picture, colour or setting leaves your machine, and nothing is stored when you close the page.