Perhaps... with caution.
In certain browsers, it is possible to style the :before
pseudo element on the placeholder, but it's not recommended to do so directly in the placeholder attribute itself:
::-webkit-input-placeholder {
color: #ABABAB;
font-style: italic;
}
:-moz-placeholder { /* Firefox 18- */
color: #ABABAB;
font-style: italic;
}
::-moz-placeholder { /* Firefox 19+ */
color: #ABABAB;
font-style: italic;
}
:-ms-input-placeholder {
color: #ABABAB;
font-style: italic;
}
/* prepend the 'Search' prefix */
::-webkit-input-placeholder:before {
content: "Search ";
font-style: normal;
}
:-moz-placeholder:before {
content: "Search ";
font-style: normal;
}
::-moz-placeholder:before {
content: "Search ";
font-style: normal;
}
:-ms-input-placeholder:before {
content: "Search ";
font-style: normal;
}
<textarea placeholder="(example: brown fox)" required="required"></textarea>
While this technique may work in Chrome, results can vary. It's important to note that styling placeholders in this way may not be universally supported and goes against best practices as they are meant to provide users with guidance rather than purely aesthetic enhancements.
It's advisable to refrain from extensively modifying placeholders beyond basic font and color adjustments.
For more information, visit: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Element/input#attr-placeholder.
An effective form design incorporates the use of label
, placeholder
, and title
attributes to clearly communicate input expectations. Modern browsers leverage the title
attribute when prompting users to correct invalid field entries. Consider this example:
<form>
<label>Search:
<input name="searchterms"
type="search"
placeholder="keyword/s"
required="required"
title="Space-separated keywords only" />
</label>
<input type="submit" value="go" />
</form>