Placeholder Image Generator — Dummy Images at Any Size
Make a dummy image at any size with your colours and a label, and download it as PNG, JPG, WebP or SVG. Presets for social, ads and hero banners.
Data URLs paste straight into an <img src> or CSS background for a mockup with no external request.
1200 × 630 px · 1.90:1
Images are drawn in your browser; nothing is uploaded. Ready to swap the dummy images for real ones? We produce brand imagery and build the sites they go on. See our design and marketing work.
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This free placeholder image generator creates dummy images for mockups, wireframes and layout tests: pick a size or a preset (the 1200 × 630 share image, an Instagram square, a hero banner, a leaderboard ad), choose the colours, add a label, and download a PNG, JPG, WebP or SVG. The dimensions are printed on the image so anyone looking at the mockup knows what belongs there.
Placeholder services that hand you a URL are convenient until the service is slow, rate-limited or gone, and the client deck you sent last year is full of broken images. A generated file has none of those failure modes. It is also the right tool for testing: a set of exactly-sized dummy images finds the layout that breaks at 300 × 250 before a real ad does.
How to use
- Click a preset or type a width and height in pixels.
- Set the background and text colours. Mid-grey on light grey reads as placeholder; brand colours make a convincing mock.
- Add a label such as “Hero image” or “Product photo”, and keep the dimensions shown so the size is obvious.
- Choose PNG for general use, JPG for photo slots, WebP for the web, or SVG when the image must scale.
- Download, or copy the SVG code or a data URL to paste directly into HTML or CSS.
Frequently asked questions
What is a placeholder or dummy image?
A temporary image used in a design, prototype or test in place of the final one, usually a flat colour block with its dimensions written on it. It holds the space, shows the aspect ratio, and makes it obvious that the real asset is still to come.
Why generate a file instead of using a placeholder URL?
A URL depends on a third-party service being up, fast and free, forever. Files do not. Generated files also work offline, in email mockups, in PDFs and in any tool that cannot fetch remote images, and they do not leak your work-in-progress to a service's logs.
Which format should I choose?
PNG is the safe default. JPG when the slot will hold a photo and you want the mock file size to be realistic. WebP for web mockups. SVG when the placeholder must scale without pixelation or you want to edit the code, for example to change the label in a template.
Can I use these images in a live site?
You can, but you should not for long. A placeholder that ships tells visitors and search engines the page is unfinished. Use them on staging and in designs; swap in real imagery before launch.
What sizes do I need for social media in 2026?
Share image for links (Open Graph): 1200 × 630. Instagram feed: 1080 × 1080 or 1080 × 1350. Stories and Reels: 1080 × 1920. LinkedIn and X feed images: 1200 × 627 works for both. YouTube thumbnail: 1280 × 720. The presets cover these.
Placeholder images as a testing tool
Generate one dummy image per slot at exactly the intended size and drop the set into your template. Anything that stretches, crops or overflows is a layout bug you found before the real photos arrived. Then generate the same slots at the wrong ratio (a square where a wide image should go) to see how the layout copes with what content editors will inevitably upload.
Related free tools
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- Image Resizer — Shrink images by percentage, exact pixel dimensions, or a target file size like 500 KB — all in your browser.
- SVG Editor — Draw shapes, arrows, freehand lines and text on a canvas, then download a clean SVG or PNG. Free, in your browser, no signup.