We’ve all used Lorem Ipsum. It’s the go-to placeholder when content isn’t ready but here’s the truth: relying on dummy text is quietly sabotaging your design.
Design without real content isn’t really design it’s decoration. Users don’t engage with pretty layouts; they come for the message. And when that message is missing, the design becomes an empty shell. Placeholder text hides real problems. It leads to layouts that break when real content is added, confuses stakeholders, blocks meaningful feedback, and makes user testing almost useless. Worst of all, it creates accessibility issues many designers don’t even notice.
If you’re aiming for user-centered design, Lorem Ipsum doesn’t belong in your process. It’s time to shift to a content-first approach and design with purpose from the start.
The Anatomy of Failure: 4 Ways Lorem Ipsum Corrupts Your Design
Using Lorem Ipsum doesn’t just “fill space” it sets your design up to fail in subtle but serious ways. Here’s how:
Brittle Designs That Break Under Pressure
That clean, balanced layout you created with perfectly sized dummy text? It won’t survive real content. Real headlines are longer. Real copy is messier. Placeholder text gives you a false sense of structure, leading to broken layouts, overflow issues, and lots of last-minute fixes
Take a look at the comparison below:
Here in image it clearly shows how replacing Lorem Ipsum with real text causes layout problems, proving why designing with real content matters from the start.
Confusing Feedback Loops
When stakeholders see gibberish, they focus on colors, fonts, or spacing not the actual message. That means the feedback you get is surface-level and often misleading, delaying real progress and requiring rework once real content enters the picture.
This meme shows how stakeholders often mistake Lorem Ipsum for real content, leading to surface-level feedback instead of meaningful input.
Useless User Testing
How can users test a design if they can’t read it? Placeholder text strips away context, making it impossible to observe how users interact with your content or navigate key flows. You’re not testing usability, you’re testing their ability to guess.
Using placeholder text makes user testing ineffective because participants can’t understand or engage with the content. It’s like asking someone to navigate a burning room and pretending everything’s okay.
Hidden Accessibility Risks
Placeholder text isn’t just a design flaw, it’s a usability issue. For example, form placeholders (instead of proper labels) often disappear when users start typing, creating major issues for people with visual impairments or cognitive challenges.
The Paradigm Shift: Embracing a Content-First Philosophy
Let’s be honest most of us have built designs around empty boxes, then waited on the “real content” to show up later. But here’s the shift smart teams are making: putting content first, not last.
What Does “Content-First” Really Mean?
Content-first design flips the traditional process. Instead of designing a layout and dropping text in afterward, you start by defining the actual message that you want to say and then shape the design around it.
Think of it like a conversation with your user: You wouldn’t start talking by deciding what font to use. You’d think about what you need to say, how you want to say it, and what action you want the other person to take. That’s content-first in a nutshell.
Why It Matters: Real Business Benefits
- Less rework: When content leads, design adapts naturally. No more redesigning when the real copy “doesn’t fit.”
- Faster collaboration: Writers, designers, marketers, and devs can work in sync from the start instead of playing catch-up.
- Better product outcomes: Real messaging creates clearer flows, stronger CTAs, and higher conversions. Users know what to do because the content was designed for them not forced into a template.
In short, content-first design isn’t just better for users it’s smarter for your team and your business. It keeps your message sharp, your design flexible, and your process more efficient from day one.
A Practical Guide: How to Implement a Content-First Workflow
Okay, so you’re sold on the idea of content-first design. But how do you actually make it happen in your workflow? Here’s a simple, three-phase approach to get your team working with real content—from the start.
Phase 1: Discovery & Strategy
Before you design a single pixel, take a step back and understand the story you’re telling.
- Start with a content audit: What content already exists? What’s missing or outdated?
- Analyze the competition: But focus on messaging—not just visuals. How are others communicating similar ideas?
- Talk to users: Real insights from real users help define tone, structure, and purpose.
- Set clear goals: What action should users take? What should they feel, learn, or understand?
This upfront clarity avoids the biggest problem with Lorem Ipsum: designing before you know what you need to say.
Phase 2: Structuring the Conversation
Once you know what needs to be said, begin mapping out how to say it
- Use user journey maps to define what users need at each step.
- Build content wireframes (also called proto-content) using real, rough copy, no boxes, no filler.
- Design layouts that respond to message hierarchy, not just spacing.
This clearly shows how placeholder text hides real intent and misleads the design flow.
Phase 3: Testing the Message
Good content isn’t just written, it’s validated.
- Use highlighter tests: Ask users to mark what they find helpful, confusing, or irrelevant in your draft copy.
- Try close tests: Remove key words or phrases and see if users can still understand the message.
- Run lightweight user tests focused purely on clarity of communication before investing in high-fidelity visuals.
Best-in-Class Example: GOV.UK
If you want to see content-first done right, look no further than GOV.UK. Every page starts with a clear purpose, simple language, and user-focused messaging. The layout follows the message not the other way around. No fluff. No Lorem Ipsum. Just effective communication.
When you lead with content, you avoid last-minute rewrites, design mismatches, and wasted sprints. Instead, you build a product that speaks to users clearly from the first wireframe to final release.
The Modern Arsenal: The End of Excuses
We’ve all heard it “We don’t have the content yet, so let’s just use Lorem Ipsum for now.”
That used to be a valid reason. But now? It’s just an outdated excuse.
The Old Excuse vs. The New Reality
Back in the day, designers worked in a content vacuum. Real copy came late if it came at all. So placeholder text felt like the only way forward.
But today, tools like AI writing assistants and Large Language Models (LLMs) have flipped the game. You can generate realistic, context-aware copy in seconds not just filler, but actual draft content that matches tone, goal, and flow.
So when someone says, “We’ll add the content later,” your response can be:
AI as Your Content Co-Pilot
Modern AI tools like ChatGPT, Notion AI, or plugins in Figma can:
- Instantly generate headlines, CTAs, product descriptions, and error messages based on real user goals.
- Adapt tone and length for different screens (e.g., mobile vs. desktop).
- Provide draft content that’s good enough to design around and even test with.
This means your wireframes and mockups no longer need to rely on Lorem Ipsum. You can design with draft content from the beginning, saving time, reducing rework, and keeping everyone on the same page.
Conclusion: Design with Purpose, Not Placeholders
While Lorem Ipsum may seem like a convenient way to fill space, it ultimately fails to serve your users, your team, or your project goals. Using placeholder text leads to fragile, unrealistic designs, blocks meaningful feedback, and delays important content discussions. Embracing a content-first approach is not just a passing trend, it’s a strategic method that prioritizes the message, fosters early team alignment, and drives better results throughout the design process. To elevate your work, ditch filler text and start designing with real content from the start. Leverage modern tools that help you work faster and smarter, ensuring your designs communicate with clarity and purpose, not placeholders.
