Placeholders
Use loading placeholders for your components or pages to indicate something may still be loading.
Examples
In the example below, we take a typical card component and recreate it with placeholders applied to create a “loading card”. Size and proportions are the same between the two.
Card title
Some quick example text to build on the card title and make up the bulk of the card's content.
Go somewhereCode Example
<div class="card card-bordered"> <img src="./images/slides/slide-a.jpg" class="card-img-top" alt=""> <div class="card-body"> <h5 class="card-title">Card title</h5> <p class="card-text">Some quick example text to build on the card title and make up the bulk of the card's content.</p> <a href="#" class="btn btn-primary">Go somewhere</a> </div> </div> <div class="card card-bordered placeholder-glow" aria-hidden="true"> <img src="./images/slides/slide-a.jpg" class="card-img-top placeholder" alt=""> <div class="card-body"> <h5 class="card-title placeholder-glow"> <span class="placeholder col-6"></span> </h5> <p class="card-text placeholder-glow"> <span class="placeholder col-7"></span> <span class="placeholder col-4"></span> <span class="placeholder col-4"></span> <span class="placeholder col-6"></span> <span class="placeholder col-8"></span> </p> <a class="btn btn-primary disabled placeholder col-6" aria-disabled="true"></a> </div> </div>
How it works
Create placeholders with the
.placeholder
class and a grid column
class (e.g., .col-6
) to set the
width
. They can replace the text inside
an element or be added as a modifier class to an
existing component.
We apply additional styling to
.btns
via ::before
to
ensure the height
is respected. You may
extend this pattern for other situations as needed,
or add a
within the element to
reflect the height when actual text is rendered in
its place.
Code Example
<p aria-hidden="true"> <span class="placeholder col-6"></span> </p> <a class="btn btn-primary disabled placeholder col-4" aria-disabled="true"></a>
Width
You can change the width
through grid
column classes, width utilities, or inline styles.
Code Example
<span class="placeholder col-6"></span> <span class="placeholder w-75"></span> <span class="placeholder" style="width: 25%;"></span>
Color
By default, the placeholder
uses
currentColor
. This can be overridden
with a custom color or utility class.
Code Example
<span class="placeholder col-12"></span> <span class="placeholder col-12 bg-primary"></span> <span class="placeholder col-12 bg-secondary"></span> <span class="placeholder col-12 bg-success"></span> <span class="placeholder col-12 bg-danger"></span> <span class="placeholder col-12 bg-warning"></span> <span class="placeholder col-12 bg-info"></span> <span class="placeholder col-12 bg-light"></span> <span class="placeholder col-12 bg-dark"></span>
Sizing
The size of .placeholders
are based on
the typographic style of the parent element.
Customize them with sizing modifiers:
placeholder-lg
,
.placeholder-sm
, or
.placeholder-xs
.
Code Example
<span class="placeholder col-12 placeholder-lg"></span> <span class="placeholder col-12"></span> <span class="placeholder col-12 placeholder-sm"></span> <span class="placeholder col-12 placeholder-xs"></span>
Animation
Animate placeholders with
.placeholder-glow
or
.placeholder-wave
to better convey the
perception of something being actively loaded.
Code Example
<p class="placeholder-glow"> <span class="placeholder col-12"></span> </p> <p class="placeholder-wave"> <span class="placeholder col-12"></span> </p>