What is Lorem Ipsum?
It's scrambled Latin, adapted from a passage of Cicero's De finibus bonorum et malorum written in 45 BC. Typesetters have used it since the 1500s because it has a natural mix of short and long words, so a layout looks filled in without anyone stopping to read the words.
When to use plain English instead
Latin filler is great for testing type and spacing, but it can hide problems. English words are a little longer on average and break across lines differently, and clients reviewing a mock-up sometimes get stuck on the Latin. The plain English style gives you readable, neutral sentences that won't be mistaken for final copy.
Tips for designers and developers
Use list items to fill menus, feature lists and navigation. Turn on HTML tags to paste straight into a template as <p> or <ul> blocks. And swap the placeholder for real words as early as you can, since real content almost always changes the design.