A jQuery class to insert a default value in a textfield which will disappear on focus, and re-appear if the field is empty on blur.
var defaultInputValue = (function( $ ) { this.bind = function( obj, text ) { $( obj ).each(function( index ) { if( getFieldValue( this ) == '' ) { $( this ) .val( text ) .addClass( 'novalue' ) ; } $( this ) .on( 'focus', function() { if( getFieldValue( this ) == text) { $( this ) .val( '' ) .removeClass( 'novalue' ) ; } }) .on( 'blur', function() { if( getFieldValue( this ) == '') { $( this ) .val( text ) .addClass( 'novalue' ) ; } }) ; }); } function getFieldValue( obj ) { return $( obj ).val(); } return this; })( jQuery ); // Use the class on any input field you want by passing the // selector and the default value. jQuery(document).ready(function() { defaultValue.bind( '#footer input.name', 'name' ); defaultValue.bind( 'input.email', 'email address' ); });