Skip to main content

CSS Horizontal & Vertical Align

Center Align Elements​

To horizontally center a block element (like <div>), use margin: auto;

Setting the width of the element will prevent it from stretching out to the edges of its container.

The element will then take up the specified width, and the remaining space will be split equally between the two margins:

.center {  
	margin:  auto;  
	width:  50%;  
	border:  3px solid green;  
	padding:  10px;  
}

Example centered element

note

Center aligning has no effect if the width property is not set (or set to 100%).

Center Align Text​

To just center the text inside an element, use text-align: center;

.center {  
	text-align:  center;  
	border:  3px solid green;  
}

Example centered text

Center an Image​

To center an image, set left and right margin to auto and make it into a block element:

img {  
	display:  block;  
	margin-left:  auto;  
	margin-right:  auto;  
	width:  40%;  
}

Example centered image

Left and Right Align​

Using position​

One method for aligning elements is to use position: absolute;:

.right {  
	position:  absolute;  
	right:  0px;  
	width:  300px;  
	border:  3px solid #73AD21;  
	padding:  10px;  
}

Example align using position

note

Absolute positioned elements are removed from the normal flow, and can overlap elements.

Using float​

Another method for aligning elements is to use the float property:

.right {  
	float:  right;  
	width:  300px;  
	border:  3px solid #73AD21;  
	padding:  10px;  
}

The clearfix Trick​

note

If an element is taller than the element containing it, and it is floated, it will overflow outside of its container. You can use the "clearfix hack" to fix this (see example below).

Example align with clearfix

Then we can add the clearfix hack to the containing element to fix this problem:

.clearfix::after {  
	content:  "";  
	clear:  both;  
	display:  table;  
}

Center Vertically​

Using padding​

There are many ways to center an element vertically in CSS. A simple solution is to use top and bottom padding:

.center {  
	padding:  70px 0;  
	border:  3px solid green;  
}

Example align vertically with padding

To center both vertically and horizontally, use padding and text-align: center:

.center {  
	padding:  70px 0;  
	border:  3px solid green;  
	text-align:  center;  
}

Example align vertically and horizontally with padding

Using line-height​

Another trick is to use the line-height property with a value that is equal to the height property:

.center {  
	line-height:  200px;  
	height:  200px;  
	border:  3px solid green;  
	text-align:  center;  
}  
  
/* If the text has multiple lines, add the following: */  
.center p {  
	line-height:  1.5;  
	display:  inline-block;  
	vertical-align:  middle;  
}

Example align vertically and horizontally with line-height

Using position & transform​

If padding and line-height are not options, another solution is to use positioning and the transform property:

.center {  
	height:  200px;  
	position:  relative;  
	border:  3px solid green;  
}  
  
.center p {  
	margin:  0;  
	position:  absolute;  
	top:  50%;  
	left:  50%;  
	transform:  translate(-50%, -50%);  
}

Example align vertically and horizontally with position and transform

Using Flexbox​

You can also use flexbox to center things. Just note that flexbox is not supported in IE10 and earlier versions:

.center {  
	display:  flex;  
	justify-content:  center;  
	align-items:  center;  
	height:  200px;  
	border:  3px solid green;  
}

Example align vertically and horizontally with flexbox

Table of Contents