bugl
bugl
HomeLearnPatternsPathsSearch
HomeLearnPatternsPathsSearch

Loading lesson path

Learn/CSS/Advanced Styling
CSS•Advanced Styling

CSS Centering Images

Flash cards

Review the key moves

1/4
Core idea

What is the main idea behind CSS Centering Images?

Lesson checks

Practice each idea before moving on

Short Mimo-style checks built from this lesson's code, terms, and sequence.

1Quick choice

Which statement best captures the main point of this lesson?

2Fill blank

Complete the missing token from the example code.

___: block;
3Order

Put the learning moves in the order that makes the concept easiest to apply.

Using display: flex
Using margin: auto
Center an Image Horizontally

Centering Images

With CSS, you can center images with several methods.

An image can be centered horizontally, vertically, or both.

Center an Image Horizontally

To display a horizontally centered image, we can use margin: auto; or display: flex; .

Using margin: auto

One way to center an image horizontally on a page is to use margin: auto .

Since the <img> element is an inline element by default (and margin: auto does not have any effect on inline elements) we must convert the image to a block element, with display: block .

In addition, we have to define a width . The width of the image must be smaller than the width of the page.

Here is a horizontally centered image using margin: auto :

Example

Formatted code
img {
  display: block;
  margin: auto;
  width: 50%;
}

Live preview

Using display: flex

Another way to center an image horizontally on a page is to use display: flex .

Here, we put the <img> element inside a <div> container.

We add the following CSS to the div container:

  • display: flex
  • justify-content: center (centers the image horizontally in the div container)

Then, we set a width for the image. The width of the image must be smaller than the width of the page.

Here is a horizontally centered image using display: flex :

Example

Formatted code
div {
  display: flex;
  justify-content: center;
}
img {
  width: 50%;
}

Live preview

Vertical and Horizontal Centering

To display an image that is both vertically and horizontally centered (true centering), we can use display: flex; or display: grid; .

Using display: flex

To display an image that is both vertically and horizontally centered with flexbox , we use a combination of:

  • display: flex;
  • justify-content: center; (centers the image horizontally in the container)
  • align-items: center; (centers the image vertically in the container)
  • height: 600px; (the height of the container)

Here, we also put the <img> element inside a <div> container.

Then, we set a width for the image (must be smaller than the width of the container).

Here is a vertically and horizontally centered image with flexbox:

Example

Formatted code
div {
  display: flex;
  justify-content: center;
  align-items: center;
  height: 600px;
  border: 1px solid
  black;
}
img {
  width: 50%;
}

Live preview

Using display: grid

To display an image that is both vertically and horizontally centered with grid , we use a combination of:

  • display: grid;
  • place-items: center; (centers the image horizontally and vertically in the container)
  • height: 600px; (the height of the container)

Here, we also put the <img> element inside a <div> container.

Then, we set a width for the image (must be smaller than the width of the container).

Here is a vertically and horizontally centered image with grid:

Example

Formatted code
div {
  display: grid;
  place-items: center;
  height: 600px;
  border: 1px solid
  black;
}
img {
  width: 50%;
}

Live preview

Previous

CSS Responsive Modal Images

Next

CSS Image Filter Effects