Flash cards
Review the key moves
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.
Which statement best captures the main point of this lesson?
Complete the missing token from the example code.
___: block;Put the learning moves in the order that makes the concept easiest to apply.
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
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
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
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
div {
display: grid;
place-items: center;
height: 600px;
border: 1px solid
black;
}
img {
width: 50%;
}Live preview