<center> HTML centered text element

Deprecated: This feature is no longer recommended. Though some browsers might still support it, it may have already been removed from the relevant web standards, may be in the process of being dropped, or may only be kept for compatibility purposes. Avoid using it, and update existing code if possible; see the compatibility table at the bottom of this page to guide your decision. Be aware that this feature may cease to work at any time.

The <center> HTML element is a block-level element that displays its block-level or inline contents centered horizontally within its containing element. The container is usually, but isn't required to be, <body>.

This tag has been deprecated in HTML 4 (and XHTML 1) in favor of the CSS text-align property, which can be applied to the <div> element or to an individual <p>. For centering blocks, use other CSS properties like margin-left and margin-right and set them to auto (or set margin to 0 auto).

DOM interface

This element implements the HTMLElement interface.

Example 1

html
<center>
  This text will be centered.
  <p>So will this paragraph.</p>
</center>

Result

Example 2 (CSS alternative)

html
<div class="center">
  This text will be centered.
  <p>So will this paragraph.</p>
</div>
css
.center {
  text-align: center;
}

Result

Example 3 (CSS alternative)

html
<p class="center">
  This line will be centered.<br />
  And so will this line.
</p>
css
.center {
  text-align: center;
}

Result

Note: Applying text-align: center to a <div> or <p> element centers the contents of those elements while leaving their overall dimensions unchanged.

Specifications

Specification
HTML
# center

Browser compatibility

desktop mobile
Chrome
Edge
Firefox
Opera
Safari
Chrome Android
Firefox for Android
Opera Android
Safari on iOS
Samsung Internet
WebView Android
WebView on iOS
center
Deprecated
Chrome – Full support
Chrome 1 (Release date: 2008-12-11)
footnote Full support
Edge – Full support
Edge 12 (Release date: 2015-07-29)
footnote Full support
Firefox – Full support
Firefox 1 (Release date: 2004-11-09)
footnote
footnote Before Firefox 4, this element implemented the HTMLSpanElement interface instead of the standard HTMLElement interface.
Opera – Full support
Opera 15 (Release date: 2013-07-02)
footnote Full support
Safari – Full support
Safari 4 (Release date: 2009-06-08)
footnote Full support
Chrome Android – Full support
Chrome Android 18 (Release date: 2012-06-27)
footnote Full support
Firefox for Android – Full support
Firefox for Android 4 (Release date: 2011-03-29)
footnote
footnote Before Firefox for Android 4, this element implemented the HTMLSpanElement interface instead of the standard HTMLElement interface.
Opera Android – Full support
Opera Android 14 (Release date: 2013-05-21)
footnote Full support
Safari on iOS – Full support
Safari on iOS 3.2 (Release date: 2010-04-03)
footnote Full support
Samsung Internet – Full support
Samsung Internet 1 (Release date: 2013-04-27)
footnote Full support
WebView Android – Full support
WebView Android 4.4 (Release date: 2013-12-09)
footnote Full support
WebView on iOS – Full support
WebView on iOS 3.2 (Release date: 2010-04-03)
footnote Full support

Legend

Tip: you can click/tap on a cell for more information.

Full support
Full support
Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.
See implementation notes.

See also