How to Center An Image Horizontally and Vertically in CSS

.center-hor {
  text-align: center;
} /*horizontal center */
.center-vert {
  position: absolute;
  top: 50%;
  left: 50%;
  transform: translate(-50%, -50%);
} /*vertical center*/

How many times have you had to Google 'how to center an image in CSS'? It has been too many times to count for me. As a result, I wanted make a snippet on all the ways you can center an image in CSS.

The purpose of the snippet post is so you can grab the code at the top of the post. This will allow you to quickly cut and paste the code you need to center CSS images.

For this snippet we are going to refer to the HTML below.

<div class="img-container">
  <img class="lazyload .center" src="path/to/image" />
</div>

CSS Image Center Horizontally

Currently with CSS images there are three ways to center an image horizontally. I'll go over the three ways, the pro's and con's for each so that you can center an image with CSS in any situation.

Center CSS Image with Text Align

.center {
  text-align: center;
}

It is important to note with this method that the text-align property only works on block level elements.

Center CSS Image with Margin

.center {
  display: block;
  margin: auto;
  width: 50%;
}

Centering an image with margin:auto is a great way to get the job done. However, you need to ensure it is used with two other properties.

The first is display:block as the margin:auto property only works on block level elements. As, Img elements are inline elements you will need to convert them to block level elements.

The second property is the width property. In order for the margins to move to the center you need to ensure there is empty space. Therefore, you must set the width to less than 100%.

Center CSS Image Horizontally with Flex

.img-container {
  display: flex;
  justify-content: center;
}

.img {
  width: 50%;
}

Setting the parent container of the image to display:flex allows you to center the image horizontally. In order to move the image to the center of the container you must specify the justify-content property to have a value of center.

Like with the margin horizontal centering method, you need to ensure you set the image to less than 100% of the width of the parent container.

Just note with this method that everything else in the parent container will be centered horizontally.

Alright those three methods should allow you to center any image horizontally. Let's look at how to center an image vertically.

CSS Image Center Vertically

Notably with CSS images there are two key ways to center an image vertically. I'll go over the two ways, the pro's and con's for each so that you can center an image vertically with CSS in an situation.

Center CSS Image with Position Absolute

.img-container {
  position: relative;
}

.center {
  position: absolute;
  left: 50%;
  top: 50%;
  transform: translate(-50%, -50%);
}

To center a CSS image vertically, you can use the position property with a value of absolute on the img element. The first thing you need to do, is to set the parent container to have a position value of relative. This is a must and you can learn why in my ridiculously simple guide to the position property.

Next, you set the left and top properties to 50%. What this means is that you line up the left and top edges of the image with the center of the browser. However, this actually makes the image appear to be off-center.

Therefore, you use the transformation property with the translate method to move the div -50% along the x and y axis. This will have the image aligned nicely to the vertical center of the parent elements position on the page.

Center CSS Image Vertically with Flex

.img-container {
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
}

.center {
  width: 50%;
}

As with the horizontal centering we can center an image using flex-box. This time in order to move the image to the center of the container you must specify the align-items property to have a value of center.

Like with the margin horizontal centering method, you need to ensure you set the image to less than 100% of the width of the parent container.

Again, with this method everything else in the parent container will be centered vertically.

Center CSS Image Vertically and Horizontally

So far we have seen how to center a CSS image either horizontally or vertically. But, we have not seen how to do both at once.

Let's see how to center an image horizontally and vertically at the same time.

.img-container {
  display: flex;
  justify-content: center;
  align-items: center;
}

.center {
  width: 50%;
}

We can use flex-box to center an image horizontally and vertically. To do so we must use both the justify-content and align-items property on the parent container of the image. All we then have to do is give them both the value of center and bobs your uncle, that image is centered both horizontally and vertically.

These are the most common methods for centering an image both horizontally and vertically in CSS. In most cases, this will be enough for you to get your image to the position you want on the page. Of course there are other methods and I'd love for you to DM me on twitter to let me know what they are.