Why is the `<center>` tag deprecated in HTML?

html

responsive-design

best-practices

css

byAlex Kataev·Sep 29, 2024

The <center> tag is deprecated owing to its violation of the separation of concern between HTML (content structure) and CSS (presentation). By using CSS, like text-align: center; for text, and display: flex; justify-content: center; for block elements, we gain flexibility to customize designs and provide cleaner, up-to-date code.

CSS Example: (Now with the approved joke-comment)

.text-center { 
    text-align: center; /* Look mom, no <center> */
}
.flex-center { 
    display: flex; 
    justify-content: center; /* Flex it out, center's out! */
}

HTML Usage: (With a wink)

<p class="text-center">This text found its in the middle. Way to go!</p>
<div class="flex-center"><div>No <center> tags were harmed in the centering of this block.</div></div>

Key point: It's about promoting a cleaner approach to web design, emphasizing structure (HTML) and style (CSS) independently.

Center tag vs. modern standards

HTML4 ushered in a shift towards structural markup, leaving presentation to CSS, resulting in <center> getting the boot. This separation improves interoperability and accessibility, ensuring smooth interaction across diverse user agents.

Center tag issues and CSS alternative

<p class="text-center">This text found its in the middle. Way to go!</p> Despite its ease of use, `<center>` often led to **inconsistent rendering** across different browsers. In contrast, CSS provides **flexible**, **consistent** ways to align and justify content. Plus, it paves the way for a maintainable coding strategy with **centralized style changes**.

Expanding centering capabilities with CSS

Beyond basic centering, CSS lends unprecedented control and flexibility. You can center block elements horizontally using margin: 0 auto; and apply justify-content: center; align-items: center; using Flex layout for horizontal and vertical centering.

CSS Example: (Humor on point)

.block-center { 
    margin: 0 auto; /* Auto-margins, transform and roll out! */
}
.flex-center-both { 
    display: flex; 
    justify-content: center; 
    align-items: center; /* Find your center, my young padawan */
}
.grid-center {
    display: grid; 
    place-items: center; /* with great grid, comes great centered-content */
}

Adaptable and future-proof web design

CSS not only replaces <center>, but also eases the transition to adaptive design. With continuously varying device sizes, media queries are critical for building layouts that accommodate individual environments, leading to responsive and intuitive designs.

Reusability benefits

Creating reusable CSS classes minimizes redundancy, promoting DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) coding practices. Compare the two approaches below for further clarity:

HTML Without Reusability:

<center><p>Text 1</p></center>
<center><div>Block 1</div></center>

HTML With Reusability: (Light-hearted flavor)

<p class="text-center"><!-- Center? Never heard of her. -- Text 1</p>
<div class="block-center"><!-- Seriously, still using <center>? BLOCKed! --> Block 1</div>

Legacy attachment and moving forward

Old habits die hard. Despite acknowledging the drawbacks of <center>, developers may yield to familiarity or simplicity. Shedding this legacy attachment is vital for adopting modern web development best practices.

explain-codes / Html / Why is the <center> tag deprecated in HTML?

Linked

Html span align center not working?



Aligning a float:left div to center?



How to center content in a Bootstrap column?



Css center content inside div



Vertical align with Tailwind CSS across full screen div

