# How to center text with HTML centering The `
` tag for centering text in HTML was deprecated in HTML5. CSS is now used to center text. Utilizing the `text-align` property within the `style` tag makes code cleaner and helps prevent potential errors. ## How to center text using the html center tag Today, the CSS command `text-align` is used for HTML centering, i.e., centering text in an HTML document. This instruction is used to horizontally format text. For a long time, the now obsolete HTML `
` tag was used for this purpose. However, with the introduction of [HTML5](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/websites/web-development/what-is-html5/), the tag is **no longer supported**. ## How to achieve HTML centering with `text-align` in CSS Since HTML5, you store the instruction to center text in HTML in the [style tag](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/websites/web-development/html-tag-style/). The easiest way to illustrate this process is with an easy example. In the following code, we’ll center the headline, the text and an [HTML div](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/websites/web-development/html-div-tag/) container in an HTML document: ```html

Here’s your heading

Here’s where your content goes.

Here you’ll find a div.
``` The structure of the document is determined in advance, ensuring that the code remains organized and helping to prevent errors. ## How did the obsolete HTML `
` tag work? In older versions of the language, the [HTML tag](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/websites/web-development/html-tags/) `
` was used to center HTML text. However, since it’s obsolete and no longer supported, it’s best to **use the CSS solution** instead. For the sake of comparison though, we’ll go over its syntax and show you an example of how the HTML `
` tag was used. First, let’s take a look at the syntax: ```html

Text

``` Unlike modern solutions, the code had to be changed directly in the [HTML body](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/websites/web-development/html-body/) to center text. Depending on the scope and structure, this often resulted in **messy code** that was more susceptible to errors: ```html

Here is a text that has not been centered.

Here is a text that has been centered.

``` The result looks something like this: [![Image: HTML centering example](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/fileadmin/_processed_/2/2/csm_html-centering-example_f39fd935a0.webp "HTML centering example")](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/fileadmin/DigitalGuide/Screenshots_2024/html-centering-example.png) In the example you can see that the text is placed in the middle of the center tag. Tip You can find everything you need to know about [Hypertext Markup Language](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/websites/web-development/what-is-html/) in our Digital Guide. Here, we explain how to take your [first steps with HTML](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/websites/web-development/learning-html-a-beginners-tutorial/) and how to [integrate CSS into HTML](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/websites/web-design/linking-css-to-html/), using lots of practical examples. This is a markdown version of: [https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/websites/web-development/html-centering/](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/websites/web-development/html-centering/) for AI/LLM consumption.