Display table centering

Vertically and horizontally centers a child element within its parent element using display: table (as an alternative to flexbox).

<div class="container">
  <div class="center"><span>Centered content</span></div>
</div>

.container {
  border: 1px solid #333;
  height: 250px;
  width: 250px;
}

.center {
  display: table;
  height: 100%;
  width: 100%;
}

.center > span {
  display: table-cell;
  text-align: center;
  vertical-align: middle;
}

Explanation

1. display: table on ‘.center’ allows the element to behave like a <table> HTML element.
2. 100% height and width on ‘.center’ allows the element to fill the available space within its parent element.
3. display: table-cell on ‘.center > span’ allows the element to behave like an HTML element.
4. text-align: center on ‘.center > span’ centers the child element horizontally.
5. vertical-align: middle on ‘.center > span’ centers the child element vertically.

• The outer parent (‘.container’ in this case) must have a fixed height and width.

Browser support

• https://caniuse.com/#search=display%3A%20table