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How to Center a Video in HTML

how_to_center_video_in_html

Centering a video in HTML is a fundamental skill for web developers, crucial for creating visually appealing and well-structured web pages. Properly centering videos ensures they are displayed prominently and harmoniously within their container, enhancing the overall user experience and encouraging viewers to stay longer on your site.

In this guide, we’ll discuss various methods on how to center video in HTML and CSS, from straightforward techniques to more advanced styling options. Whether you’re embedding a video for a portfolio, blog, or any other web project, these techniques will help you achieve a polished and professional layout. Let’s dive into the essentials of video centering and learn how to center a video in HTML!

In this article:

How to Center a Video in HTML With the “<div>” Tag With “text-align:center”
How to Center a Video in HTML Using Flexbox
Centering HTML Video With Margin and Display Style
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Centering Videos in HTML

How to Center a Video in HTML With the “<div>” Tag With “text-align:center”

Text-align is a CSS property used to specify the horizontal alignment of text within an element. However, it can also align inline elements, like images or videos, when placed inside a block-level container, such as a <div>.

When you set text-align: center;, the inline content within the container is centered horizontally. It can be set to different values like left, center, right, or justify to achieve various text alignment styles.

To center a video in HTML using the <div> tag and the text-align property, you can wrap the video element inside a <div> and apply a text-align: center; style to the <div>. This method works well when the video is an inline element within the container. To do this, let’s begin by creating a simple HTML page:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <title>Center Video with Div</title>
</head>
<body>
</body

Next, inside the <head> tag, let’s create a <style> tag where we define the .center class as follows:

    <style>
        .center {
            text-align: center;
        }
    </style>

Finally, inside our <body> tag, we will define our <div> element containing our video. We will then assign the <div> our .center class as follows:

    <div class="center">
        <video width="600" controls>
            <source src="https://res.cloudinary.com/videoapi-demo/video/upload/v1/samples/roadtrip_preview_xle9vy?_a=DATAdtAAZAA0" type="video/mp4">
        </video>
    </div>

Here is what our HTML page looks like:

how_to_center_video_in_html

How to Center a Video in HTML Using Flexbox

Flexbox is a powerful CSS layout module that allows you to align items on the page in various ways, making it especially useful for centering elements. Flexbox can easily center elements both horizontally and vertically, which makes it ideal for centering a video on a web page.

To center a video using Flexbox, we will first begin by defining a .flex-container class inside the style tag:

        <style>
            .flex-container {
                display: flex;
                justify-content: center; /* Center horizontally */
                align-items: center; /* Center vertically */
                height: 100vh; /* Full viewport height */
            }
        </style>

Here, we define the display property as flex which transforms the container element into a flexbox container, while the justify-content: center horizontally centers the direct child elements (in this case, the video) within the flex container. Finally, align-items: center vertically aligns the direct child elements along the cross-axis of the flex container, which, in this case, is the center.

Now, we simply define our <div> container as follows:

    <div class="flex-container">
            <video width="600" controls>
                <source src="https://res.cloudinary.com/videoapi-demo/video/upload/v1/samples/roadtrip_preview_xle9vy?_a=DATAdtAAZAA0" type="video/mp4">
            </video>
    </div>

Here is what our HTML page looks like:

how_to_center_video_in_html

Centering HTML Video With Margin and Display Style

Another effective way to center a video in HTML is by using the margin and display properties. The display property in CSS determines how an element is displayed on the web page.

There are several possible values for display, such as block, inline, flex, etc. Understanding these values is crucial when it comes to centering elements:

block: A block-level element takes up the full width available and starts on a new line. By setting an element’s display to block and adjusting margins, you can center it within its container.
inline: Inline elements do not start on a new line and only take up as much width as necessary. To center inline elements like images or videos, you often use text-align: center; on the parent element.

Understanding how these different display properties interact with other CSS properties like margin, text-align, and position will give you better control over the layout of your web pages, including effectively centering videos.

Now that we know how the different display properties work let’s center our video using the block property. To do this, like before, we begin by defining a <style> tag inside our <head> tag:

        <style>
            video.center {
                display: block;
                margin-left: auto;
                margin-right: auto;
            }
        </style>

Here we define the display property as block, so that it may take up the entire width of the <div> element. Next we set equal left and right margins with the auto value to center the video horizontally:

<style>
    video.center {
        display: block;
        margin-left: auto;
        margin-right: auto;
    }
</style>

Finally, we apply the class to our <div> element:

    <video class="center" width="600" controls>
            <source src="https://res.cloudinary.com/videoapi-demo/video/upload/v1/samples/roadtrip_preview_xle9vy?_a=DATAdtAAZAA0" type="video/mp4">
    </video>

Here is what our page looks like:

how_to_center_video_in_html

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Centering Videos in HTML

Centering videos in HTML might seem simple, but several common pitfalls can undermine your efforts. Avoiding these mistakes will help make sure your videos are displayed correctly and maintain a positive user experience:

Neglecting Responsive Design: Failing to account for various screen sizes can lead to videos that don’t center properly on mobile devices or smaller screens. Always use responsive design techniques, such as flexible containers and media queries, to ensure your videos look great on all devices.
Overlooking Parent Container Styles: Sometimes, the issue lies not with the video itself but with its parent container. Ensure that the parent container is properly styled with display properties like flex or grid to facilitate accurate centering.
Forgetting Browser Compatibility: Different browsers may interpret CSS rules differently. Test your video centering technique across multiple browsers to ensure consistent results and consider using vendor prefixes if necessary.
Not Testing on Multiple Devices: Centering methods that work on a desktop might not work as well on tablets or smartphones. Always test your layout on various devices to confirm that the video is centered as expected across different platforms.

Final Thoughts

Centering videos in HTML is crucial to creating a visually appealing and user-friendly web design, but it’s easy to fall into common traps that undermine your efforts. By avoiding pitfalls such as neglecting responsive design, using fixed widths, and overlooking aspect ratios, you can ensure that your videos are properly aligned and enhance the overall experience for your visitors.

Tools like Cloudinary can also streamline this process by offering efficient video management and optimization features. With Cloudinary, you can not only handle video centering but also ensure seamless delivery across various devices and platforms.

By applying the best practices outlined in this article and leveraging powerful tools, you’ll be well-equipped to center your videos effectively and create a polished, professional web presence.

Matthew Noyes

In my experience, here are tips that can help you better center videos and enhance their presentation in HTML layouts:

Use CSS Grid for complex layouts
If your page layout involves multiple elements and precise alignment, consider using CSS Grid instead of Flexbox. Grid provides more flexibility for placing items in rows and columns, allowing you to center your video along both axes while maintaining a complex layout structure. Use properties like display: grid; and place-items: center; to achieve this.
Avoid hardcoding dimensions for responsive design
Instead of specifying fixed widths (e.g., width set to 600px), use percentage-based widths like width: 100%; with a max-width value. This ensures your video scales appropriately on different devices, maintaining responsiveness and preventing overflow issues on smaller screens. Always set height: auto; to preserve the aspect ratio.
Center videos inside containers with padding techniques
Use padding to maintain aspect ratios and center videos in situations where Flexbox or Grid is overkill. Applying padding-top or padding-bottom with percentage values based on the aspect ratio (e.g., 56.25% for 16:9) helps maintain consistent centering without relying on absolute positioning.
Use viewport-based units for video dimensions
For a centered video on full-screen backgrounds, consider using viewport-based units like vw and vh. For example, setting the video’s width to 50vw will make it occupy half the screen width. This is useful when working on designs where video size should be proportional to the screen size.
Leverage CSS transforms for precise centering
When working with absolute positioning, combine position: absolute; top: 50%; left: 50%; with a CSS transform: translate(-50%, -50%);. This technique is ideal for ensuring exact centering within containers that don’t automatically adjust based on content size.
Set overflow styles for better control
When dealing with videos inside containers, use overflow: hidden; on the parent div to prevent any part of the video from spilling out during scaling or screen resizing. This technique is especially helpful if the video or its container has rounded corners or a custom shape.
Avoid wrapping videos in unnecessary containers
For simple layouts, avoid adding extra div containers just for centering purposes. Modern CSS properties like display: block; margin: auto; can directly center videos without needing additional elements, reducing markup complexity.
Use a consistent approach for centering across media types
When mixing images, videos, and other media, apply the same centering technique (e.g., Flexbox or Grid) for consistency. This ensures your content maintains a uniform layout and alignment, avoiding the need for separate rules for each media type.
Consider the video’s aspect ratio during centering
Always ensure your centering method takes the video’s aspect ratio into account. A commonly overlooked issue is incorrect scaling that distorts the video or leaves black bars. Use aspect-ratio-aware CSS rules to prevent unwanted stretching or clipping.
Test centering techniques on different screen sizes
Before finalizing your design, test your video centering on multiple devices and screen sizes. Use responsive tools and browser emulators to confirm that the video remains properly centered and retains its visual integrity across all environments.

Last updated: Oct 3, 2024