I’ll let you in on a little secret. Nothing turns me off
from your website quicker than big chunks of centered text. To me it screams out “amateur”!
I find it distracting, and not in a good way.
Chances are I’m not alone in this pet peeve.
How did you initially react to the first paragraph? Did it confuse you? Did you find yourself wondering why this paragraph was not formatted correctly? Did you have a brief moment of “huh?”
In our society, the convention is for Titles to be centered, and for paragraph text to be left-aligned. One reason is that it is easier for our brains to process large chunks of text when there is consistent alignment with each new line. Though largely unconscious, we have to work harder to read text that is centered. Also, the majority of countries read from left to right so this is what we’re used to.
When centered text is appropriate:
1) When you have a title or piece of information that doesn’t take up a whole line or that you want to call attention to.
This is My Title
This is my copy. This is my copy. This is my Copy.This is my copy. This is my copy. This is my Copy. This is my copy. This is my copy. This is my Copy. This is my copy. This is my copy. This is my Copy.
If you have a long title, it is okay to flow to two lines, but break up text so that you don’t have one long line and one short line. And always make the top line wider than the second line. Using different relative font sizes or bold to differentiate one line from the next can make it easier to digest the content.
DONT
This is the Title of a Really Long Blog Post on Why I Hate Centered Text and Why Your Readers Do Too
by Sara Lorien Smith
DO
This is the Title of a Really Long Blog Post on Why I Hate
Centered Text and Why Your Readers Do Too
by Sara Lorien Smith
2) When you are presenting information about time and place (like on an invitation).
4th of July Bash
Date: July 4, 2016
Where: SkyPark, Scotts Valley, CA
Time: 4pm – 7pm
3) When quoting someone. Start a new line, then center the quote. However, if the quote is more than a few lines, your best bet is to create a left tab or margin.
“There is a time and place for centered text.” – Sara Lorien Smith
“Nothing turns me off from your website quicker than big chunks of centered text. To me it screams out “amateur”! I find it distracting, and not in a good way.“
– Sara Lorien Smith
None of the above examples require you to center the text. It can just add an air of formality to your document or emphasize something important. In general, I advise you to error on the side of left alignment if you’re unsure.
