How to Align a Logo Image to the Center of a Navigation Bar Using HTML and CSS

Centering a logo in a navigation bar is a popular design pattern, especially on modern, minimal websites. Whether you’re building a landing page or a full site header, placing the logo image at the center of the nav bar can add visual balance and brand focus.

In this blog post, we’ll explore how to center a logo in a navbar using clean HTML and CSS, with multiple layout approaches based on your needs.

Table of Contents

✅ Basic HTML Structure

Start with a basic navigation bar structure:

<nav class="navbar">
  <ul class="nav-left">
    <li><a href="#">Home</a></li>
    <li><a href="#">About</a></li>
  </ul>

  <div class="logo">
    <img src="logo.png" alt="Site Logo">
  </div>

  <ul class="nav-right">
    <li><a href="#">Services</a></li>
    <li><a href="#">Contact</a></li>
  </ul>
</nav>

This layout places the logo between two ul sections: left and right navigation links.

🎯 CSS Method 1: Flexbox for Perfect Centering

.navbar {
  display: flex;
  justify-content: space-between;
  align-items: center;
  padding: 0 20px;
  height: 80px;
  background-color: #fff;
  position: relative;
}

.navbar ul {
  list-style: none;
  display: flex;
  gap: 20px;
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
}

.navbar .logo {
  position: absolute;
  left: 50%;
  transform: translateX(-50%);
}

.navbar .logo img {
  height: 50px;
}

Explanation:

display: flex spaces items horizontally.
Left and right uls are aligned normally.
The .logo is taken out of the normal flow using position: absolute and centered with left: 50% and transform: translateX(-50%).

Benefit:

This ensures the logo is perfectly centered regardless of content on either side.

✅ CSS Method 2: Center Using Flex `justify-content: center`

If you want a simple nav with only a centered logo (no side links):

<nav class="navbar">
  <div class="logo">
    <img src="logo.png" alt="Site Logo">
  </div>
</nav>

.navbar {
  display: flex;
  justify-content: center;
  align-items: center;
  height: 80px;
  background-color: #f9f9f9;
}

.logo img {
  height: 60px;
}

Use case:

Landing pages or single-brand experiences.
Nav bars without side menus.

✅ CSS Method 3: CSS Grid for More Control

For full layout control using CSS Grid:

.navbar {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: 1fr auto 1fr;
  align-items: center;
  padding: 0 20px;
  height: 80px;
  background: #ffffff;
}

.navbar .nav-left,
.navbar .nav-right {
  display: flex;
  gap: 20px;
}

.logo img {
  height: 50px;
}

Why use Grid?

The center column (auto) ensures the logo stays in the center.
Left and right sections grow to fill space equally (1fr).

👇 Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Don’t rely on text-align: center alone — it won’t center block-level elements like <div> or <img> inside flex/grid layouts.
Avoid absolute positioning without a relative parent — it breaks layout consistency.
Check responsiveness — ensure logo centering works across screen sizes.

📱 Making It Responsive

Wrap your layout in a media query or use flex-wrap or grid-template-areas to adjust the position of the logo on smaller screens.

Example:

@media (max-width: 768px) {
  .navbar {
    flex-direction: column;
    justify-content: center;
  }

  .nav-left, .nav-right {
    display: none; /* Or stack vertically */
  }

  .logo {
    position: static;
    transform: none;
  }
}

✅ Summary

To center a logo in a navigation bar using HTML and CSS:

Method	Technique	Best For
Flexbox	`position: absolute` with `transform`	Balanced nav links left and right
Flex Center	`justify-content: center`	Logo-only navbars
CSS Grid	`grid-template-columns: 1fr auto 1fr`	Advanced layouts with equal spacing