Centering Sentences

Isn't acceptable to whom? And where did you learn such a thing?


Now I wouldn't recommend centering an entire page, but there's nothing wrong with drawing attention to a particularly important statement. Like using subheads for example...


And they're often a different color, and larger as well (which also draws attention to them)


You can also draw attention to important sales elements by using "bullet points", and other elements, such as...

* "quotation marks"

* italics

* underlines

* bolding

Of course you don't want to overdo it. Because if you try to draw attention to everything... then you end up drawing attention to nothing.

But you can certainly emphasize different parts of sales copy with variations. (Including centering a sentence or two)

Fine for headlines, not so much for body text. Great for poetry.

These are not rules. They are widely accepted conventions.

I used to know a guy who was real big in the meditation an' mindfulness area.

Ran a cool Yoga school an' had plenty fam & network kudos -- evrythin' from Krishnamurti to the latest fabrics rollin' outta the leisurewear industry.

Anyways, one time he figured on chillin' out durin' a PROTEST.

Plenty people planned to show -- polarized an' spoilin' for a fight -- an' the guy wanted to demonstrate how non-violence an' stillness could exist in the midst of a politically charged maelstrom.

So, yeah, guy got his teeth kicked in, an' the sandals he got hand-embroidered from natchrlly deceased butterfly antennae by Mahabodhi Temple pilgrims got TRASHED -- at which point he kinda lost his cool an' got himself arrested.

The cops threw him in jail for 2 days, along with a whole buncha thugs an' salaried rioters.


Headline in the local noospaper ran like this ...

Ok, that's what I thought, but I did read something on here in this forum.

Thanks everyone.

As a writer/editor, I agree with what the others have said. While not "rules," the mentioned ways to stand out DO WORK as long as you don't over do it.


I am editing a book for a client. 250 pages and 55000 words. Headings are centred and in bold. Sub-headings are aligned left and in bold.


Then there are other odds and ends throughout.


Both bullet points and numbering bullet points are terrific for lists, and italics and underlining words can also help you.
I hope you do well, with all the tips in this thread.

Headlines should be centered for fast reading.

Sub-headlines not so much, as you want to pull the reader's eyes over to the left of the page, which is where the next sentence begins.

People are so easily distracted now that just leaving their eyeball in the middle of the page can be enough to get them to head over to Facebook or their fav' porn site instead of finishing your copy.


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Until it doesn't.

A fleeting thought and they're off to Facebook again.

One of the most important skills you'll ever learn as a copywriter is how to keep the reader's eye on the page.

You're saying that instead of actively pulling their eye to the left with a juicy sub-headline, that we can just rely on them to read the sub in the middle, and then their eye is going to be drawn down and to the left, at the gray boring text, because...?

Because reasons?

Yes it's the way people read, it's automatic, but you know what's even more automatic? Giving the eye something to look at, something to get their attention. NOT relying on them to just automatically keep reading your copy.


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So you suggest we just rely on the F pattern, while placing text outside of it?

LOL. OK.



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I'm here to help, not argue but it's pretty basic UX/UI that you LEAD and GUIDE the eye where you want it to go.

Sure, we can say "It doesn't really matter if everything else is awesome" but why not be awesome with the formatting as well?

The question was, which is best?

The answer is "left", because that's where the eye expects it (which in itself is a reason to NOT centralize, rather than a reason why you should) and because we want to guide their eye to the next sub-headline.

It doesn't matter how good your sub-headline is, if they don't read it.

I guess here you'll educate me on how good copy should encourage the reader to keep reading? Which is exactly what I'm telling you, regarding formatting, see?

Relying on the reader to just automagically read your next line is the wrong approach. Anyway, I've answered OP; feel free to argue with yourselves.


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Everything you just typed is irrelevant to the point of formatting correctly.

Yes, correctly, as only one way is the best way - and that's the way that helps to keep the reader reading your sales message.

You seem to think centered text is easier to scan, while every UI/UX study I've ever seen says quite the opposite?

The human eye is not expecting the left-hand margin to move and by breaking the flow you can break their reading trance and that breaks everything else.

Again, let's stick to formatting. It's a given, or should be, that the text should be engaging and relevant and answering objections etc etc etc.

I suspect you're confusing sub-headings with headlines.

A headline should be centered, precisely because it makes it stand out and difficult to read, which, if you've done your job right with some power words such as "You" in it, they will do anyway. For THAT situation you actually want them to slow down to get full comprehension.

Sub-headings are totally different - they're for keeping the flow going. and for drawing the reader into the message because it's a message that easy to read!

So you DO NOT break the readability by centering.

Take my old website for example, a bit 90's but still brings me clients (I have a newer one now):

Alan Carr, sales copywriter

Headline, centered. Heck even the sub-headline, not sub-header, is centered. But after that, all the sub-heads are left-aligned, like they should be.

Importantly, they tell a story for skimmers, a story that FLOWS. This is important to understand and why I'm willing to dig in over this, because telling people it's OK to center subs is bad advice.

Here's the flow:

Let's talk about YOUR dreams...

Because Life Isn't Fair...

Why I'm The Salesman You Need To Talk To:

"Best... we've ever had" (<testimonial carefully placed)

I Decided...

"Make my own products? Yes!" (I specialize in software and SaaS, so this resonates with my market)

Your Key To Success...

The fact is...

You Need A Sales Copywriter

A Great Copywriter...

Mentored By The Best

I've Been Where You Are:

Your Bigger Dreams Can Come True... (centered, in red)

Consider this:

Here's How I Help You:

If you fit this criteria, get in touch right now:

And Get A FREE Mini-Consultation!


Those are just the sub-headings. Even if you don't read ANY of the body text and just skim those subs, you still get the sales message, see?

Understand that's the last-ditch attempt at a skimmer - what you really want is for them to read the body, so we make it easy to read, left aligned like it should be, and directly, no spacing, over the text below that we want their eyes to go to.

You'll notice I do use one of them centered, and in red, a mini headline, because that's the false close, but I'm probably getting a bit technical...

Any student of UX will tell you left is easier to read, every style manual will, and invariably when dealing with a client's style sheet it will state the same.

You only center your subs when you want to STOP the reader, like I did with the false close or if you're adding a safety warning to an instruction manual or something. You don't do it for readability.

Call me ol' grumpy but I'm really not interested in discussing this further. Rules are meant to be broken now and then, sure, and once in a while go for it. OP was asking about a specific sentence, and like I did with the 'dreams come true' thing, yes, you can.

But for sub-headings, as a rule, no.



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We can share it


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We'll figure something out...


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