JavaScript Template Literals Breaking CSS Text Alignment: How to Fix white-space Issues in HTML
JavaScript Template Literals Breaking CSS Text Alignment: How to Fix white-space Issues in HTML
Quick Fix: If your HTML text won’t align left in JavaScript-generated content, switch from white-space: pre-wrap to white-space: pre-line in your CSS and inline your template literal content. This stops JavaScript formatting spaces from showing up in your rendered HTML.
The JavaScript + CSS Bug That Wasted My Afternoon
Last week, I spent hours debugging why my JavaScript-generated HTML wouldn’t align left. I’d set text-align: left in my CSS, checked my margins, even inspected the computed styles in Chrome DevTools—everything looked correct. But my dynamically inserted HTML content stayed stubbornly indented.
The culprit? Those innocent-looking spaces in my JavaScript template literals were becoming real, visible spaces in my HTML output. Here’s what happened when JavaScript, CSS, and HTML collide in unexpected ways.
Why JavaScript Template Literals Break CSS Alignment
When you write JavaScript template literals with nice formatting like this:
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// JavaScript code with formatted template literal
const html = `
<div class="content">
${userContent}
</div>
`;
document.getElementById('container').innerHTML = html;
Those four spaces before ${userContent} don’t just vanish—they become part of your HTML DOM. If you’re using white-space: pre-wrap in your CSS, the browser renders every single one of those JavaScript formatting spaces, pushing your HTML content to the right.
The CSS + JavaScript Problem: Understanding white-space in Dynamic HTML
When JavaScript inserts HTML into the DOM via innerHTML, insertAdjacentHTML, or framework methods, the white-space CSS property tells browsers how to handle spaces from your JavaScript templates.
How CSS white-space Interacts with JavaScript Templates
pre-wrap in CSS - Keeps everything from your JavaScript:
- Every space in your JS template literal stays visible in HTML
- Line breaks from JavaScript work as expected
- Perfect for displaying code blocks in HTML
- Problem: Your JavaScript code formatting becomes visible HTML spacing
pre-line in CSS - The smart choice for JavaScript-generated user content:
- Crushes multiple JavaScript spaces into one in HTML
- Keeps line breaks from your JS intact
- Solution: Ignores your JavaScript template formatting indentation
Quick Reference: CSS white-space Values for JavaScript-Generated HTML
| CSS Value | JavaScript Spaces | HTML Output | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
normal | Collapsed | Standard text | Regular HTML paragraphs |
pre-wrap | All preserved | Exact spacing | Code snippets in HTML |
pre-line | Collapsed | Clean output | JavaScript-generated content |
How to Fix JavaScript Template Literal Spacing in HTML
Step 1: Update Your CSS for JavaScript-Generated Content
Replace this CSS:
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/* CSS that preserves JavaScript formatting */
.journal-entry-content {
white-space: pre-wrap;
text-align: left;
}
With this:
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/* CSS that collapses JavaScript formatting */
.journal-entry-content {
white-space: pre-line;
text-align: left;
}
Step 2: Clean Up Your JavaScript Templates for HTML Output
You have two options for your JavaScript code:
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// JavaScript Option A: Inline your HTML content
element.innerHTML = `<div class="content">${displayContent}</div>`;
// JavaScript Option B: Let CSS pre-line handle formatting
element.innerHTML = `
<div class="content">
${displayContent}
</div>
`;
With pre-line in your CSS, both JavaScript approaches work, but Option A is explicit about not adding HTML whitespace.
Real-World Example: JavaScript innerHTML + CSS Alignment
Here’s the actual JavaScript/CSS/HTML bug I encountered:
Before (JavaScript + CSS Breaking HTML Alignment):
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// JavaScript with template literal formatting
element.innerHTML = `
<div class="content">
${userText}
</div>
`;
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/* CSS preserving JavaScript spaces */
.content {
white-space: pre-wrap;
text-align: left;
}
Result: HTML text appears indented by 8 spaces in the browser.
After (Fixed JavaScript + CSS for Proper HTML):
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// JavaScript with inlined content
element.innerHTML = `<div class="content">${userText}</div>`;
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/* CSS that collapses JavaScript formatting */
.content {
white-space: pre-line;
text-align: left;
}
Result: HTML text aligns perfectly in the browser.
When JavaScript Developers Hit This CSS/HTML Bug
Watch for this JavaScript template literal issue when:
- Building comment systems with JavaScript and HTML
- Creating rich text editors in JavaScript
- Using
innerHTMLorinsertAdjacentHTMLin vanilla JavaScript - Working with
dangerouslySetInnerHTMLin React - Using
v-htmlin Vue.js - Implementing
[innerHTML]in Angular - Building chat interfaces with JavaScript
- Dynamically generating HTML with template literals
FAQ: JavaScript Template Literals and CSS white-space
Does this affect React JSX, Vue templates, or Angular?
React JSX collapses whitespace by default, but if you use dangerouslySetInnerHTML with JavaScript template literals, you’ll hit this issue. Vue’s v-html and Angular’s [innerHTML] with template literals have the same problem.
Can JavaScript’s trim() fix this CSS issue?
No. JavaScript’s trim() only removes whitespace from your content string, not from the template literal structure that creates your HTML.
Why not just minify the JavaScript templates?
Minifying removes readability. Using white-space: pre-line in CSS lets you keep readable JavaScript while fixing the HTML output.
How do I debug this in Chrome/Firefox DevTools?
In DevTools, inspect the HTML element and look at the “Computed” tab for the white-space CSS value. Then check the HTML panel—you’ll see the actual whitespace characters from your JavaScript template.
The Bottom Line for JavaScript Developers
JavaScript template literals preserve all whitespace—including your code formatting. When CSS white-space: pre-wrap renders that JavaScript formatting literally in HTML, you get unexpected indentation. Switch to pre-line in your CSS for JavaScript-generated user content.
Next time your JavaScript-generated HTML won’t align despite your CSS being correct, check your template literals. Those innocent JavaScript spaces are probably showing up in your HTML.
Found this JavaScript/CSS bug helpful? Follow for more frontend debugging tips where JavaScript, CSS, and HTML interact in unexpected ways.