Text Utilities

  • Style and align text using Bootstrap utility classes.

  • Introduction to Text Utilities

    Text is the core content of any website.
    How text looks, aligns, and behaves directly affects:

    • Readability

    • Accessibility

    • Visual hierarchy

    • User experience

    In Bootstrap 5, text utilities provide predefined classes to control text behavior without writing custom CSS.

    What Are Text Utilities ?

    Text utilities are Bootstrap classes that control:

    • Text alignment

    • Text transformation

    • Font weight

    • Font style

    • Line height

    • Text wrapping and overflow

    • Text decoration

    They apply single-purpose styling, following the utility-first approach.

    Text Alignment Utilities

    What Is Text Alignment ?

    Text alignment defines how text is positioned horizontally inside its container.

    CSS equivalent:

    text-align: center;

    Bootstrap provides utility classes for alignment.

    Text Alignment Classes

    ClassEffect
    text-startAlign left (LTR)
    text-centerCenter text
    text-endAlign right (LTR)

Bootstrap Text Alignment

Use Bootstrap text alignment classes to align text left, center, or right, and change alignment based on screen size.

<!-- Basic Text Alignment Examples -->
<p class="text-start">Left aligned text</p>
<p class="text-center">Centered text</p>
<p class="text-end">Right aligned text</p>

<!-- Responsive Text Alignment -->
<p class="text-center text-md-start">
  Centered on mobile, left aligned on desktop
</p>
  • Behavior:

    • Mobile → center

    • Medium screens and above → left

    Text Transformation Utilities

    What Is Text Transformation ?

    Text transformation controls letter casing without changing the actual content.

    CSS equivalent:

    text-transform: uppercase;

    Bootstrap provides transformation utilities.

    Text Transformation Utilities

    What is Text Transformation ?

    Text transformation controls letter casing without changing the actual content.

    CSS equivalent:

    text-transform: uppercase;

    Bootstrap provides transformation utilities.

Bootstrap Text Transformation

Use Bootstrap text transformation classes to change text to uppercase, lowercase, or capitalize format.

<p class="text-uppercase">bootstrap utilities</p>
<p class="text-lowercase">BOOTSTRAP UTILITIES</p>
<p class="text-capitalize">bootstrap utilities</p>
  • Important:

    • Content remains unchanged in HTML

    • Only visual appearance is modified

      Font Weight Utilities

      Font Weight Classes

      Bootstrap provides font weight utilities for emphasis.

      ClassWeight
      fw-lightLight
      fw-normalNormal
      fw-mediumMedium
      fw-boldBold
      fw-bolderBolder

    Bootstrap Font Weight

    Use Bootstrap font weight classes to control the thickness of text such as bold or light.

    <p class="fw-bold">Important text</p>
    <p class="fw-light">Less emphasis text</p>
    • Used for:

      • Headings

      • Highlights

      • UI labels

      Font Style Utilities

      Font Style Classes

      ClassEffect
      fst-normalNormal style
      fst-italicItalic style

    Font Style

    Use the fst-italic class in Bootstrap to apply italic styling to text.

    <p class="fst-italic">Italic text example</p>
    • Line Height Utilities

      Line Height Classes

      Line height improves readability, especially for paragraphs.

      ClassEffect
      lh-1Tight line height
      lh-smSmall
      lh-baseDefault
      lh-lgLarge

    Bootstrap Line Height, Wrapping & Truncation

    Use Bootstrap utilities to control line height, text wrapping behavior, and truncate long text with an ellipsis.

    <!-- Line Height Example -->
    <p class="lh-lg">
      This paragraph has increased line height for better readability.
    </p>
    
    <!-- Text Wrapping -->
    <p class="text-wrap">
      This text will wrap normally inside the container.
    </p>
    
    <p class="text-nowrap">
      This text will stay on one line and may overflow.
    </p>
    
    <!-- Text Truncation -->
    <p class="text-truncate" style="max-width: 200px;">
      This is a very long piece of text that will be truncated.
    </p>
    • Used in:

      • Cards

      • Tables

      • Lists

      • Dashboards

        Text Decoration Utilities

        Text Decoration Classes

        ClassEffect
        text-decoration-noneRemoves underline
        text-decoration-underlineUnderlined text
        text-decoration-line-throughStrikethrough

      Bootstrap Text Decoration & Combined Utilities

      Use Bootstrap text decoration and utility classes together to control link styles, alignment, case, and font weight.

      <!-- Text Decoration Example -->
      <a href="#" class="text-decoration-none">
        Link without underline
      </a>
      
      <!-- Combining Text Utilities -->
      <h5 class="text-center text-uppercase fw-bold">
        Section Title
      </h5>
      • This applies:

        • Center alignment

        • Uppercase letters

        • Bold font weight

        No custom CSS needed.

        Common Mistakes

        • Overusing uppercase text

        • Using alignment utilities inconsistently

        • Applying text utilities without considering readability

        • Ignoring responsive text alignment

        • Using text utilities for layout instead of spacing or flex

          Best Practices for Text Utilities

          • Use text utilities to enhance readability

          • Prefer default styles unless change is needed

          • Use responsive alignment thoughtfully

          • Avoid excessive transformations

          • Maintain consistent typography hierarchy