Whenever we talk about website building, one of the easily available tools that we can use is WordPress. WordPress is a free, open-source website creation platform. It is known for its features and flexibility, making it perfect for both beginners and old-school users.
A WordPress website is any website that utilizes the WordPress ecosystems for managing its content. As such, WordPress becomes the backbone of the website by powering both the backend and the front-end of the said website.
WordPress websites can come in many forms. One of the most common WordPress websites is:
- Blogs
These websites are based on the author’s interests and likes. These websites can feature thoughts, photos and reviews as well as tutorials, recipes, and even videos. A blog structure is often designed so that the most recent content is displayed first.
- E-Commerce website
These websites are primarily focused on online business. These websites are often used to display products or services the owner wants to sell. They also can collect payment for said goods and services.
- Website for businesses
These might appear to be E-Commerce websites at first glance. They are quite different in function. E-commerce websites may sell products, but business websites are designed to introduce users to companies and the services they offer. They can be thought of as a business profile, but not online.
- Membership Websites
Content creators (i.e., Youtubers, Online Artists, etc.) They might offer something more for their most loyal followers or supporters. They may want to offer extra, exclusive content they are willing to pay a fee for.
A WordPress membership website is a good way to go about this. A website can be created by content creators. Users will need to log in to access the site or pay for it. WordPress provides enough tools to manage all the necessary steps to create this website.
- Portfolio Website
For many, websites are a good avenue to show off their work to prospective employers. This is especially true for artists, both traditional and digital. A website allows artists to showcase their work. It is similar to owning a museum.
- Forum website
Forums websites are online communities wherein the range of conversation topics is limitless. Back before social media was a thing, forums used to rule the Internet. Today, forums for specialized topics are rare.
In current times, bigger websites have become the go-to websites for discussion. Reddit, Quora and other forums are the most popular. It does not mean forum websites are no longer relevant. For niche topics, forums are still crucial discussion places.
A content creator, a blogger, or even a book author, can host their own Forums through WordPress. Forums like these give a more intimate feel compared to the wide reach of the usual websites.
- Websites for events
An event website is a simple website that advertises events. Through an event website, the audience can look at and check event details such as dates and times, seating, and even ticket prices. Speaking of ticket prices, you can even sell tickets through these websites.
- E-Learning website
Online classes and electronic courses have become a household term after the 2019 COVID Pandemic. E-learning websites existed even before the COVID Pandemic.
E-learning websites allow students to take an online course, track how they are doing, download their research materials, and much more. Although it takes more effort to set up an elearning website using WordPress, it is rewarding for those who are eager to share their knowledge.
- Invitational websites
Even invitations can now be sent online. Thanks to the power of the internet, you can create websites for that personal event of yours. Be it a birthday, a Christening, or even a wedding; you can make a website that fits your need. WordPress offers many resources to do it fast and do it well.
For those of you who prefer a more visual experience, here is a video review from Daniel on his YouTube channel Design Break. To get a comprehensive overview of Elementor II, you may still want to check out our article below, which compares it to some competitors.
WordPress plugins: Enhancing WordPress to Be the Best Elementor Background Overlay
Among the reasons for WordPress’ longevity and relevance is because of the support it gets from its community of users. WordPress plugins are a part of some of that support.
WordPress plugins are an additional code package that can be uploaded to a website to improve its functionality and integrate with other sites.
WordPress Plugins can take on multiple forms. You can use them to improve a website’s SEO, or for analytics. WordPress plugins can be used to integrate marketing and payment methods. There are even plugins that can help to build websites a cinch.
You can choose between premium and free plugins. Their main difference could be the quality or the scope of their function. This does not necessarily mean that plugins for free are inferior. Some plugins even function better than premium ones.
These plugins are often compatible with WordPress’ core. There will be occasions when a premium plugin is worth the cost. Support is the strongest reason to pay for premium plugins.
WordPress plugins are generally well-behaved. However, there are times when these plugins malfunction and do not work as intended. Customer support is invaluable and cannot be replaced.
Your List of Must-Have WordPress Plugins
For most WordPress Websites, there are certain types of Plugins that must be prioritized compared to others. It is recommended that all WordPress websites have these WordPress plugins:
- WordPress Backup Plugin
WordPress doesn’t have a backup function by its very nature. A lack of backup can lead to major headaches. As such, backup plugins can be the solution to those potential headaches.
Backups are also important in case of a security breach or hack. As it allows you to easily replace data that was deleted or at least bring your website back to a previous save state before the attack happened.
- WordPress Security Plugin
The ubiquity and popularity of WordPress make it a lucrative target for hackers. Hackers create malicious programs to attack WordPress sites, access all their data, and do something nefarious.
These are where WordPress Security plugins can help. These plugins offer many ways to stop these attacks. Some limit login attempts to a website to stop brute force attacks. Some offer more sophisticated and comprehensive protection against these attacks.
No matter what, looking for the best WordPress security plugin will come down to preference, security, and convenience.
- WordPress SEO Plugin
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It is the process by which your website becomes more visible to many audiences. Proper SEO settings will make it easier for your website to be found in search engines like Google and Bing.
SEO is a business in and of itself. The competition for Google’s top pages is fierce with the sheer number of websites popping up every day. If you want your website to gain traction, adding a great SEO plugin may help you with that.
SEO plugins can give you tips to improve your site content’s SEO, as well as automate the small and repetitive parts of content creation.
- WordPress Form Plugin
WordPress Form Plugins enable you to create robust forms for your website. These forms can come in the shape of contact forms, surveys, donation forms, and file uploaders.
Basically, forms let your site visitors enter personal information. This information is then received and sent to the appropriate place (database or mailing list).
Since forms handle sensitive data and personal information, it is important that they be secure and should discourage spam. These forms should also fit depending on the customer (most websites that use forms are e-commerce websites).
As such, for your WordPress form plugin, it would be wise to look for something secure that remains easy to configure and customize.
- WordPress E-commerce Plugin
For WordPress E-commerce, an ecommerce plugin is a must. E-commerce websites are designed to sell products. However, your website won’t be able to do this if it doesn’t have the right plugin.
E-commerce plugins allow you to transform your website into an online store. You can access a variety of resources and tools. Some e-commerce plugins even come with online payment capabilities integrated.
- WordPress Design Plugin
In terms of website building, WordPress is a beast. WordPress allows you to do just about anything, provided you can code. HTML, CSS and other coding languages allow you to customize your WordPress Page to the max.
That said, not all have the knowledge to code. This may seem like a high barrier of entry for WordPress users. But, WordPress wouldn’t be as popular if it had a high barrier to entry.
WordPress regained and even grew its user base by removing this so-called barrier of entry. WordPress Site Design plugins such as page builders made website building easier and more efficient.
A lot of these plugins removed the coding requirement for building websites. With their drag-and drop interface, anyone can create a WordPress website with minimal to no programming knowledge. Although coding knowledge is not required, there are many benefits to using WordPress.
These plugins have also helped speed up the process of creating websites. WordPress users, or at least sites using WordPress, are growing in number every day.
These are just a few of the plugins we recommend you add to your website. There are many other types of plugins available, but they can be used in a situational or optional manner.
WordPress currently has over 60,000 plugins, but you can choose from many more.
Installing WordPress plugins
WordPress plugins can be installed very easily. It does not involve much and can be done almost instantly.
After logging in to your WordPress website, you can find the Plugins menu on your WordPress Dashboard. Expand This Menu by clicking on it
You will find a page called Installed plugins. This is where you can find the currently installed plugins on this particular WordPress Site. You might see plugins installed even if you don’t have any plugins or you are new to this page.
Because some plugins are included with WordPress Installations, this is possible.
Click on the “Add New” link to upload a plugin. This will let you search for plugins in the WordPress.org Plugin directory. You can also click links to view the most popular and recent plugins. You can also mark your favorite plugins here.
Once you have located your preferred plugin, click the “Choose File” button. Next, locate the zip file of your plugin and click on “Install Now”.
Once the plugin has finished installing, click Activate to turn the plugin on.
The Editor menu item is located under Plugins in WordPress Dashboard. This editor is built into WordPress plugins and can be used to modify individual PHP files.
ONLY TWEAK OR MAKE CHANGES TO THIS SECTION IF YOU UNDERSTAND PHP. Tweaking any of the things found here can overwrite your customizations. Of course, you probably don’t need to edit any of your plugin’s PHP code.
Elementor: One of the best page builders plugins WordPress has to offer
Elementor is a WordPress Site Design plugin that ranks among the top. To begin with, it is a drag-and-drop page builder which allows users to make their webpage in a fast and easy way. As such, even characters who are not tech savvy enough can carve themselves a place on the internet.
Elementor was launched in mid-16 and has been in the WordPress Plugin Library ever since. Although it is a recent addition to WordPress’ ecosystem, this is still quite a significant time period by Internet standards.
Still, “age” does not matter to Elementor. At the time of its release, it quickly rose to one of the most popular visual page builders on the platform. Elementor did not let this success get on their head, and until this day, they continued to grow and develop new ways to keep Elementor relevant to the newest trends.
Elementor’s core functionality is still drag and drop builder. It does this function well. It works in an “what you see, is what you get” manner. This approach makes it easier to see how the website will look while you are still editing.
With Elementors features, you might not need to open any of WordPress’s standard editors at all. With all that said, coding is still welcome, and people who prefer using their own custom HTML, CSS, and PHP, along with other current coding languages, are free to do so.
Elementor is also known for its flexibility as a plugin. You can use it with any current WordPress theme. You can even create your own themes using the theme builder.
And speaking of themes, it does work with other themes that are available in the WordPress library, and as such, there is little worry about themes bugging out. Elementor’s support team is available to assist you if they do not work as expected.
Elementor Features
While Elementor might bill itself as just a drag-and-drop page builder, the number of features that come with it makes that an understatement.
Besides, Elementor wouldn’t be one of WordPress’s top webpage builders as it is now if that’s all it can do.
Here are some of Elemetor’s most notable features:
- Content Elements Galore
Elementor uses building blocks to create a webpage. These blocks, or elements, can be organized according to the user’s wishes to create a website layout.
Now, to explain the block a little deeper, these blocks are the so-called elements that build the webpage design. Every element can contain a widget or a written content. Or any other thing that fits in the space.
Because of these elements, Elementor is called what it is today.
- Responsive Design
All web pages created with Elementor’s page builders are responsive by default. They look beautiful and elegant when viewed from a laptop or personal computer.
Because of the responsive design, you can even look at the design through your phone, and still it would look great, comprehensive, and functional.
Responsive design doesn’t just mean translating your website to look better on a smartphone. Elementor allows users to customize the look of their website.
Simply by touching a different button, you are allowed to view how your page will look through different gadgets and platforms. You can then make further edits to your page, including adding or deleting elements.
- Available Templates
Templates are a must-have for any page builder. Templates are the best inspiration for building any type of thing (webpages included).
Templates also serve as good starting points for beginner page developers, especially if these templates are properly and professionally made. Templates make it easier to develop new websites faster than sites with the same look.
All templates in Elementor are editable. This includes their styling options. Templates are a great way to ensure that your websites look consistent.
Elementor offers many professionally designed templates. For both beginner and veteran users to use. These templates can be used by beginners to create websites. As for veterans (i.e., page devs), they can use them to speed up their work.
- Style Options
Of course, if you want a sleek and cool website, you would be remiss if there weren’t any styling options available. Good thing that Elementor lets these styling options accessible to many people. What’s more, there is no need to have coding knowledge to do this.
- Convenience
Elementor’s many tools make web page building easy. Support even comes only with one click. You can also use the quick find tool to help you locate a topic of assistance.
- Dynamic Content
You can use elementor to add dynamic content using custom fields and plugins like ACF, Pods and Toolset. Dynamic content allows you to keep your pages updated consistently and continuously. Such an ability can keep your website up-to-date and fresh.
- WooCommerce Builder
WooCommerce, an open-source plugin for e-commerce, is mainly used with WordPress. Its main customer base consists of merchants who use WordPress as their main website. This includes online merchants of all sizes.
WooCommerce is almost in symbiotic relationships with WordPress. It’s easy to integrate WooCommerce within WordPress.
With Elementor, you could enhance your WooCommerce store through its customizability options. Some functions even allow you to show your product and prices and integrate said products into the design of your store.
- Popup Builder
Popups are one of the most disliked forms of advertising. Popups are so disliked that their creator had to apologize for all the problems it caused.
Popups can be a great lead conversion tool if used correctly. To make use of that lead conversion tool, Elementor provides a popup builder to its Pro users.
Elementor’s popup builder allows you to design your popup using the same tools included in the webpage builder. You can also set triggers to control when and how popups are displayed.
Elementor Price
If Elementor’s features have already impressed you, then you will be more impressed with its price. Elementor allows users to enjoy at least 80% of the plugin’s capabilities at the low price of FREE!
That’s right! You can use most of Elementor’s functions & features for free if you put them on your WordPress website.
Elementor offers Pro plans that include some features such as the Popup Builder behind a paywall. If you are interested, the Elementor Pro consists of three types of plans. Each has its own advantages. These plans are as follows:
Essential Plan | Expert Plan | Studio Plan | Agency Plan |
$49 per Year | $199 per Year | $299 per Year (1st year only)
$499 |
$999 per Year |
1 Pro Website Activation
100+ Basic and Pro Widgets
300+ Basic and Pro Templates
60+ Pro Website Kits
Theme Builder
WooCommerce Store Builder
Landing Page Builder
Premium Support |
25 Pro Website Activations
More than 100+ basic and pro widgets
300+ Basic and Pro Templates
60+ Pro Website Kits
Theme Builder
WooCommerce Store Builder
Landing Page Builder
Premium Support
Elementor Expert Profile |
100 Pro Website Activations
100+ Basic and Pro Widgets
More than 300+ Pro and Basic Templates
60+ Pro Website Kits
Theme Builder
WooCommerce Store Builder
Landing Page Builder
VIP Support
Elementor Expert Profile |
1000 Pro Website Activations
More than 100+ basic and pro widgets
More than 300+ Pro and Basic Templates
60+ Pro Website Kits
Theme Builder
WooCommerce Store Builder
Landing Page Builder
VIP Support
Elementor Expert Profile |
Elementor Pros & Cons
Pros
- Elementor’s core product does not cost a single dime. There is no need to get the Pro plan to use Elementor’s full potential.
- Elementor provides plenty of features to create the best WordPress web page. These tools are simple and very easy to use.
- Elementor’s page builders are an upgrade to the WordPress Builder in terms of functionality and accessibility
- Elementor lets you create pages without needing to know HTML, CSS, and PHP coding.
- Elementor’s “what do you see is what you get” approach to building websites speeds up the process by eliminating the need for previews.
- Elementors pages are automatically responsive in design. They are compatible with all devices. You can also fine-tune each device’s design if you wish.
- Elementor allows you to adjust alignments, margins and padding values.
Cons
- Sometimes custom styling, especially for links, can get a bit buggy.
- There are times when Elementor’s default typography and color settings remain persistent and cannot be staged
- The different margin values can make it difficult to fix misaligned elements.
- Elementor could slow down different websites’ loading times.
Elementor Versus Divi
Divi Builder: The Crowning Jewel of Elegant Themes
Elegant themes is one of many WordPress themes available in the shop. It has grown to be one of the most prominent players in the WordPress World.
Divi Theme is their flagship product. Divi is crucial to Elegant Theme’s success due to its functionality in its drag-and-drop website builder.
Making sense of this, it was only a matter of time where Elegant Themes offered the builder as a separate plugin.
And so they did. With the release of the Divi Builder plugin, people can now access the very same builder that made Divi Theme among the strongest players in the WordPress Ecosystem. Divi made sure the plugin was available regardless of which theme you used.
Divi Features
Since “gaining independence” and becoming a standalone plugin, Divi Builder now works with any WordPress themes (even if they are not from Elegant Themes). As such, it also gained multiple features to give people more incentive to use it.
- Drag and Drop Visual Content Editor
The Divi builder started as a back-end page builder tool from the Divi Theme. However, since being turned into a plugin, it is now a legitimate front-end visual full-site editor.
Divi’s interface now works in a “what do you see is what you get” mode. This eliminates the problem of back-end developers who don’t know how Divi will look until you make a switch to preview.
Divi’s Visual Editor is being continually updated. This latest version gives you a better view of your visitor’s point-of-view when viewing your content.
This implies that website developers will be able to work faster as it removes the need for switching to previews. This eliminates the frustration associated with incorrect layouts.
Some users might not be familiar with the site’s backend and may feel lost or miss some features. You can switch to Wireframe mode with Divi Builder.
The wireframe mode hides each module’s content and focuses on the structure of the page. This provides a good overview of what the page looks like and which modules are used.
Effectively, Divi offers a flexible way to work on your website, depending on your comfort and preference.
- Theme Builder Functionality
Divi Builder 4.0 added Divi’s Theme builder feature, which ultimately turned it into a full on-site editor rather than just a page builder.
Divi Builder now has the ability to customize any part of your website. You can now customize headers, footers and category pages as well as product templates and other areas of the website to suit your needs.
Templates can be used to customize blog posts. They can be automatically applied to all blog posts or just a selection. You can also use the Display rules feature to automatically format and create templates for posts based on their category.
This functionality also brings about dynamic content, which can be combined with existing static content and enhanced interaction with WooCommerce content.
Most surprisingly, the Divi Theme Builder feature allows users to make custom 404 error pages and search results pages.
- Helpful Content Modules
Divi builder comes with 40 content modules. These modules can be inserted into columns and row layouts, each with its own function.
These modules can even be used to replace the functionality of other plugins on your WordPress page. These modules can transform almost all of your website’s functions into Divi or Elegant Themes.
Whether one developer runs this idea of all your plugins and “apps” is good or bad, it has its own benefits. It reduces the load time for your WordPress site.
It also means a cost reduction, especially if you are using commercial plugins.
A few examples of these modules include “call to action” buttons, countdown timers, maps, pricing tables, email opt-in forms, videos and their sliders, social media, and even a search module.
These modules also come in different variations. This gives your website some extra flair. You won’t have to risk having the same module appearing from different parts of the internet.
- A growing library of pre-made websites and page layouts
Divi would be remiss to not offer ready-made, ready-to-use web pages and layouts. These layouts can be thought of as their own version of templates.
Templates are great for web designers who don’t have the design skills to create them. This high-quality pre-made can be used to start their design process, or if they’re satisfied, it can be used as is.
They have between 200 and 400 options. However, this is in terms of website layouts. This means that each layout can contain more than one page.
These can also target specific types of websites, such as websites for agencies, freelancers, eCommerce stores, and construction companies. These layouts can be customized, however.
So if you find a law-affirm website layout, some pictures may look out of place, or the layout just doesn’t do it for you. Well, prepare your tools and edit until it takes the form of the website you want.
- Divi Builder A/B Testing Tool
Divi builder offers the unique ability to conduct A/B testing of your page layout. A/B testing allows you to compare two design iterations on your page layout and see which one is more effective than the other.
Although freedom of design is always a positive, too much freedom can be dangerous, especially if it is not properly managed. This is where A/B Testing can be useful. Comparing different layouts of a webpage can help you determine if the design decision should be made.
At the end of the day, a properly A/B tested website will lead it to be optimized for its purpose.
- Divi Role Editor
Different people may manage different websites. While this makes for efficient job division, it also multiplies the risk of accidentally changing the website’s main setting. It is said that too many cooks can spoil the broth.
Luckily, Divi has a Role Editor that you can use to limit other people’s access to the backend of your webpage. Through this role editor, you can still let your co-authors do their thing, such as writing for your blogs, while preventing them from doing unnecessary stuff.
Divi’s role is also granular as an editor. It is not a “black and white” or a “yes and no” choice. By choosing a role, you can define which parts of the plugin they can access and make use of.
This is particularly important for web designers who have clients who could break custom designs. Through the role editor, the chances of custom design breaking are reduced to a minimum.
- Full-Width Content
Images make your web pages pop. Images can enhance the design of your website. Sometimes, you just want to place an image and plaster its full resolution to a part of your site.
Luckily Divi has a feature that allows you to do just that. Divi lets you add a full width to your builder and a module to accompany it. Then you are free to add the appropriate content that can break the post container.
This full-width does not just apply to images. You can include videos, texts, headers, menus, and more.
Divi Price
Divi Builder was an original part of Divi Theme. You cannot purchase this plugin separately. You will have to pay yearly for access to Elegant themes. One plan is a yearly access, and the other is a lifetime access.
Yearly Access | Lifetime Access |
$89/Year | $249 for 1 |
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Divi Pros and Cons
Pros
- Divi has a clean and slick, intuitive interface.
- Divi is a great value for money. They even offer a lifetime deal.
- Divi can be used on any number of websites without restrictions.
- Divi is very beginner friendly, with the drag and drop page builder which is very easy to use
- Divi provides veteran web designers who have the appropriate coding skills a chance to do amazing stuff.
- Divi comes with an Extra WordPress theme
- Divi offers more than 100 stunning templates. Elementor Background Overlay
Cons
- Longer pages are more difficult to work with.
- Divi’s inline editing options can be better
- Divi is not perfect. This is most common when creating more complicated layouts.
Elementor Versus WPBakery
WP Bakery: Formerly known as Visual Composer, the Builder
What we now know as WPBakery was once called Visual Composer. It gets even more confusing, because there is another WordPress plugin called Visual Composer. Now that we have gotten that out of the way, let’s proceed to WPBakery
This plugin, like all other page builders allows you to create unique pages. In this case, the building blocks are called “Content Elements.” Though they have different names, they still serve the same function as widgets and modules.
WPBakery offers about 40 content elements, each of which can be used for designing your page layout. These include text blocks, social buttons, video players and other blocks that are common to page builders. Elementor Background Overlay
WPBakery also uses a drag-and-drop page builder to style your pages. Using this builder, you can style your website’s backend and front end. You can choose to style both, or you can design them one by one, depending on your preference.
WPBakery Features
WPBakery doesn’t offer much, unlike many of the other WordPress Page Builders. The following is what they offer:
- Interface is simple and lightweight
- Frontend and Backend Editor
- Multilingual ready
- Templates that can be saved for later use
- Responsive websites that work on mobile and PC
- Your own “content elements”
- Object-oriented code
- Huge addon support
WPBakery is more difficult to use than you might think. It’s not that user-friendly, even if you have a tech background. It is built on a shortcode architecture that can be a massive liability.
Although it has helper text to help with the basics, most of these are poorly executed to the point of inaccuracy. Elementor Background Overlay
It’s also just plain unreliable. It is plagued by inaccurate previews, randomly missing features, and buggy. Working with it is just a nightmare, especially when working on a website.
WPBakery price
WPBakery offers 2 price plans if you still want to avail of its services. These are:
Regular | Extended |
$56 | $299 |
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WPBakery Pros and Cons
Pros
- WPBakery allows you to save your templates for later use
- It works with most themes
- It features a multilingual interface
- You will find many content blocks that can be used to build your website.
- It can be integrated with many add-ons to enhance its functions Elementor Background Overlay
- It has a user role access control
Cons
- The page builder is not easy to use and requires a learning curve. This is true even for experienced website designers.
- It is not compatible with all plugins and sometimes has conflicts with them
- Shortcodes are lost when this plugin is deactivated.
- This plugin can impact age speed and might slow download times.
Elementor Versus Beaver Builder
Beaver Builder: The Efficient Beaver-Themed Builder
One of the more famous names in the WordPress page builder space is Beaver Builder. Beaver Builder is a popular choice because of its drag-and-drop page builders and simple-to-use interface.
Beaver Builders offers a lot to its users.
It is a page builder that allows you to create custom pages and posts using a drag-and drop user interface. It eliminates the need to code your website. Users don’t even need to have a knowledge of HTML to have a functioning website with the help of Beaver Builder.
Beaver Builder (the plugin), even though it has its own theme, is compatible with all WordPress themes. As such, you can keep using your current WordPress theme and carry on developing and designing your site. Elementor Background Overlay
However, Beaver’s strongest point is its ease of use and efficiency. Beaver Builder claims it makes it easier to work with existing content or create websites from scratch.
Beaver Builder Features
BeaverBuilder is a feature-rich page builder that can be considered as among the best of the best. Let’s not list everything, but let’s just focus on the highlights. After all, when it comes to Beaver Builder, efficiency is the name of the game.
Beaver Builder’s essential features include:
- You can drag and drop the main page builder. This builder allows you to place content elements, such as text and images, wherever you want.
- Beaver Builder offers full front-end editing. Which effectively allows you to see your work as you are working on it. This is similar to other page builders’ “What you see is what your get” approach.
- Beaver Builder eliminates the need to code when building websites. Beaver Builder doesn’t require HTML or CSS. Elementor Background Overlay
- Beaver Builder can be used with all WordPress themes. Beaver Builder can be combined with any WordPress theme and it will look like nothing happened.
- Beaver Builder can also be used to work on any type of post, pages, and custom types of posts.
- A Beaver Builder plan comes with more than 50 ready-made page templates for users. This includes templates for pages that have a specific purpose. Be it a landing page, a welcome page, or a normal comment section; Beaver Builder has got you covered.
- For working with your pages, Beaver Builder provides 30 content elements and modules. These content elements and modules will be the key to your pages’ construction. Each will have its own function. Some of these modules include (headings, buttons, galleries, and much more)
- Beaver Builder ensures that all your resulting websites will be compatible with any screen. Your website will therefore be responsive.
- Beaver Builder is also compatible with WooCommerce. Beaver Builder allows you to create WooCommerce content using the content elements. Elementor Background Overlay
- Beaver Builder is not cheap. Beaver Builder allows you to export and import features. This allows you to reuse or share your designs with the wider community.
Beaver Builder Prices
Agency | Pro | Standard |
$399 | $199 | $99 |
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Beaver Builder Pros and Cons
Pros
- Beaver Builder allows users to create their own webpages.
- There is no learning curve when using Beaver Builder
- Beaver Builder’s full drag-and-drop builder offer front end editing support.
- Beaver Builder is flexible and lenient. You can even use default WordPress widgets inside Beaver Builder’s Content blocks Elementor Background Overlay
- Beaver Builder offers many page templates that can be used as a starting point for pages.
Cons
- Beaver Builder is at a pretty steep price point. The cheapest plan is $99. The cheapest plan is $99.
- Beaver Builder is only capable of working with the theme that you choose. Beaver Builder won’t be able do things the theme can’t.
- Beaver Builder doesn’t allow users to add custom CSS codes to their content modules. As such, there is a bit of a limit to its customization.
Elementor Versus Webflow
Webflow: A page builder beyond WordPress
Despite WordPress having the lion’s share of Internet blogs, not everyone likes using it. As such, there are alternatives for people who are uncomfortable using WordPress. Webflow is one of these alternatives.
Webflow’s main focus is design. Webflow’s primary goal is to make it easy for web designers to create websites. Using webflows allows web designers to build responsive websites through browser-based visual editing software. Webflow allows you to write the code as you work on your website. Elementor Background Overlay
When compared to WordPress, Webflow claims to have more advantages over it. Among these are an appeal for more creative freedom, a more secure website, and easier user usage.
Webflow Features
As a full-on page builder, Webflow has its own features. These features help Webflow focus on its target of becoming a service that caters to designers first.
- Over a thousand templates are available on Webflow, with 45 of them being free. These templates can be used to build websites as you would with most websites.
Webflow also makes it easy for you to access these templates. They can be categorized and grouped according to which type of website they are intended for (portfolios, blogs, SaaS), etc. Aside from that, you can search them through popular tags, languages, etc.
- Although Webflow is not as user-friendly for first-time users, it provides a great onboarding tutorial that allows users to familiarize themselves and explore the Webflow Environment. Although it may take some time to get used to Webflow, you will find that it is a wonderful user interface once you are comfortable with it. Elementor Background Overlay
- Webflow has an intuitive interface. Its main builder is divided into three sections for ease of access. The more you get used to Webflows workflow, the better and faster you can produce web pages
- Webflow offers great Search Engine Optimization capabilities. This is made even easier by the fact that you don’t need to install another plugin to make sure your website is SEO-optimized. Webflow also guides non-SEO professionals to improve their website’s SEO ranking in order to increase traffic and convert more customers.
- Webflow has impressive eCommerce features that can be used to build a functional and attractive online store. Just building the page alone is easy, as there are eCommerce templates to help you get started. These templates are both free and paid.
Webflow even provides instructions for building up said site, from setting up until launching.
- Webflow also provides a proper Content Management System to help users group content that they are presenting to their audience. This CMS organizes resources, particularly when creating blog posts. Elementor Background Overlay
Webflow makes blogging easier and more efficient by organizing it in a more structured way.
- With Webflow, you are sure that all your data is safe and secured. Webflow has integrated hosting plans with Amazon Web Services, one of the most secure web hosting services. They even provide you with a free one-year SSl certificate for encrypting sensitive data.
Webflow is also SOC-2-compliant. This means the builder can adhere to high standards of security and confidentiality.
Lastly, Webflow automatically updates your files and stores backups of them. So whenever something is wrong, you will be confident (at least not as worried) that you can easily get back your files.
Webflow Price
As for price, you can choose to avail webflow with their free plan. This allows you to use Webflow on up to two projects. You can also publish the projects on their Webflow.io website. Their free plan is available for free for life.
Webflow has a variety of plans that can be used to reduce the price. These paid plans are divided into two types.
There is the Site Plan, and then there are the account plans. Elementor Background Overlay
The Site plan offers everything there is needed to build a basic website. Webflow offers 2 types of these plans. You can choose from four options in the basic plan. This starts for as low as $12 per month. To find out the exact cost of each plan, you will need to contact Webflow Customer Service.
Basic | CMS | Business | Enterprise |
This is the best choice for sites that don’t require CMS | Best for blogs and other content-driven websites | Best for Higher traffic marketing sites | This product is ideal for businesses and includes exclusive features |
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As for the Ecommerce plans, the are three types of plans
Standard (29 USD) | Plus ($74 USD) | Advanced ($2112( u) |
A new business starting from scratch | Important additional resources are required for higher volumes of business. | For businesses aiming to breach and grow |
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Account plans allow for more advanced website development with additional features. These are categorized into 2 types of plans: the Individual plans and the team plans.
The individual plans have 3 types of payment methods. One includes the aforementioned free plan, while the other 2 are paid plans. Elementor Background Overlay
Starter Plan (Forever Free) | Lite ($16). | Pro ($35) |
Includes everything you need to start building with Webflow. | Export your code to unlock additional pages for unhosted project | Ideal for designers, freelancers and anyone who needs more projects and premium features |
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There are two types of Team plans available. They offer the same features but one has more customization options. These are the details:
Team ($35 per person) | Enterprise (situational) |
Work on projects with a team through a collaborative, shared dashboard | For more information about the plans, contact customer service |
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Webflow Pros and Cons
Pros
- Includes everything and anything that you need for an overall website builder. This includes simple blogs and eCommerce websites.
- It has a very strong visual design tool that can rival everything that you can do with code
- Very flexible pricing plans, which are also customer friendly. Elementor Background Overlay
Cons
- There is limited code customization
- There are many plans available and it can be confusing. If you don’t pay attention, you might end up choosing the wrong plan.
- It is quite a learning process due to the fact that WordPress is a completely new environment. There are also new, powerful features.
- Some plans include traffic limits.
Elementor Versus Thrive Architects
Thrive Architect: A WordPress Page Designer
Thrive Architect plugin for WordPress is bundled with Thrive Themes. It is a newer page builder in their environment, which has become their flagship page builder replacing the old “Thrive Content Builder.” Elementor Background Overlay
As with the usual “modern” website builders, Thrive architect is also doing the drag-and-drop gimmick. It is designed for beginners, but can also be used to speed up the creation of websites by veterans.
Thrive offers a large library of templates to users to help them get started, or to get ideas for what they want to do.
Surprisingly, Thrive Architects focus on building websites that are geared toward conversions. As such, most of the templates mentioned earlier have the purpose of lead generation and conversion to your WordPress Page.
Thrive Architect Features
Thrive Architect, like most modern WordPress page builders has many features. We will only focus on the most important features for this overview.
- Thrive Architect is a plugin that works with all WordPress themes. Despite Thrive Architect having its own WordPress Theme, Thrive Suite, this is not the case. Thrive Architect can be used in conjunction with thousands of WordPress themes.
- Thrive Architect has a large library of plugins. All of the templates are maintained by the Thrive architect team at a higher standard. These templates are editable and can be used to speed up the process of creating web pages. Elementor Background Overlay
Thrive Architect and Thrive Themes focus on lead conversion and sales. These templates are almost all focused on sales. So expect a lot of sales-focused landing pages and webpage designs.
- Thrive Architect has its own intuitive drag and drop page editor. This interface gives you a real-time, accurate view of the page’s design.
Builders can save time by using the WYSIWYG method. They no longer need to preview your website. Your workflow gets faster as you don’t have to save multiple times and ensure you are doing right or wrong.
WYSIWYG will always show you where your bearings are.
- We have spoken about Thrive’s obsession with conversions so it is not surprising that they have a lot conversion- and sales-focused elements.
Besides, Thrive can’t boast about being conversion focused if they cannot provide the proper and adequate tools to do so.
- Thrive can also integrate with a lot of third-party services. This includes the usual suspects of Mailchimp, Facebook, and even Zapier.
- Thrive also provides beginners with educational content and tutorials to teach them about content-making focused on sales
- Thrive Architect’s lightbox feature allows you to create pop-up overlays. Elementor Background Overlay
- Thrive Architect allows you to create an auto-scrolling website. Although this feature is somewhat limited in its use, it can be used to create a unique website.
- Thrive Architect supports coders by adding custom HTML to your pages.
Thrive Architect Price
Thrive Architect was once available as an individual. However, Thrive Themes recently changed this. You will need to purchase their Thrive Suite package to use Thrive Architect.
Thrive has 2 payment plans available: Quarterly and Yearly:
Thrive Suite Quarterly | Thrive Suite Yearly |
$99 per Quarter | $299 per Year |
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Thrive Architect Pros and Cons
Pros
- It features an intuitive design that makes it easy to use. You can even visualize your designs in real time.
- Helps you create content that is unique on the Internet
- Not just webpages, but it comes with high-quality landing page templates. Because they are organized in sets, it is easy to find the perfect template.
- It is focused primarily on conversion and sales, making it the ideal website builder for online marketers and businesses.
- Most websites are mobile responsive, so you can be sure that your website is smartphone compatible
- It is a lightweight plugin that will not noticeably slow down the pages’ loading times.
- It is affordable and well-priced
- It can be integrated with a large amount of email service providers.
- You can use Gutenberg (WordPress’ latest page builder) with Gutenberg blocks. Elementor Background Overlay
Cons
- The whole Thrive Suite is not available separately. If you already own a WordPress Theme, this will double your cost.
- Apart from that, you will need to download Thrive Product Manager before even starting to plant an element on the builder.
- Thrive lacks a lifetime payment option.
Special Mentions
Brizzy
Brizzy, another WordPress builder, allows you to create web pages with amazing design. You don’t need any coding knowledge to use it. It can be compared to the big three Elementor, Beaver Builder and Divi.
As with most builders, Brizzy does well as a simple builder. However, there are some areas where it could be more effective.
Brizzy doesn’t have a developer APIi. Third-party extensions are not possible with Brizzy. Brizzy’s potential is severely limited by this. This limits Brizzy’s flexibility, and as such, this is why it cannot reach the heights of Elementor, Beaver Build, and Divi
Brizzy is also lacking in the documentation department. This isn’t a major problem, but it makes Brizzy less reliable than other builders who have robust and complete documentation.
Furthermore, the documentation that exists for Brizy also is not as comprehensive. So in most cases, people asking or needing help might find themselves scratching their heads.
Brizzy pricing is as follows:
Personal | Freelancer | Agency |
$49 per annum | $99 per annum | $199 per annum |
Ideal for personal work |
Ideal for working with clients |
Perfect for White-label solutions |
Oxygen Builder
The Oxygen builder has a similarity to Webflow in nature. It might be like WordPress, but it is not wordpress. Non-techies should not use oxygen because it is complex.
Most website builders are more inviting to a wider audience. This applies to people who don’t know much about coding or how it works. This is the exception to the rule, Oxygen.
Despite this, Oxygen allows both designers and experienced users to create amazing websites.
People who are interested in website development should not use Oxygen. There is a steep learning curve. This is, of course, perfect for a challenge.
Oxygen is also a great tool for web developers and designers who need to fine-tune every detail. Oxygen gives you the tools to control all aspects of your website, including its pieces.
For beginners or those who want a simpler user experience, this is not the best option. Elementor Background Overlay
As for the Price, Oxygen is not free. It doesn’t even have a demo. It does have a 60-day money back guarantee. You can always return the Oxygene product if you’re not up to the challenge.
Basic Plan (99 USD One-time Payment) | WooCommerce Plan ($149 one time payment) | Agency Plan ($169 one time payment) |
WordPress’s most flexible and powerful visual builder | Visually build websites as well as WooCommerce stores | Oxygen is the ultimate tool for creating websites for clients |
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Gutenberg Builder
While this is WordPress main builder, majority of online consensus is united: Elementor Background Overlay
Plainly NO.
It’s very annoying.
Writing in it is a bit unwieldy as it forces you to turn each paragraph into separate blocks. It has a mind of its own.
Lastly, despite significant efforts to improve its performance, it still lags considerably, especially when creating massive posts.
WordPress page builders plugins were made. The default plugin is not recommended.
Verdict Elementor Background Overlay
Your choice of WordPress page builder is entirely up to you. Of course, they might specialize in one field or another.
It is a great idea to pick a WordPress theme that suits you first and then go with the page builder that comes with it. This is a great way to cut costs and save money while maintaining quality work.
Elementor offers the best features and is free to use.
If there’s one thing you can take away from this review, it’s this:
Save yourself the headache and avoid Gutenberg, WordPress’ default builder.