WordPress is a widely-used tool for website building. 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. Some of the more common examples of a WordPress website include:
- Blogs
These are websites that depend on the author’s likes and interests. 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 are usually geared to showcase products and services that the website owner intends to sell. These sites can also be used to collect payments for the goods and services.
- Business website
These might appear to be E-Commerce websites at first glance. They are quite different in function. While E-commerce websites can sell, Business websites are geared toward introducing users to a company and what they offer. They can be thought of as a business profile, but not online.
- Sites for members
Content creators (i.e., Youtubers, Online Artists, etc.) might want to add something extra for their most fervent supporters or followers. 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. Content creators can make a website where users need to log in or pay for the said content. WordPress has enough tools to handle the things needed to set this up.
- 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.
Nowadays, larger websites are the most popular sites for discussion. Reddit, Quora and other forums are the most popular. However, it does not mean that forum websites have stopped existing altogether. For niche topics, forums are still crucial discussion places.
WordPress allows content creators, bloggers, and even book authors to host their own Forums. Forums like these give a more intimate feel compared to the wide reach of the usual websites.
- Websites for events
Event websites are simple websites used to advertise events. An event website allows the public to view and verify details about events such as seating and dates. They can also check 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. You can now create websites for any personal event thanks to the internet. 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 Pods And Elementor
WordPress’ popularity and longevity can be attributed to the community of users who support it. 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 come in many forms. They can be in the form that focuses on a website’s SEO or for use in analytics. WordPress Plugins can also be used for payment modes and marketing integrations. You can even find plugins to make building websites easy.
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 often play nicely with the heart of WordPress, more or less. However, there will be times when getting a premium one is also worth it. Support is the strongest reason to pay for premium plugins.
WordPress plugins are generally well-behaved. There are occasions when plugins do not function as they should. As such, the value of customer support service can never 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. These WordPress plugins are recommended for all WordPress websites:
- 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. It allows you to quickly replace deleted data or bring your website back into a save state prior to the attack.
- WordPress Security Plugin
WordPress’s popularity andubiquity make it a popular target for hackers. Hackers create malicious programs to attack WordPress sites, access all their data, and do something nefarious.
This is where WordPress Security plugins come in. These plugins offer many ways to stop these attacks. To stop brute force attacks, some limit the number of login attempts on a website. Some offer more sophisticated and comprehensive protection against these attacks.
Whatever your preference, the key to finding the best WordPress security plugin is 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. With proper SEO settings, your website can be found easier in searches through search engines such as Google and Bing!
SEO is a business in and of itself. With the number of websites that pop out day by day, the competition for Google’s front pages is brutal. A great SEO plugin can help your website gain more traffic.
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 include contact forms, survey forms, donation forms, file uploaders, and more.
Basically, forms let your site visitors enter personal information. This information is then received and sent to the appropriate place (database or mailing list).
Forms can be used to collect sensitive information and should not be spammed. These forms should be able to fit the needs of the customer. Most e-commerce websites use forms.
It is important to choose a WordPress form plugin that is secure, yet easy to set up and customize.
- WordPress E-commerce Plugin
Speaking of business, for WordPress E-commerce, it would be a no-brainer to an e-commerce plugin. E-commerce websites are built to sell products; however, your website will have no such ability if you do not have the appropriate plugin.
E-commerce plugins allow you to transform your website into an online store. It can provide you with a lot of tools and resources. Some plugins for e-commerce even have online payment capabilities.
- WordPress Design Plugin
WordPress is the best platform for website design. It lets you do almost anything that is possible, granted you know how to code. HTML, CSS, and other coding languages can allow you to tweak your WordPress Page to the limit.
Nevertheless, not everyone has the necessary knowledge to code. This might seem like a high barrier to entry for WordPress users. However, If WordPress had a high barrier of entry, it wouldn’t be as popular now.
This so-called barrier to entry was removed by WordPress, which helped it regain and grow its user base. WordPress Site Design plugins such as page builders made website building easier and more efficient.
Many of these plugins remove the need to code in order to build websites. Through their drag-and-drop interface, almost everyone and their mum can build a website over at WordPress, with little to no coding knowledge. Although coding knowledge is not required, there are many benefits to using WordPress.
These plugins also sped up the process of making websites, and thus, WordPress users (or at least sites that use WordPress as a platform) quickly grow in number day by day.
Now those are only a few types of plugins that we recommend adding 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.
Once you have logged in to your WordPress site, look for the Plugins menu in your site’s WordPress Dashboard. Click on it to Expand this Menu.
There will be 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.
This is because some plugins come bundled with your WordPress Installation.
To upload a new plugin, simply click on the “Add New” link. 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. After this, you must locate your plugin zip file 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. You don’t likely need to modify any plugin’s PHP code.
Elementor: One of the best page builders plugins WordPress has to offer
Elementor is a WordPress Site Design Plugin that is among the best. 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. It might be a more recent addition to the WordPress ecosystem, but that is still a pretty significant period of time by the Internet’s 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.
That said, the heart of Elementor is still in its functionality as drag and drop builder. It does this function well. It operates in a “what you see is what you get” approach. This approach makes it easier to see how the website will look while you are still editing.
Elementors allows you to bypass the need to open WordPress’s standard editors. 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 known for being a flexible plugin. You can use it with any current WordPress theme. It even comes with its own theme builder that allows you to make your own WordPress themes that suits your taste and needs.
It works with all themes in the WordPress library so there’s no worry about them getting out of sync. 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.
As such, here are some of Elemetor’s best 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.
However, responsive design does not only mean directly translating your website and how it looks through a smartphone. Elementor also has the capability to allow users to fully customize how they look.
You can view the page through various platforms and gadgets by simply touching another button. You can then make further edits to your page, including adding or deleting elements.
- Available templates
No page builder would be complete without templates. After all, templates are the best examples to inspire when building anything from scratch (web pages included).
For beginners, templates can be a good starting point for page developers. This is especially true if the templates are professionally designed. With templates, work and development on newer websites can come faster for the price of sites having a samey look.
All templates in Elementor are editable. This includes their styling options. So you do not have to worry about websites looking the same when utilizing templates in your work.
Elementor offers many professionally designed templates. For both beginner and veteran users to use. As stated above, beginners can use these templates as their starting point when making websites. For veterans (i.e. page developers), you can use these templates to speed up your 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. Elementor makes these styling options available to everyone. This is possible without any coding knowledge.
- Convenience
Elementor’s many tools make web page building easy. Even better, support is available in just one click. Then there is also a quick find tool that can help in finding a specific topic of help.
- 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. This ability will keep your website current and fresh.
- WooCommerce Builder
WooCommerce is an open-source e-commerce plugin mainly used in WordPress. Most of its customer base includes merchants that use WordPress as their main site. Of course, this includes both small and large online merchants.
WooCommerce is almost in symbiotic relationships with WordPress. It’s easy to integrate WooCommerce within WordPress.
Elementor allows you to enhance your WooCommerce store with its customization 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. In fact, it is so hated that even its original creator had to apologize to the whole internet for the countless troubles it has caused.
Popups can be a great lead conversion tool if used correctly. Elementor Pro users have access to a popup creator that can be used as a lead conversion tool.
Elementor’s popup creator allows you to create your popup with the same tools as the webpage builder. You can even set the triggers on when and how these popups appear.
Elementor Price
If Elementor’s features have already impressed you, then you will be more impressed with its price. Elementor lets users enjoy at least 80% the plugin’s capabilities for a low price of only $0.99!
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
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
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
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 |
1000 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 |
Elementor Pros and Cons
Pros
- Elementor’s core product does not cost a single dime. To fully utilize Elementor’s potential, you don’t need the Pro plan.
- Elementor provides plenty of features to create the best WordPress web page. These tools are simple and very easy to use.
- Elementor’s page builder is an upgrade to the basic WordPress Builder both in terms of function and accessibility
- Elementor lets you create pages without needing to know HTML, CSS, and PHP coding.
- Elementor’s “what you see is what you get” approach makes building websites faster by removing the need to preview your work.
- Elementors pages are automatically responsive in design. They are compatible with all devices. If you want, you can even fine-tune the design for each device.
- Speaking of fine-tuning, Elementor provides the ability to modify alignments, margins, and padding values
Cons
- There are times when the custom styling (especially for links) gets buggy
- Sometimes Elementor’s default typography or color settings cannot be changed.
- It can be difficult to correct misaligned elements due to the different margin values.
- 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.
Among their products is the Divi Theme, which is their flagship product. Divi’s functionality in the drag-and-drop website creator is key to Elegant Theme’s success.
It was only a matter time that Elegant Themes provided the builder as an additional 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). It also has multiple features that make it more attractive to users.
- Drag and Drop Visual Content Editor
The Divi builder started as a back-end page builder tool from the Divi Theme. It has been made a plugin and is now a front-end visual editor.
With this upgrade, Divi now operates in a “what you see is what you get interface.” Essentially, this removes the downside of back-end builders who do not know how the design will turn up until you switch preview moves.
Divi’s Visual Content Editor continues to be upgraded. 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. It also removes the frustration of discovering inaccurate layouts.
Those used to playing with the site’s backend might find themselves lost or missing some of the features available when using that mode. You can switch to Wireframe mode with Divi Builder.
This wireframe mode effectively hides the content of each module and focuses more on the page’s structure. This gives you a clear view of the layout and which modules are being used.
Divi allows you to customize the way your website works, according to your preference and comfort.
- 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.
This effectively gave Divi Builder the ability to customize your entire website. Headers, footers, category pages, product templates, and other parts of the site can now be customized depending on the user’s whims.
Even blog posts could be customized through templates. These templates can be applied automatically to all blog posts, or a select few. If you want, you can even use the Display rules feature to automate templates and formatting of posts depending on their category.
This functionality allows for dynamic content to be added to existing static content. It can also enhance interaction with WooCommerce content.
The Divi Theme Builder feature, which allows users to create custom 404 error pages or search results pages, is most surprising.
- 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 be used to replace functionality on WordPress pages that use other plugins. These modules can transform almost all of your website’s functions into Divi or Elegant Themes.
It doesn’t matter if one developer has this idea for all your plugins or “apps”, it still has its benefits. It reduces the load time for your WordPress site.
It also means a cost reduction, especially if you are using commercial plugins.
These modules include countdown timers and maps, countdown timesrs and pricing tables. They also allow for email opt-in forms and videos with their sliders.
These modules also come in different variations. This adds spice to your website design. You won’t have to risk having the same module appearing from different parts of the internet.
- 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. These high-quality templates can be used to begin their design process or, if satisfied, 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.
They can be targeted at specific websites such as those for freelancers, contractors, eCommerce stores and websites for construction companies. That said, these layouts are entirely customizable.
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
One unique feature of Divi builder is the ability to hold A/B testing on your page layout. You can compare two layouts on your page layout to see which is more effective.
While freedom in design is always a plus, too much freedom could be detrimental, especially when it is misguided. This is where A/B Testing can be useful. By comparing various versions of a page’s layout, one can detect if a design choice in a website should be done or undone.
At the end of the day, a properly A/B tested website will lead it to be optimized for its purpose.
- Divi Role Editor
Some websites are run by different people. This allows for more efficient job division but increases the chance of the website’s main settings being changed accidentally. As the saying goes, “Too many cooks may spoil the broth.”
Divi offers a role editor that allows you to restrict access to your website’s backend. You can allow your co-authors to do what they want, like writing for your blogs. However, this role editor will prevent them from doing any unnecessary things.
Divi’s role as editor is also granular. It’s not a binary choice. By choosing a role, you can define which parts of the plugin they can access and make use of.
This is especially important for web designers with clients that could break custom designs. Role editor reduces the chance of custom design breaking.
- Full-Width Content
Images make your web pages pop. Images can enhance the design of your website. Sometimes you simply want to add an image to one part of your website.
Divi offers a feature that lets you do exactly 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. Videos, text, headers and menus can all be included.
Divi Price
Divi Builder was an original part of Divi Theme. You cannot purchase this plugin separately. Access to Elegant themes will require a yearly payment. The one plan provides a yearly access and the other grants lifetime access.
Yearly Access | Access for Life |
$89/Year | $249 1 Time |
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Divi Pros and Cons
Pros
- Divi’s interface is intuitive and clean.
- Divi is a great value for money. They even offer a lifetime deal.
- Divi can be used on an unlimited number of websites and without limitations
- 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 is available with an additional WordPress theme
- Divi provides more than a hundred stunning templates to choose from. Pods And Elementor
Cons
- Longer pages are more difficult to work with.
- Divi’s online editing options are better
- Divi has a few bugs. This usually manifests when making more complex layouts
Elementor Versus WPBakery
WP Bakery: The Builder Formerly Known as Visual Composer
WPBakery, which we now call Visual Composer, was once known as Visual Composer. But hold on, it gets more confusing because right now, there is another WordPress plugin also called Visual Composer. Let’s move on to WPBakery now that we have that out of the way.
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. Samples of these include text blocks, social media buttons, video players, and other blocks that are standard fare for page builders. Pods And Elementor
WPBakery offers a drag-and drop page builder that allows you to design 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. They offer the following:
- Interface is simple and lightweight
- Frontend and Backend Editor
- Multilingual ready
- Templates that can later be saved
- Responsive websites that work on mobile and PC
- Very own set of “content elements”
- Object-oriented code
- Huge addon support
WPBakery is more difficult to use than you might think. Even if you are a technical person, it is not very user-friendly. It is built on a shortcode architecture that can be a massive liability.
It has some help text, but they are not well executed. Pods And Elementor
It’s also just plain unreliable. It has erratic previews and is riddled with bugs. 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 lets you save your templates to be used later
- It works with most themes
- It has a multilingual interface
- Includes various content blocks to help you build your website
- You can integrate it with various add-ons that will enhance its functionality Pods And Elementor
- It has a user role access control
Cons
- It is difficult to use the page builder and takes some time to learn. Even experienced website designers know this.
- It may not be compatible with all plugins, and can sometimes cause conflicts with them.
- Deactivating this builder leaves shortcodes on pages that use this plugin.
- This plugin may slow down download speeds and impact your age speed.
Elementor Versus Beaver Builder
Beaver Builder: The Most 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.
Since it is a page builder, it allows you to build custom posts and pages through 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.
Despite having a theme of its own, Beaver Builder (the plugin) is compatible with any WordPress theme. As such, you can keep using your current WordPress theme and carry on developing and designing your site. Pods And Elementor
Beaver Builder’s greatest strength is its simplicity and efficiency. Beaver Builder boasts that it makes working with existing website content and creating websites from scratch much faster and more efficient.
Beaver Builder Features
BeaverBuilder is a powerful page builder with many features that can be called the best. As such, instead of listing every bit of them, let’s check their highlights. Efficiency is the key to Beaver Builder.
Beaver Builder’s essential features include:
- The main page builder features a full drag-and-drop interface. You can place text and images wherever you like with this builder.
- Beaver Builder allows for full front-end editing. This allows you to view your work while you are working on it. This is akin to the “what you see is what you get” approach of other page builders.
- Beaver Builder eliminates the need to code when building websites. HTML or CSS, you don’t need it with Beaver Builder. Pods And Elementor
- Beaver Builder can be used with all WordPress themes. Thus, you can combine Beaver Builder with any theme, and it would be like nothing significant 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. Beaver Builder can create landing pages, welcome pages, and comment sections.
- Beaver Builder offers 30 content elements and modules for working with pages. 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. As such, you can be sure that your developed website will be responsive.
- Beaver Builder is also compatible with WooCommerce. Beaver Builder allows you to create WooCommerce content using the content elements. Pods And Elementor
- Beaver Builder is also not stingy. In fact, it gives you the ability to import and export features. This allows you reuse and share your designs with the larger community.
Beaver Builder Price
Agency | Pro | Standard |
$399 | $199 | $99 |
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Beaver Builder Pros and Cons
Pros
- Beaver Builder empowers users to be creative in building their webpages
- There is no learning curve when using Beaver Builder
- Beaver Builder offers full drag-and drop builder support.
- Beaver Builder is flexible and lenient. Beaver Builder allows you to use default WordPress widgets within its Content blocks Pods And Elementor
- 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 costs $99. They do offer a Lite version which costs 0$.
- 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 does not allow users to add custom CSS code 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
WordPress is the most popular blog platform on the Internet, but not everyone loves it. As such, there are alternatives for people who are uncomfortable using WordPress. Webflow is one of these alternatives.
Webflow’s primary focus is on 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. The thing about Webflow is that it writes the code while you are working on your site. Pods And Elementor
When compared to WordPress, Webflow claims to have more advantages over it. Webflow offers more creativity, more security, and easier use for users.
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.
- Webflow offers over a thousand available templates, and 45 of them are free. Like most websites, Webflow allows you to use these templates to help you build websites from scratch.
These templates can also be accessed via Webflow. They can be categorized and grouped according to which type of website they are intended for (portfolios, blogs, SaaS), etc. You can also search them using popular tags, languages, and other methods.
- Webflow may not be as intuitive for new users but it does provide a great tutorial to help users get familiar with the environment and navigate it. 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. Pods And Elementor
- Webflow also has a well-laid-out interface. The main builder of Webflow is broken into three sections to make it easier for you to 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. It is even easier since you do not need to add another plugin to ensure you are 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. Both of these are free and paid.
Webflow even provides instructions for building up said site, from setting up until launching.
- Webflow provides a Content Management System that allows users to group the content they present to their audience. This CMS organizes resources, particularly when creating blog posts. Pods And Elementor
Webflow eases up the blogging process and puts it in a more organized manner.
- You can be sure that your data will remain safe and secure with Webflow. They have integrated hosting plans built with Amazon Web Services, which is among the most secure hosting processes on the internet. They even provide you with a free one-year SSl certificate for encrypting sensitive data.
Aside from that, Webflow is also SOC-2 compliant, which means that the builder can meet high standards of security, confidentiality, and privacy.
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
You can avail webflow with their no-cost plan. This allows you to use webflow on two projects with full designing and can publish said projects on their website of Webflow.io. Of course, their free plan is free forever.
Webflow has a variety of plans that can be used to reduce the price. There are two types of paid plans.
There’s the Site Plan and then there’s the Account Plan. Pods And Elementor
The Site plan includes everything you need to create a basic website. Webflow offers 2 types of these plans. You can choose from four options in the basic plan. The cost starts at $12 per month. You will have to contact Webflow Customer service to get the exact amount for each plan.
Basic | CMS | Business | Enterprise |
Best for simple sites which do not need CMS | Blogs and other content-driven websites are best | Sites that have higher traffic are best | 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. | Businesses looking to grow and breach |
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Account plans allow for more advanced website development with additional features. There are two types: The Individual and Team plans.
There are three payment options available for individual plans. The first includes the free plan mentioned above, and the second two are paid plans. Pods And Elementor
Starter Plan (Forever Free) | Lite ($16). | Pro ($35) |
This package includes everything you need in order to get started with Webflow. | Export your code and unlock more pages for unhosted projects | Best for freelancers, designers, and people who need more projects and premium features |
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When it comes to the Team plan, it has 2 types of plan available. Mostly, they offer almost the same features, but one offers a more customizable plan. Here they are:
Team ($35 per person) | Enterprise (situational) |
Use a shared, collaborative dashboard to collaborate on projects with your team | Contact customer support to inquire about the plan packages |
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Webflow Cons and Pros
Pros
- It includes everything you need to build a website. 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
- Flexible pricing plans that are customer-friendly. Pods And Elementor
Cons
- You can only customize the code.
- There are many plans available and it can be confusing. If you don’t pay attention, you might end up choosing the wrong plan.
- There is a huge bit of a learning curve due to it being a new and different environment from WordPress as well as new and powerful features
- Some plans include traffic limits.
Elementor Versus Thrive Architects
Thrive Architect: A WordPress Page Architect
Thrive Architect plugin for WordPress is bundled with Thrive Themes. This is their new flagship page builder, replacing the “Thrive Content Creator”. Pods And Elementor
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.
- As a plugin, Thrive Architect works with most WordPress themes. Despite Thrive Architect having its own WordPress Theme, Thrive Suite, this is not the case. Therefore, you can use Thrive Architect in combination with the thousands of themes available in WordPress.
- Thrive Architect also has a massive library for plugins. All of the templates are maintained by the Thrive architect team at a higher standard. These editable templates can help speed up the design process when making web pages. Pods And Elementor
Thrive Architect (and Thrive Themes) focus on sales and lead conversion. Most of these templates are just as focused on sales. Expect a lot more sales-focused landing pages, and web designs.
- Thrive Architect also 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.
With WYSIWYG, you always know 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.
Thrive cannot boast of being conversion-focused if they don’t provide the right and appropriate tools.
- Thrive is also compatible with many third-party services. Mailchimp, Facebook and Zapier are all examples.
- Thrive offers tutorials and educational content for beginners to help them learn about content-making that is focused on selling.
- You can also create pop-up overlays through Thrive Architect’s lightbox tool. Pods And Elementor
- Thrive Architect allows you to create an auto-scrolling website. Somewhat situational in use, but with enough creativity, you can make a novel website based on this feature.
- Thrive Architect supports coders by adding custom HTML to your pages.
Thrive Architect Price
It used to be that you could avail of Thrive Architect individually; however, Thrive Themes have recently changed that. You will need to purchase their Thrive Suite package to use Thrive Architect.
Thrive offers two payment options: Quarterly or Yearly.
Thrive Suite Quarterly | Thrive Suite Yearly |
$99 per Quarter | $299 per Year |
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Pros and cons of Thrive Architect
Pros
- Features an intuitive design that is easy to use. It even lets you 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’s a light-weight plugin and cannot noticeably slow down your pages’ load 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. Pods And Elementor
Cons
- The whole Thrive Suite is not available separately. This means double the cost if you already have an existing and preferred WordPress Theme.
- Apart from that, you will need to download Thrive Product Manager before even starting to plant an element on the builder.
- Thrive does not offer a lifetime payment option.
Special Mentions
Brizzy
Brizzy is another WordPress builder that lets you generate web pages of amazing design. You don’t need any coding knowledge to use it. As such, you can compare it with the big three of Elementor, Beaver Builder, and Divi.
Like most of the other builders, Brizzy fairs well as a plain builder; however, there are a few areas that it could work with.
Brizzy doesn’t have a developer APIi. Third-party extensions are not possible with Brizzy. This severely cripples Brizzy’s potential. Brizzy is limited in its flexibility and cannot reach the heights at Beaver Build, Elementor, or 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.
Brizy’s documentation is also not as extensive. Brizy documentation is not as comprehensive, so people who are looking for help or asking for it might be left scratching their heads.
Brizzy pricing is as follows:
Personal | Freelancer | Agency |
$49 per annum | $99 per year | $199 per year |
Ideal for personal work |
Ideal for working with clients |
Ideal 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.
Website builders tend to be more appealing to a wider audience. This includes people who have no idea how coding works or just how the works in general. Oxygen seems to be the exception to that rule.
That said, Oxygen does allow experienced users and designers to create wonderful websites.
People who are interested in website development should not use Oxygen. It features a huge learning curve. This is, of course, perfect for a challenge.
Furthermore, web developers and designers who want to be able to fine-tune even the most minute of details, Oxygen is also for them. Oxygen gives you the tools to control all aspects of your website, including its pieces.
As for beginners and those looking for an easier user experience, it’s best to stay away from this one. Pods And Elementor
As for the Price, Oxygen is not free. You don’t get a demo. What it has is a 60-day money-back guarantee. If you are not up to Oxygene’s challenge, you can always return it.
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 and WooCommerce shops | The ultimate for building websites for clients while using Oxygen |
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Gutenberg Builder
Although this is the main WordPress builder, most online consensus is unifying. Pods And Elementor
Simply, NO.
It is very buggy.
It is difficult to write in because you have to break up each paragraph into its own blocks. It is a self-sufficient tool.
Lastly, despite significant efforts to improve its performance, it still lags considerably, especially when creating massive posts.
There is a reason why WordPress page builder plugins were created. And that is to avoid using the default one.
Verdict Pods And Elementor
At the end of the day, your choice of WordPress page builder or page builders, in general, is up to your preference. They might be experts in one area.
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 for you to save money and still get high quality work.
Elementor offers the best features and is free to use.
However, if there is one thing that you can learn from this review, let it be this:
Save yourself the headache and avoid Gutenberg, WordPress’ default builder.