Among website platforms, WordPress is probably the most famous. When talking about Content management systems alone, WordPress owns 60.8% of the market share. That is how ubiquitous and gigantic WordPress is.
Even 14.7% of the world’s top websites are powered by it. Time Magazine, Sony Music, The Harvard Gazette and even Microsoft News itself only function due to WordPress. WordPress is a must-have for the internet.
WordPress is a simple website builder. However, it requires a lot more work to make a website comparable to the larger sites like Microsoft News and Time Magazine. It would be difficult to create a website as functional and elegant without the necessary know-how.
Enter Plug-ins. WordPress plugins can be described as pieces of software you “plug in” to your WordPress website. These plugins will enhance or add functionality to your WordPress site. Through plugins, you can make your website into anything you can imagine.
Plugins are the heartbeat of WordPress. They are essential to maintain and enhance its function. Plugins are so baked into the WordPress environment that the WordPress Plugin Directory features about 55,000+ plugins.
Some are free and some are paid. Some of these plug-ins are easy to use, and others take a while of getting used to. One notable plug in is the page builder plug in called Elementor.
For those of you who prefer a more visual experience, here is a video review of Pink1472’s Youtube channel. To get a comprehensive overview of Elementor, you may still want to check out our article below.
Elementor: A Quick Overview Elementor Accordion Vs Toggle
To begin with, Elementor is a drag-and-drop page builder plugin for WordPress. Page builders are a tool that allows users to build websites from scratch.
Elementor is not new, however. Since its release in mid-2016, Elementor has been in the WordPress Plugin Library. It has quickly become one of the most popular, visual page builders in WordPress. From there, it hasn’t stopped and rested on its laurels.
Elementor continues to evolve and grow at an incredible pace, keeping up the latest technologies.
Since it is a drag-and-drop builder. Elementor is easy to use, even for people just starting to build websites. Most of the process will involve dragging and dropping website elements on your workspace.
Drag and drop builders work on the principle that “what you see, is what you get”. That means whatever you see while editing or building your website. It is easy to visualize how your website will look when you build it.
Furthermore, Elementor allows you to do a lot of things. It gives you the ability to create posts and pages that are unique and more eye-oppoing than the standard post or page templates from a regular WordPress theme.
When making your page, Elementor will bring you to a separate interface. Here you can work on your pages and posts. You don’t need to use the standard editor WordPress offers.
This interface also does not require you to have any HTML, CSS, PHP, or any coding skills. As stated above, everything is drag and drop and done through a handy user-facing interface.
Elementor is a flexible plugin. It can be used with any current WordPress theme. It can be used to create any page or content layout you can think of.
Elementor even works on all kinds of WordPress themes. So there is no need to worry if your theme will be bugging out since it is not compatible with Elementor.
Elementor’s Features
At first glance, Elementor is what it says it is, a drag and drop page builder for WordPress User to make their pages without using a code.
However, we wouldn’t be discussing Elementor if it is all that Elementor can do.
Elementor is not only one of the most popular and highly reviewed page builders plugins in WordPress. It also offers the following features:
Content Elements Galore
Elementor, as a web page creator, is quite a strange name. Rather than page building, it brings about images of a monster who uses the elements to vanquish the heroes.
However, nothing is further from the truth and Elementor was not named after a mythical creature or a scary monster to be vanquished. It is named after the building blocks users use to build out the page. These blocks are the so-called elements that form the web page.
These are the things that users need to “drag-and-drop” to form their eye popping designs. And through them, the Elementor name is apropos.
Responsive Design
First came the smart phones. Then came internet of things. Now, almost everything can be used to browse the internet. The most popular way to browse the internet is still via a personal computer or laptop, rather than using smartphones and tablets.
Now, if you are an owner of a webpage who wants the “hits” you should have no cock to pick on that cockfight. Both would be welcome to your site. You want your website to look great on any device.
Elementor makes it possible to achieve this. Your website will look great on any device, thanks to its responsive design.
You can also customize the look and function of your browser to suit your needs.
Templates
Elementor is a drag-and-drop builder that makes it easy to create a WordPress page. It is not surprising to see people who don’t know where to start when creating a website.
These poor souls can be helped by templates. Templates can help avoid the blank page syndrome that most beginners suffer from. Elementor provides hundreds of templates that are designed professionally.
These templates are a great place to start when you’re creating a new website. Or they can be used as an inspiration to create your own eye popping websites.
Style options
Aside from templates, Elementor also provides style. With Elementor, you can get a lot of detailed style options that allow for pixel-perfect design. What’s more is you do not need to know custom CSS or any coding at all.
Convenience
With its multiple tools, Elementor makes it a lot easier to build your web pages. Some of which include right-click support where you can get help with a click of the mouse. You can also use the quick find tool to help you locate what you need to build your site with Theme Builder.
The Pro version (paid version) even allows users to design entire WordPress themes.
Dynamic Content
Dynamic content is defined as any digital or online content that changes and updates based on data, user behavior and preferences.
Elementor allows you to add dynamic content from custom fields and plugins like ACF, Pods and Toolset. You can keep your pages up-to-date with any changes that you wish to reflect.
Popup Builder
Another feature available only to Pro users of Elementor is the popup builder. Popups are small web pages that can be used into whatever you like. More often than not, they are used for lead conversion.
Elementor’s popup builder allows you to create your popup with the same tools as your webpage builder. This includes the same visual, drag and drop interface as well as the what you see is what you get interface.
Elementor’s Popup Builder will allow you to create popups as striking as your pages.
WooCommerce Builder
WooCommerce is an open source ecommerce plugin for WordPress. WooCommerce’s target is usually small to large online merchants. Its main draw is for its simplicity to integrate on your website and its customizability.
Elementor allows you to set up an eCommerce store with the WooCommerce plugin. Through Elementor you can design your WooCommerce shop using Lementors. You can even include products and integrate it in your design.
Users for Elementor
Anyone can use Elementor. From digital marketers to students. Anybody who plans to create a WordPress website can use the various styles and functions available in Elementor to spice up their pages.
Casual User
Elementor is a great tool for casual users who want to inject some personality and pizazz into their blogs or websites. Elementor is the ideal tool to do this job.
Using the visual interface, it would be very easy for casual users to create groundbreaking or eye-opening designs even without using technical knowledge like coding, custom CSS or whatever programming language available.
For casual users, even the free version is already good to go.
Digital Marketer
Elementor is great for digital marketers, teams and individuals because it offers many marketing opportunities.
As a drag and drop page builder, it can be used to create a sales page or a potential landing page if you understand how to make those. You could even combine the plugin with Landing page friendly plugins to really hone in on your sales.
If you want to get serious, you can avail of the Elementor Pro features that allow you to create lead forms. These forms are similar to those that focus on landing pages or lead conversion.
These lead forms can be connected to popular email marketing tools. It can even be integrated with Zapier, one of the internet’s most well known automation and integration tools.
One feature discussed earlier is the Popup builder.This popup builder is perfect to create opt-in popups. You can place these pop ups anywhere on your site and target them to specific things.
The WooCommerce Builder can also be used to design sales pages and sell products.
Site Builders
For people whose work involves building websites for clients, there is no better choice than Elementor.
Elementor has plenty of features to make website building an easier and more streamlined process. The drag and drop feature allows builders an easy way to create a website from scratch. Combine this with the website preview, and you can almost instantly see the results of your work.
There are even themes to make the website building process easier. Or these very same themes can be used as an inspiration for the next websites they will be making. They can use the aesthetics, functionality, form, or any combination of the above to build the perfect website.
Elementor users can even use the plugin in conjunction with flexible themes to build 100% custom client sites without even touching code.
But if you want to code, Elementor still allows you to do that.
The Case for Using Elementor
While we know of Elementor’s features and we know who can benefit from using the plugin, we should probably get to know why we should use Elementor in the first place.
Elementor is a page builder that creates websites.
It isn’t easy to create websites. You might be able to grasp the basics. It is possible that you even know what elements are needed to create a functional website.
However, it is still a fact that websites should be unique in order to carve out their own space in the internet. Although this may sound simple, there are many factors that must be considered when creating a website.
Website navigation and aesthetics are important, as well as security. To keep visitors and users satisfied with the website’s performance, each of these should be in top condition.
Doing so will take a lot of work. Now, put yourself in the shoes of a freelancer or a website designer and you will have these problems multiplied tenfold.
For each new client or new website you build, you will need to create and generate newer ideas to make it unique.
Plugins and page builder apps are a godsend for these people. There are many features that make website building easier and more intuitive. It will be easier to do the work.
Website designers will need to spend less time tweaking websites based on the preferences of their clients.
It is possible to start from scratch. Thanks to the multiple professional grade templates available for use.
This is the core of website builders and webpage builders. They make it easier and more accessible for users to carve their own space on the Internet. Elementor Accordion Vs Toggle
The Examination of Elementor
The Interface
The Elementor plugin must be activated before it can be used. You can do so through the WordPress Repository.
With that done, you can choose to customize Elementor’s settings or immediately begin creating and designing a website.
The default settings for people just starting out should not be altered. We can now go to the pages and edit any that we want.
To start editing: On the upper right side of the page, click on “Edit With Elementor”
The dashboard will now have the following parts:
- The Main Canvas where most of the action will take place. This is where you will edit and redesign most of your websites look
- The Elementor widgets area where most of the “apps” and functions for your website can be dragged from before putting it in the main working area of our website
- Elementor Settings
- Open Elementor Widgets
- Global Settings
- Revision History
- Switch View. where you can switch between views on how your website will look like on different gadgets (desktop, tablet, or mobile)
- Preview Changes
- Publish
From this interface, you can choose what to do with your website. You can either start from scratch. You can edit a pre-existing webpage. You can even use a template to get you started with your work. Elementor Accordion Vs Toggle
Elementor Structure Hierarchy
Before you can truly begin creating websites in Elementor, you need to understand how it works. In this case, you need to get a grip of how the website elements in Elementor work as well as how they work with each other.
Sure, Elementor might offer a drag and drop builder, which at first glance can make it a chaotic and free builder. However, there is actually a structure to this “madness”. Understanding this structure is key to effective website building (aside from just copying a template.)
Each page created with Elementor has sections and columns
Sections are essentially rows. Each section is the foundation of the page. You can add a background in a section, change its sizing, and do more customizations. Sections hold widgets and columns. Basically they hold the other elements of the website together.
The sections are divided by columns. Each column can be customized and controlled individually, just like the sections. Each column can be home to multiple widgets or content. You can also make each section’s columns different.
As for the content and widgets, these are the smallest elements in a website. This is basically the toppers of your website. Your website’s function will be determined by the widgets, while its personality will be determined by the content. Of course, you can still customize and style these two.
Pre-made templates
While they are not necessary in creating web pages (you can always make them from scratch) , having pre-made templates is always a godsend. Not only do they make your work easier and faster, they are also a source of lots and lots of inspiration.
Elementor offers professionally designed templates that you can use on your website. You can use each template as is, or you can edit them to suit your needs or tweak them a little to make a perfect fit.
So how many templates do Elementor provide its users? Free users are given 150 and more templates available to use. If that is not enough, Pro users are given three hundred and more templates to play around with.
There are also the Elementor Kits. These are “design kits” that consist of a collection of templates. These templates are mostly uniform or share the same design feel. These templates are great for creating websites with a single design theme.
Both the pre-made templates and the Elementor kits are available on Elementor’s template library. This library contains most common templates for various purposes. Think of a web page, and you might find what you need there. Elementor Accordion Vs Toggle
They have a selection of pages for about pages, contact pages, homepages, landing pages and their various niches (i.e. restaurants, hotels, resorts etc.) Portfolios and teampages are also available.
The library gives and receives. If you created a web page that you think you really are satisfied with, you can export them as a template and you will be able to reuse them at the drop of a hat.
This allows you to easily choose a design for a page that shares design elements or functions with your other pages. These designs can be shared to the wider community online.
Designing a Page from Scratch with Elementor
Elementor allows you to build and design your web page either from scratch, with a pre-existing template. Although it’s easier to use a template to create one, it is worth learning how to make one yourself.
Through examining it sprocess, we can clearly see how good the functions of the Elementor Plugin is.
To start:
- Open a blank page and click “Edit With Elementor”
- There will be a “+” button. To add a new section, click on the button.
- You will be presented with a page that has a selection of sections in it. Choose the one that best suits your needs. Preferably the one with enough columns for your needs.
- Once you have created your sections, you are able to drag and drop your widgets from the Elementor to the columns you wish to place.
- When you are satisfied with where you placed your elements, you can customize them in the Content, Style, and Advanced Sections. A good idea is to play around with the options until you find out which styles fits for you. Elementor Accordion Vs Toggle
Editing an Existing Page in Elementor To Suit Your Design
After learning how to create web pages with Elementor from scratch, we can now look at editing instead of building one from an existing page. Pre-existing pages can come from a variety of sources.
They can come from your own saved pages. Some can come front he dozens of templates available from Elementor’s library. Or they can be other templates that you have imported into Elementor.
It doesn’t matter what source you use, editing a page from a pre-built webpage is much easier than building it from scratch.
Let’s get on with it.
- It is easy to add a new widget. Simply drag the widget that you wish to use from your Elementor Panel to the place you want it to be on the page.
- Rearranging widgets on the visual preview is also done by dragging the said widget and dropping it to the new location of where you want to place it.
- Editing text from content boxes is just as simple. Simply click on the box to open it and then enter the text you desire on the visual preview.
- You can always add sections or columns. This is especially useful when you want to create new layouts for your widgets.
- By clicking on the widgets, you can modify them in the same way as text. It will open the appropriate widget setting in the sidebar. This section is broken down into three tabs: Style, Content, and Advanced. Play with these settings until you find something you fancy. Elementor Accordion Vs Toggle
The Price of Elementor
It seems unbelievable that elementor is a free plugin when you consider all of the features it offers. Yep, you heard it right. Elementor is completely free
That said, you might have noticed that there is a mention of a Pro version. It is true that there is a Pro version. However, you don’t really need to go pro to enjoy almost all of Elementor’s benefits and features.
You can get Elementor’s main plugin via the official WordPress repository. It is entirely free and no hidden costs or signups and registrations are needed. You will also need this main plugin if you want to go Pro.
Speaking of the Pro edition. There are currently four plans. Each of these plans adds more benefits and features. You will get a different amount of Pro Website Activation depending on the plan you choose.
The plan 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
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
300+ Basic and Pro 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 |
The Case for Going Pro
There is a great debate if when talking about going Pro with Elementor. Many people struggle to pay for a service that offers 90% of the benefits it could offer for free. This really boils down to Elementor Pro.
Elementor Pro offers many other benefits, in addition to the ones mentioned above. These include: Elementor Accordion Vs Toggle
- 50+ Additional content elements or modules
- Additional page templates available in 300+
- You can create a theme using the theme builder.
- WooCommerce Builder allows you to rebuild WooCommerce Product Pages
- Popup Builder (which allows you create popups and then integrate them with an on-opt-in form, some offers or discounts).
- Visual form builder that can be integrated with many popular marketing tools
- Global widgets that can be used through the website (even not on the same page)
- For further customization, add custom CSS to any Elementor Blocks
- Sidebar widgets and widgets can be used to deploy Elementor elements
You can choose Elementor Pro Version if you don’t think these extra features are sufficient or you require some of these features on your website. Elementor Accordion Vs Toggle
Elementor: The Pros and Con of Elementor
Pros
- Elementor’s core product is completely free. Elementor is free to use, unlike many plugins.
- There are plenty of features to use for creating your webpage. They are even very easy to use.
- It allows users to build custom web pages and page layouts with eye-popping design that may not be accessible in your basic theme or on WordPress’ basic builder.
- The drag and drop builder removes the need for HTML, CSS, or PHP skills. No Coding is Required when you got Elementor by your side
- The “What you see, is what you get” approach makes it simple to build your website. This can save a lot of time.
- Elementor pages are all responsive. You can even see how your pages would look on mobile, tablet, and desktop while you build your website.
- This plugin allows you to adjust all alignments, margins and padding values. All details can be fine tuned.
Cons
- Sometimes, the custom styling to links does not always go as intended.
- There are times where you can get stuck with Elementor’s default typography and color settings.
- It is difficult to fix misaligned elements, especially talking about their margin values. This is because most blocks, columns, and content elements have their own margin settings.
- Elementor can slow down your website’s overall speed, according to some users. Elementor Accordion Vs Toggle
The Verdict for Elementor
In conclusion, Elementor is a splendid page builder. Elementor has everything you need to build a simple page. It caters to both beginners and veteran page builder alike. What’s more is that you get all of its features for the low low price of free.
So if you are looking for a drag and drop page builder plugin for WordPress, you will never go wrong with Elementor.
I would even go far as to say that the developers of Elementor have struck themselves gold and never really let go since then. Given Elementors age, it is amazing that they are still among the top choices today.
Common Questions about Elementor
Is Elementor compatible with WordPress themes?
Elementor works with all themes provided they adhere to the WordPress Codex coding standards.
Does Elementor Work with other WordPress plugins
Elementor can be used with nearly all WordPress plugins.
You might have an incompatibility problem. Elementor can help you to find and fix it.
What is Elementor Pro?
Elementor Pro, the advanced version of Elementor, is available.
Unlike regular Elementor, it is not free. However, it adds a lot of features and completes the needed tools that web creators need to build a professional, pixel perfect website. Elementor Accordion Vs Toggle
Why is the Studio subscription to Elementor Pro discounted?
Elementor wants to provide a studio plan at a lower price.
At 40% discount, this is a fantastic deal. However, this only applies for one year. During renewal, Studio plan users will be required to pay the full price.
How do I pay for Elementor Pro?
The folks at Elementor access Stripe, PayPal, or any credit card to pay for Elementor Pro.
Is there a Demo Version of Elementor Pro available? Elementor Accordion Vs Toggle
Elementor Pro does not have a Demo version.
However, they do offer a refund policy that lets you cancel the pro plan as well as get a refund within the first 30 days. So if you want to try the Pro version, the best thing to do would be pay for Elementor Pro, try it for a month, then decide if you want to keep it or not.