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.
WordPress powers 14.7% of the top websites in the world. WordPress is the only reason that Time Magazine, Sony Music and The Harvard Gazette, as well as Microsoft News, function. It goes without saying that the internet would be a different landscape if it weren’t for WordPress.
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. Without the know-how, it would be very difficult to make a website that is as functional or as elegant as those.
Use plug-ins. WordPress plugins can be described as pieces of software you “plug in” to your WordPress website. These pieces of software will then add new functionality or enhance functionality on your WordPress site. Plugins allow you to transform your website into any type of thing you can think of.
This is the reason why plugins can be considered as the beating heart 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. Elementor, a page builder plug-in, is a notable one.
For those of you who prefer a more visual experience, here is a video review of Pink1472’s Youtube channel. You can still read our article to get an overview of Elementor.
Elementor: A Quick Overview Elementor Background Image Overlay
Elementor, a drag-and drop page builder plugin for WordPress, is the first. Page builders are a tool that allows users to build websites from scratch.
That said, Elementor is nothing new. It has been available in the WordPress Plugin Library since it was released in mid-2016. It quickly became 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 very easy to use for those just beginning to build their websites. Drag and drop website elements onto your workspace is the most common part of Elementor.
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.
Elementor also allows you to do many 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. This is where you get to work on your posts and pages. As such, you do not need to touch the standard editor that WordPress provides.
You don’t need to know HTML, CSS, PHP or any other programming skills to use this interface. Everything is easy to use, and you can drag and drop it through the user-friendly interface.
Elementor is also a very flexible plugin. It can be used with any current WordPress theme. You can make and generate any content layout or page layout you can imagine with it.
Elementor even works on all kinds of WordPress themes. Elementor is compatible with all themes, so there’s no reason to be concerned if your theme isn’t compatible.
Elementor’s Features
Elementor looks like it’s a drag-and-drop page builder for WordPress Users.
We wouldn’t discuss Elementor, however, if that is all 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
Admit it, the name Elementor is pretty strange for something that is a web page builder. It is not page building. Instead, it creates images of a monster that uses the elements to defeat the heroes.
Elementor is not named after any mythical creature or scary monster. Its name is derived from the blocks that are used to build the pages. These blocks are the so-called elements that form the web page.
These are the items that users “drag-and drop” to create eye-popping designs. These are the Elementor names.
Responsive Design
The smart phones were first. Then came the Internet of things. The internet can now be accessed by almost any device. The most popular way to browse the internet is still via a personal computer or laptop, rather than using smartphones and tablets.
If you’re the owner of a website and want to get “hits”, you shouldn’t be allowed to pick on any cockfight. Both would be welcome to your site. As such, you would want your site to look the best it can no matter the device being used.
Elementor allows you to do just that. Your website will look great on any device, thanks to its responsive design.
And if you are not satisfied with the default look, there are multiple options provided to allow you to customize and control how it works and looks.
Templates
With a drag and drop builder like Elementor, it would not be a surprise if there are people trying to build a WordPress page who do not know a thing about code. It will also be no surprise to find people who have no idea where to begin when building a webpage.
Luckily templates exist in order to help these poor souls. Templates can help avoid the blank page syndrome that most beginners suffer from. Elementor provides hundreds of templates that are designed professionally.
These templates will be a good place to start whenever you are starting out for a new web page. These templates can also be used to inspire you in creating your own unique websites.
Style options
Elementor offers style as well as templates. With Elementor, you can get a lot of detailed style options that allow for pixel-perfect design. You don’t need to know any coding or custom CSS.
Convenience
Elementor’s many tools make it easy to create 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), allows users to create 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
The popup builder is another feature that only Pro users can access with Elementor. Popups can be made into any web page you wish. More often than not, they are used for lead conversion.
Elementor’s Popup Builder allows you to design your popup using the same tools given for your webpage builder. You can use the same visual, drag-and-drop interface and the “what you see is what it gives you” 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 primary draw is its ease of integration on your site and its customizability.
This customizability extends even to Elementor which allows users to create an eCommerce store using the WooCommerce plugin. You can create your WooCommerce shop through Elementor using Lementors. You can even include products and integrate it in your design.
Users for Elementor
Elementor can be used by almost anyone. Digital marketers, students and everyone in between. 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. In fact Elementor is the perfect tool for such a job.
The visual interface makes it easy for casual users, even those with no programming knowledge, to create eye-opening or innovative designs.
Even the free version is good enough for casual users.
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. To really increase your sales, you could combine the plugin with Landing Page friendly plugins.
You can use the Elementor Pro features to create lead forms if you’re serious. 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
Elementor is the best choice for those who work on websites for clients.
Elementor offers many features that make website building easier and more efficient. Drag and drop allows builders to quickly create a website. 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. These themes can also be used to inspire the next website they create. To create the perfect website, they can combine the functionality and aesthetics of all three.
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.
Elementor: The Case
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.
First of all, the most basic use of Elementor boils down as a page builder for websites.
Making websites is not an easy task. Sure, you might know the basics. You might even know which elements to include to make a very functional website.
However, it is still a fact that websites should be unique in order to carve out their own space in the internet. This might sound like an easy task, but there are a lot of factors to consider when maintaining a website.
Then there is the website navigation, the overall aesthetic, not to mention, the security of your website. Each of these must be maintained in a pristine condition to keep users and visitors satisfied with your website’s overall performance.
Doing so will take a lot of work. These problems will be ten times more if you are a freelancer or website designer.
For each new client or new website you build, you will need to create and generate newer ideas to make it unique.
These people will find plugins and page builders apps a blessing. There are many features that make website building easier and more intuitive. Work will take less time to consume.
Website designers will need to spend less time tweaking websites based on the preferences of their clients.
Even starting from scratch can be a thing of the past. Many professional-grade templates are available.
And that is the main crux of website and webpage builders. They make it easier and more accessible for users to carve their own space on the Internet. Elementor Background Image Overlay
The Examination of Elementor
The Interface
Of course, using the Elementor plugin requires installation and activation before using it. This can be done through the WordPress Repository.
Once you’re done, you can either customize Elementor’s settings to your liking or start creating and designing websites immediately.
For people who are just starting out, the default starting settings should not be changed. We can now go to the pages and edit any that we want.
Click on the “Edit with Elementor” button in the upper right corner of the page to begin editing
This will bring about the dashboard that has the following parts:
- This is the Main Canvas, where the majority of the action will occur. Here you can edit and redesign the majority of your websites.
- You can drag the Elementor widgets section from which most of the functions and “apps” for your website to be placed before you place it in the main area of our website.
- Elementor Settings
- Open Elementor Widgets
- Global Settings
- Revision History
- Switch View. Switch View. This is where you can switch between different views of how your website will appear on different devices (desktop/tablet, mobile).
- Preview the Changes
- Publish
From this interface, you can choose what to do with your website. You can either start from scratch. Edit an existing webpage. You can even use a template to get you started with your work. Elementor Background Image Overlay
Elementor Structure Hierarchy
Understanding how Elementor works is essential before you can create websites. This is where you will need to understand how Elementor works and how they interact with one another.
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”. This structure is essential for effective website building, and not just copying a template.
Every page built with Elementor contains sections and columns
Sections are essentially rows. Each section is the basis of the page. You can change the size and background of a section. Most of all, sections hold columns and widgets. Basically they hold the other elements of the website together.
Columns meanwhile divide the sections. Just like the sections, you can control and customize each column individually. 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. These are the main elements of your website’s toppers. The function of your website will depend on the widgets and its personality will depend on the content. These widgets can be customized and styled.
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. They not only make it easier to do your job faster but also provide 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? Elementor offers 150 templates to free users. Pro users have three hundred more templates available to them.
There are also the Elementor Kits. These “design kits” consist of a variety of templates. These templates have a common design or are generally uniform. These kits are perfect for crafting whole websites that carry a singular vision on its design aspect.
Both the pre-made templates and the Elementor kits are available on Elementor’s template library. This library holds most of all common page templates for different purposes. You might think of a website page and find the information you are looking for. Elementor Background Image Overlay
There are pages for contact pages, about pages, landing pages, and niches. restaurants, hotels, resorts etc.) Portfolios and teampages are also available.
The library gives and receives. You can export web pages that you are happy with to a template so you can reuse them whenever you want.
This allows you to easily choose a design for a page that shares design elements or functions with your other pages. You can even share them to the greater 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. While it is easier to build one from a template, it is still worthwhile to learn how to build one from scratch.
Through examining it sprocess, we can clearly see how good the functions of the Elementor Plugin is.
To start:
- Click “Edit with Elementor” to open a blank page
- You will see a “+” button. Click on it to add a new section
- A page will appear with a variety of sections. 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 Background Image Overlay
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. You can find pre-existing pages from many sources.
These templates can be taken from your 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.
- Adding in a new widget is the same as doing it from scratch. Simply drag the widget that you wish to use from your Elementor Panel to the place you want it to be on the page.
- You can also arrange widgets in the visual preview by dragging them and dropping them to the new place.
- 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 particularly useful if you need to create new layouts of your widgets.
- You can customize your widgets the same way you edit text, by clicking on them. In the case of widgets, it will open the appropriate setting in the sidebar. This is divided into three tabs: Content, Style, and Advanced. These settings can be adjusted until you find the right setting. Elementor Background Image Overlay
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. And it’s true there is a pro version. To enjoy most of Elementor’s features and benefits, however, you don’t need to be a pro.
The official WordPress repository contains Elementor’s main plug-in. 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 available. Each plan has more features and benefits. Depending on which plan you choose, they will provide a different number of Pro Website Activation.
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
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 |
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
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
300+ Basic and Pro 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. A lot of people find it hard to reconcile paying for a service that already offers 90% of what it can do for free. To be honest, this actually boils down to what Elementor Pro offers.
Elementor Pro offers many other benefits, in addition to the ones mentioned above. This include: Elementor Background Image Overlay
- 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 to build popups and integrate them with either an on opt-in form or some offers or discounts)
- Visual form builder that can be integrated with many popular marketing tools
- Global widgets can be used on the website, even if they are not on the same page.
- Add custom CSS to any Elementor Blocks for further customization
- Deploying Elementor elements in sidebars and widgets
If you think these additional features are enough, or if you need some of these features for your webpage, you should definitely go for Elementor’s Pro Version. Elementor Background Image Overlay
The Pros and Cons of Elementor
Pros
- The core product for Elementor is entirely free. Elementor is free to use, unlike many plugins.
- You have many options to create your website. These features are also very simple to use.
- This allows users to create custom web pages or layouts using eye-popping designs that are not possible with the default theme or WordPress’ basic builder.
- Drag and drop builders eliminate the need to have HTML, CSS, orPHP skills. No Coding is Required when you got Elementor by your side
- Chooses the “What you see is what you get” approach, makes it easy for you to build your website without switching to previews. This approach can help you save 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.
- The plugin provides detailed settings for all alignments, margins, and padding values. All details can be fine tuned.
Cons
- Sometimes the links’ custom styling doesn’t always work as expected.
- Sometimes you may need to stick with Elementor’s default typography or 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 Background Image Overlay
The Verdict on Elementor
In conclusion, Elementor is a splendid page builder. It has all the features you want and need for a basic page builder and more. Both beginners and veterans can use it. What’s more is that you get all of its features for the low low price of free.
Elementor is the best drag-and-drop page builder plugin you can find for WordPress.
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 as long as they follow the coding standards of WordPress set by its Codex.
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 is the more advanced version of Elementor.
It is not free, unlike regular Elementor. However, it adds a lot of features and completes the needed tools that web creators need to build a professional, pixel perfect website. Elementor Background Image Overlay
Why is there a discount for the Studio subscription of Elementor Pro?
Elementor wants to provide a studio plan at a lower price.
This is a great deal at 40% off However, this only applies for one year. During renewal, Studio plan users will be required to pay the full price.
How can I pay for Elementor Pro
Elementor Pro can be paid for using Stripe, PayPal or any other credit card.
Is there a Demo Version for Elementor Pro? Elementor Background Image Overlay
There is no Demo version for Elementor Pro.
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.