Whenever we talk about website building, one of the easily available tools that we can use is WordPress. WordPress is a free, open-source website creation platform. WordPress is a popular platform for creating websites. It has many features and is flexible, so it’s great for both newbies and veterans.
A WordPress website is any website that utilizes the WordPress ecosystems for managing its content. As such, WordPress becomes the backbone of the website by powering both the backend and the front-end of the said website.
WordPress websites can come in many forms. One of the most common WordPress websites is:
- Blogs
These 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. They also can collect payment for said goods and services.
- Website for businesses
At first glance, these might look and feel like E-Commerce websites. However, they are very different in terms of function. E-commerce websites may sell products, but business websites are designed to introduce users to companies and the services they offer. Think of them as a business profile except 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 might want to offer “exclusive” and extra content that they want to put behind a paywall.
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 provides enough tools to manage all the necessary steps to create this website.
- Portfolio Website
Many people find websites a great way to showcase their work to potential employers. This holds true for both digital and traditional artists. Having a website to present their work is akin to having their own museum.
- Forum website
Forum websites are an online community where the number of topics for discussion is unlimited. Back before social media was a thing, forums used to rule the Internet. Nowadays, specialized forums are few and far between.
Nowadays, larger websites are the most popular sites for discussion. Reddit and Quora are the more popular ones. It does not mean forum websites are no longer relevant. 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.
- Event websites
An event website is a simple website that advertises events. Through an event website, the audience can look at and check event details such as dates and times, seating, and even ticket prices. Speaking of ticket prices, you can even sell tickets through these websites.
- E-Learning website
Online classes and electronic courses have become a household term after the 2019 COVID Pandemic. E-learning websites existed even before the COVID Pandemic.
E-learning websites allow students to take an online course, track how they are doing, download their research materials, and much more. Though putting up an e-learning website through WordPress takes a little more work, it is still rewarding for those with the drive to share their knowledge with the world.
- Invitational websites
Even invitations have gone online now. Thanks to the power of the internet, you can create websites for that personal event of yours. Be it a birthday, a Christening, or even a wedding; you can make a website that fits your need. WordPress has many resources that make it easy and fast to create a website.
For those of you who prefer a more visual experience, here is a video review from Daniel on his YouTube channel Design Break. To get a comprehensive overview of Elementor II, you may still want to check out our article below, which compares it to some competitors.
WordPress Plugins: Enhancing WordPress to be the Best Elementor Or Template Toaster
WordPress’ popularity and longevity can be attributed to the community of users who support it. Some of this support comes in the form of WordPress Plugins.
WordPress Plugins are a package of additional code that users can upload to their website to enhance its features, functionality, and integrations with other websites.
WordPress Plugins can take on multiple forms. They can be in the form that focuses on a website’s SEO or for use in analytics. WordPress plugins can be used to integrate marketing and payment methods. 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. Heck, there are even some free plugins which function better than their premium counterparts.
These plugins are often compatible with WordPress’ core. There will be occasions when a premium plugin is worth the cost. The strongest argument for paying for a premium plugin is the support.
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
There are certain types of plugins that WordPress websites should prioritize over others. It is recommended that all WordPress websites have these WordPress plugins:
- WordPress Backup Plugin
WordPress doesn’t have a backup function by its very nature. Having no backup is a potential headache waiting to happen, and a huge one at that. As such, backup plugins can be the solution to those potential headaches.
In the event of a hack or security breach, backups are important. 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. They offer multiple solutions to prevent these attacks. Some limit login attempts to a website to stop brute force attacks. 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. SEO is the process of making your website more visible to many people. Proper SEO settings will make it easier for your website to be found in search engines like Google and Bing.
SEO is a business in and of itself. The competition for Google’s top pages is fierce with the sheer number of websites popping up every day. If you want your website to gain traction, adding a great SEO plugin may help you with that.
SEO plugins can give you tips to improve your site content’s SEO, as well as automate the small and repetitive parts of content creation.
- WordPress Form Plugin
WordPress Form Plugins enable you to create robust forms for your website. These forms can come in the shape of contact forms, surveys, donation forms, and file uploaders.
Basically, forms let your site visitors enter personal information. This information is then received and sent to the appropriate place (database or mailing list).
Since forms handle sensitive data and personal information, it is important that they be secure and should discourage spam. These forms should also fit depending on the customer (most websites that use forms are e-commerce websites).
As such, for your WordPress form plugin, it would be wise to look for something secure that remains easy to configure and customize.
- WordPress E-commerce Plugin
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 e-commerce plugins even come with online payment capabilities integrated.
- WordPress Design Plugin
In terms of website building, WordPress is a beast. WordPress allows you to do just about anything, provided you can code. HTML, CSS, and other coding languages 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.
WordPress regained and even grew its user base by removing this so-called barrier of entry. WordPress Site Design Plugins like page builders allowed website building, in general, to become an easier and faster process.
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 knowledge of coding still offers a lot of advantages).
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.
These are just a few of the plugins we recommend you add to your website. Of course, there are many more types of plugins, but their use can be situational and optional.
WordPress currently has over 60,000 plugins, but you can choose from many more.
Installing WordPress plugins
WordPress plugins can be installed very easily. It does not involve much and can be done almost instantly.
After logging in to your WordPress website, you can find the Plugins menu on your WordPress Dashboard. Expand This Menu by clicking on it
There will be a page called Installed Plugins. Here you will find all the plugins currently installed on this WordPress Site. Even if you haven’t added some plugins, or if this is your first time looking at this page, you might notice plugins already installed.
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 allow you to look for plugins to install from the WordPress.org Plugin Directory. There are also links you can click to look at featured, popular, and latest plugins available. You can also mark your favorite plugins here.
After you’ve found your plugin of choice, click on the “Choose File” button. Next, locate the zip file of your plugin and click on “Install Now”.
After the plugin is installed, click on Activate to activate the plugin.
Lastly, there is a menu item beneath Plugins in the WordPress Dashboard called the Editor. This is a built-in WordPress Plugin editor used to make changes to your installed plugins’ 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 ranks among the top. It is a drag and drop page builder that allows users to quickly create their website. Even characters with no tech skills can still make a mark on the internet.
Elementor was released in mid-16, and it has been available in the WordPress Plugin Library since then. Although it is a recent addition to WordPress’ ecosystem, this is still quite a significant time period by Internet standards.
Still, “age” does not matter to Elementor. It quickly became one of the most widely used visual page builders on the platform at the time. Elementor didn’t let this success stop them. They continued to grow and create new ways to keep Elementor current with the latest trends.
That said, the heart of Elementor is still in its functionality as drag and drop builder. And it does that function very well. It works in an “what you see, is what you get” manner. This makes it easy to see the final website design while you’re 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 creates a website using building blocks. These blocks, or elements, can be organized according to the user’s wishes to create a website layout.
To explain the blocks a bit more, they are the elements that make up the web 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
By default, all web pages created using Elementor’s page builder are responsive by nature. 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 allows users to customize the look of their website.
You can view the page through various platforms and gadgets by simply touching another button. From there, you can do further edits, such as deleting and adding certain elements to take the page to the look that you want.
- Available Templates
No page builder would be complete without templates. Templates are the best inspiration for building any type of thing (webpages included).
For beginners, templates can be a good starting point for page developers. This is especially true if the templates are professionally designed. Templates make it easier to develop new websites faster than sites with the same look.
Luckily templates available in Elementor can all be edited. You can also edit their styling options. So you do not have to worry about websites looking the same when utilizing templates in your work.
Elementor itself offers a lot of professionally made templates. Both novice and experienced users can use these templates. As stated above, beginners can use these templates as their starting point when making websites. As for veterans (i.e., page devs), they can use them to speed up their work.
- Style Options
Of course, if you want a sleek and cool website, you would be remiss if there weren’t any styling options available. Good thing that Elementor lets these styling options accessible to many people. 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. You can also use the quick find tool to help you locate a topic of assistance.
- Dynamic Content
You can use elementor to add dynamic content using custom fields and plugins like ACF, Pods and Toolset. Through dynamic content, you can have your pages up to date consistently and constantly. Such an ability can keep your website up-to-date and fresh.
- WooCommerce Builder
WooCommerce is an open-source e-commerce plugin mainly used in WordPress. Its main customer base consists of merchants who use WordPress as their main website. Of course, this includes both small and large online merchants.
WooCommerce and WordPress have an almost symbiotic relationship, so it is very simple to integrate WooCommerce into 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 the most hated type of advertising on the web. Popups are so disliked that their creator had to apologize for all the problems it caused.
However, when used properly, popups are among your website’s best lead conversion tools. To make use of that lead conversion tool, Elementor provides a popup builder to its Pro users.
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 you are already impressed by Elementor’s features, you will be even more impressed by its price. Elementor allows users to enjoy at least 80% of the plugin’s capabilities at the low price of FREE!
That’s right! You can use most of Elementor’s functions & features for free if you put them on your WordPress website.
That said, Elementor also offers Pro plans with some features, such as the Popup builder behind a paywall. The Elementor Pro offers three 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
300+ Basic and Pro Templates
60+ Pro Website Kits
Theme Builder
WooCommerce Store Builder
Landing Page Builder
Premium Support |
25 Pro-Website Activations
More than 100+ basic and pro widgets
More than 300+ Pro and Basic 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
300+ Basic and Pro Templates
60+ Pro Website Kits
Theme Builder
WooCommerce Store Builder
Landing Page Builder
VIP Support
Elementor Expert Profile |
Elementor Pros & Cons
Pros
- Elementor’s core product does not cost a single dime. There is no need to get the Pro plan to use Elementor’s full potential.
- Elementor provides plenty of features to create the best WordPress web page. These tools are very simple to use.
- Elementor’s page builder is an upgrade to the basic WordPress Builder both in terms of function and accessibility
- Elementor allows you to build pages without the need to learn HTML, CSS, or PHP coding skills.
- 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.
- Elementor allows you to adjust alignments, margins and padding values.
Cons
- There are times when the custom styling (especially for links) gets buggy
- There are times when Elementor’s default typography and color settings remain persistent and cannot be staged
- The different margin values can make it difficult to fix misaligned elements.
- Elementor could slow down different websites’ loading times.
Elementor Versus Divi
Divi Builder: The Crowning Jewel of Elegant themes
Elegant themes is one of many WordPress themes available in the shop. It has grown to be one of the most prominent players in the WordPress World.
Divi Theme is their flagship product. Divi is crucial to Elegant Theme’s success due to its functionality in its drag-and-drop website builder.
Making sense of this, it was only a matter of time where Elegant Themes offered the builder as a separate plugin.
They did. The Divi Builder plugin was released. This means that anyone can access the exact same builder that helped Divi Theme become one of the most popular WordPress themes. Divi made sure the plugin was available regardless of which theme you used.
Divi Features
Since “gaining independence” and becoming a standalone plugin, Divi Builder now works with any WordPress themes (even if they are not from Elegant Themes). As such, it also gained multiple features to give people more incentive to use it.
- Drag and drop visual content editor
The Divi Builder was originally a back-end page building tool for Divi Theme. However, since being turned into a plugin, it is now a legitimate front-end visual full-site 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 Editor is being continually updated. This latest version gives you a better view of your visitor’s point-of-view when viewing your content.
This implies that website developers will be able to work faster as it removes the need for switching to previews. This eliminates the frustration associated with incorrect layouts.
Some users might not be familiar with the site’s backend and may feel lost or miss some features. You can switch to Wireframe mode with Divi Builder.
The wireframe mode hides each module’s content and focuses on the structure of the page. This provides a good overview of what the page looks like and which modules are used.
Effectively, Divi offers a flexible way to work on your website, depending on your comfort and preference.
- Theme Builder Functionality
Divi Builder 4.0 added Divi’s Theme builder feature, which ultimately turned it into a full on-site editor rather than just a page builder.
Divi Builder now has the ability to customize any part of your website. Headers, footers, category pages, product templates, and other parts of the site can now be customized depending on the user’s whims.
Templates can be used to customize blog posts. These templates can be applied automatically to all blog posts, or a select few. You can also use the Display rules feature to automatically format and create templates for posts based on their category.
This functionality also brings about dynamic content, which can be combined with existing static content and enhanced interaction with WooCommerce content.
Most surprisingly, the Divi Theme Builder feature allows users to make custom 404 error pages and search results pages.
- Modules of Helpful Content
Divi builder includes 40 customizable content modules. These modules can be placed in columns or rows, and each one has its own function.
These modules can be used to replace functionality on WordPress pages that use other plugins. Using these modules, you turn almost all of your website’s services into pure Divi or Elegant Themes.
Whether one developer runs this idea of all your plugins and “apps” is good or bad, it has its own benefits. It reduces the load time for your WordPress site.
It also means a cost reduction, especially if you are using commercial plugins.
A few examples of these modules include “call to action” buttons, countdown timers, maps, pricing tables, email opt-in forms, videos and their sliders, social media, and even a search module.
You can also find different versions of these modules. 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
Of course, Divi would be remiss if they did not offer pre-made and ready-to-use websites and page layouts. These layouts can be thought of as their own version of templates.
As templates usually go, they are extremely useful for non-web designers or web designers whose design sense leaves to be desired. This high-quality pre-made can be used to start their design process, or if they’re satisfied, it can be used as is.
In terms of variety, they have a decent number, somewhere between 200 to 400. This is not true for website layouts. That means each layout contains more than one page.
These can also target specific types of websites, such as websites for agencies, freelancers, eCommerce stores, and construction companies. These layouts can be customized, however.
If you are looking for a layout that is law-aware, you may find some photos that don’t fit or it doesn’t work. Get your tools out and start editing until you get the website that you desire.
- Divi Builder A/B Testing tool
Divi builder offers the unique ability to conduct A/B testing of your page layout. You can compare two layouts on your page layout to see which is more effective.
Although freedom of design is always a positive, too much freedom can be dangerous, especially if it is not properly managed. This is where A/B Testing can be useful. Comparing different layouts of a webpage can help you determine if the design decision should be made.
An A/B-tested website will ensure that it is optimized for its intended purpose.
- Divi Role Editor
Different people may manage different websites. This allows for more efficient job division but increases the chance of the website’s main settings being changed accidentally. It is said that too many cooks can 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 is also granular as an editor. 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 particularly important for web designers who have clients who could break custom designs. Through the role editor, the chances of custom design breaking are reduced to a minimum.
- Full-Width Content
Images make your web pages pop. Images can enhance the design of your website. Sometimes, you just want to place an image and plaster its full resolution to a part of your site.
Luckily Divi has a feature that allows you to do just that. Divi lets you add a full width to your builder and a module to accompany it. Then you are free to add the appropriate content that can break the post container.
This full-width does not just apply to images. Videos, text, headers and menus can all be included.
Divi Price
Since Divi Builder was originally part of the Divi Theme, and you cannot get this plugin separately. You will have to pay yearly for access to Elegant themes. One plan is a yearly access, and the other is a lifetime access.
Yearly Access | Lifetime Access |
$89/Year | $249 1 Time |
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Divi Pros and Con
Pros
- Divi’s interface is intuitive and clean.
- Divi offers tremendous value for the money (they even offer a lifetime deal)
- Divi can be used on any number of websites without restrictions.
- Divi is easy to use for beginners, thanks to the drag-and-drop page builder.
- Divi provides veteran web designers who have the appropriate coding skills a chance to do amazing stuff.
- Divi comes with an Extra WordPress theme
- Divi offers more than 100 stunning templates. Elementor Or Template Toaster
Cons
- Longer pages are more difficult to work with.
- Divi’s inline editing options can be better
- Divi has a few bugs. This is most common when creating more complicated 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. It gets even more confusing, because there is another WordPress plugin called Visual Composer. Now that we have gotten that out of the way, let’s proceed to WPBakery
Like all the other page builders, this plugin allows you to design unique pages unlike any other. The building blocks in this example are called “Content Elements” and have the same function as modules and widgets.
WPBakery offers about 40 content elements, each of which can be used for designing your page layout. These include text blocks, social buttons, video players and other blocks that are common to page builders. Elementor Or Template Toaster
WPBakery also uses a drag-and-drop page builder to style your pages. Using this builder, you can style your website’s backend and front end. You have the option to design both front and back ends, or choose to style them separately, depending on what you prefer.
WPBakery Features
WPBakery doesn’t offer much, unlike many of the other WordPress Page Builders. The following is what they offer:
- Interface is simple and lightweight
- Frontend and Backend Editor
- Multilingual ready
- Templates that can be saved for later use
- Responsive websites that work on mobile and PC
- Your own “content elements”
- Object-oriented Code
- Huge addon support
WPBakery is more difficult to use than you might think. 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. Elementor Or Template Toaster
Lastly, it’s just plain unreliable. It is plagued by inaccurate previews, randomly missing features, and buggy. Working with it is just a nightmare, especially when working on a website.
WPBakery price
WPBakery has 2 pricing plans available if you still wish to use its services. These are:
Regular | Extended |
$56 | $299 |
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WPBakery Pros and Cons
Pros
- WPBakery allows you to save your templates for later use
- It works with most themes
- It features a multilingual interface
- You will find many content blocks that can be used to build your website.
- It can be integrated with many add-ons to enhance its functions Elementor Or Template Toaster
- It allows users to access the control panel via their role.
Cons
- The page builder is not easy to use and requires a learning curve. This is true even for experienced website designers.
- 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. Why wouldn’t it be with its feature-rich drag-and-drop page builder and easy-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. This removes the need for coding to create your website. Beaver Builder doesn’t require users to know HTML in order to create a functional website.
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. Elementor Or Template Toaster
However, Beaver’s strongest point is its ease of use and efficiency. Beaver Builder claims it makes it easier to work with existing content or create websites from scratch.
Beaver Builder Features
BeaverBuilder is a 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. After all, when it comes to Beaver Builder, efficiency is the name of the game.
Beaver Builder’s essential features include:
- You can drag and drop the main page builder. This builder allows you to place content elements, such as text and images, wherever you want.
- Beaver Builder 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. Elementor Or Template Toaster
- Beaver Builder can be used with all WordPress themes. Beaver Builder can be combined with any WordPress theme and it will look like nothing happened.
- Beaver Builder can also be used to work on any type of post, pages, and custom types of posts.
- Beaver Builder plans include more than 50 pre-made templates. Of course, this includes templates for pages with a specific purpose. Beaver Builder can create landing pages, welcome pages, and comment sections.
- For working with your pages, Beaver Builder provides 30 content elements and modules. These will be your key to building your pages, and each will have its function to play. 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. Elementor Or Template Toaster
- Beaver Builder is also not stingy. In fact, it gives you the ability to import and export features. This allows you to reuse or share your designs with the wider community.
Beaver Builder Prices
Agency | Pro | Standard |
$399 | $199 | $99 |
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Beaver Builder Pros and Cons
Pros
- Beaver Builder empowers users to be creative in building their webpages
- There is no learning curve when using Beaver Builder
- Beaver Builder’s full drag-and-drop builder offer front end editing support.
- Beaver Builder is also very flexible and lenient. You can even use default WordPress widgets inside Beaver Builder’s Content blocks Elementor Or Template Toaster
- Beaver Builder offers many page templates that can be used as a starting point for pages.
Cons
- Beaver Builder has a very high 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. There are many alternatives to WordPress for those who don’t like it. 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. Elementor Or Template Toaster
Webflow is said to offer more benefits than WordPress. Among these are an appeal for more creative freedom, a more secure website, and easier user usage.
Webflow Features
Webflow is a page builder that does everything. Webflow’s features allow it to focus on becoming a service that caters first to designers.
- Over a thousand templates are available on Webflow, with 45 of them being free. These templates can be used to build websites as you would with most websites.
Webflow also makes it easy for you to access these templates. They can be categorized and grouped according to which type of website they are intended for (portfolios, blogs, SaaS), etc. Aside from that, you can search them through popular tags, languages, etc.
- 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. Elementor Or Template Toaster
- Webflow has an intuitive interface. Its main builder is divided into three sections for ease of access. You will be able to produce web pages faster and more efficiently the more you become familiar with Webflows workflow.
- Webflow offers great Search Engine Optimization capabilities. This is made even easier by the fact that you don’t need to install another plugin to make sure your website is SEO-optimized. Webflow also guides non-SEO professionals to improve their website’s SEO ranking in order to increase traffic and convert more customers.
- Webflow has impressive eCommerce features that can be used to build a functional and attractive online store. It is simple to build a page, and there are templates that can 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 also provides a proper Content Management System to help users group content that they are presenting to their audience. This CMS organizes resources, particularly when creating blog posts. Elementor Or Template Toaster
Webflow eases up the blogging process and puts it in a more organized manner.
- With Webflow, you are sure that all your data is safe and secured. Webflow has integrated hosting plans with Amazon Web Services, one of the most secure web hosting services. You will receive a one-year free SSl certificate to encrypt 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.
Webflow also automatically updates and saves backups of your files. So whenever something is wrong, you will be confident (at least not as worried) that you can easily get back your files.
Webflow Price
As for price, you can choose to avail webflow with their free plan. This allows you to use Webflow on up to two projects. You can also publish the projects on their Webflow.io website. Of course, their free plan is free forever.
Webflow has a variety of plans that can be used to reduce the price. These paid plans are divided into two types.
There’s the Site Plan and then there’s the Account Plan. Elementor Or Template Toaster
The Site plan offers everything there is needed to build a basic website. These plans are available in two types from Webflow. 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 |
This is the best choice for sites that don’t require CMS | Blogs and other content-driven websites are best | Best for Higher traffic marketing sites | This product is ideal for businesses and includes exclusive features |
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As for the Ecommerce plans, the are three types of plans
Standard ($29 USD) | Plus ($74 USD) | Advanced ($2112( u) |
For new business that are just starting out | For higher volume of business that needs important additional | Businesses looking to grow and breach |
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The Account plans are geared towards more advanced website building with added features. These are categorized into 2 types of plans: the Individual plans and the team plans.
The individual plans have 3 types of payment methods. One includes the aforementioned free plan, while the other 2 are paid plans. Elementor Or Template Toaster
Starter Plan (Forever FREE) | Lite ($16). | Pro ($35) |
Includes everything you need to start building 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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There are two types of Team plans 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 | For more information about the plans, contact customer service |
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Webflow Pros and Cons
Pros
- Includes everything and anything that you need for an overall website builder. It even includes eCommerce websites and simple blogs.
- It boasts a strong visual design tool that rivals everything you can do using code
- Very flexible pricing plans, which are also customer friendly. Elementor Or Template Toaster
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.
- It is quite a learning process due to the fact that WordPress is a completely new environment. There are also new, powerful features.
- Traffic limits are included in some plans.
Elementor Versus Thrive Architects
Thrive Architect: A WordPress Page Architect
Thrive Architect is a WordPress page builder plugin bundled with Thrive Themes. It is a newer page builder in their environment, which has become their flagship page builder replacing the old “Thrive Content Builder.” Elementor Or Template Toaster
Thrive architect, like other “modern” website builders is now offering drag-and-drop functionality. It is designed for beginners, but can also be used to speed up the creation of websites by veterans.
Thrive also offers an impressive library of templates for users to help them get started or get inspiration for what they’re going to do.
Surprisingly, Thrive Architects focuses on creating websites that convert. The majority of the templates that were mentioned previously are designed to generate leads and convert you to your WordPress Page.
Thrive Architect Features
Thrive Architect, like most modern WordPress page builders has many features. However, for this overview, we will focus mainly on the main ones.
- As a plugin, Thrive Architect works with most WordPress themes. This is despite Thrive Architect coming with its own WordPress Theme called Thrive Suite. Thrive Architect can be used in conjunction with thousands of WordPress themes.
- Thrive Architect has a large library of plugins. All of the templates are maintained by the Thrive architect team at a higher standard. These templates are editable and can be used to speed up the process of creating web pages. Elementor Or Template Toaster
Thrive Architect and Thrive Themes focus on lead conversion and sales. Most of these templates are just as focused on sales. So expect a lot of sales-focused landing pages and webpage designs.
- Thrive Architect has its own intuitive drag and drop page editor. This interface gives you a real-time, accurate view of the page’s design.
With the WYSIWYG approach, builders can save a lot of time as they remove the need for previewing your website. You can speed up your workflow by not having to save multiple times. Also, you can be sure you are doing the right thing.
With WYSIWYG, you always know where your bearings are.
- Since we have already talked about Thrive’s fixation on conversions, you wouldn’t be surprised that they also have a lot of conversion and sales-focused elements.
Besides, Thrive can’t boast about being conversion focused if they cannot provide the proper and adequate tools to do so.
- Thrive is also compatible with many third-party services. This includes the usual suspects of Mailchimp, Facebook, and even Zapier.
- Thrive offers tutorials and educational content for beginners to help them learn about content-making that is focused on selling.
- Thrive Architect’s lightbox feature allows you to create pop-up overlays. Elementor Or Template Toaster
- 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
Thrive Architect was once available as an individual. However, Thrive Themes recently changed this. You will need to purchase their Thrive Suite package to use Thrive Architect.
Thrive has 2 payment plans available: Quarterly and Yearly:
Thrive Suite Quarterly | Thrive Suite Yearly |
$99 per Quarter | $299 per Year |
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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
- It comes with high-quality templates for landing pages as well as webpages. It is very easy to look for your perfect template as they are organized into sets.
- 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 has good and attractive pricing
- It can be integrated with a large amount of email service providers.
- Can work with Gutenberg (WordPress’ latest page builder) by adding Gutenberg blocks. Elementor Or Template Toaster
Cons
- Not available individually, You have to buy the whole Thrive Suite to use it. 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. It is also another drag-and-drop builder that requires zero coding knowledge. As such, you can compare it with the big three of Elementor, Beaver Builder, and Divi.
As with most builders, Brizzy does well as a simple builder. However, there are some areas where it could be more effective.
Brizzy doesn’t have a developer APIi. As such, you cannot have third-party extensions with Brizzy. Brizzy’s potential is severely limited by this. This limits Brizzy’s flexibility, and as such, this is why it cannot reach the heights of Elementor, Beaver Build, and Divi
Another thing, Brizzy also lacks in the documentation department. This isn’t a major problem, but it makes Brizzy less reliable than other builders who have robust and complete documentation.
Furthermore, the documentation that exists for Brizy also is not as comprehensive. 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 year | $99 per annum | $199 per annum |
Ideal for personal work |
Ideal for working with clients |
Perfect for White-label solutions |
Oxygen Builder
The Oxygen builder has a similarity to Webflow in nature. Although it may look similar to WordPress, 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.
Despite this, Oxygen allows both designers and experienced users to create amazing websites.
People who are interested in website development should not use Oxygen. It features a huge learning curve. This makes it a great 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.
For beginners or those who want a simpler user experience, this is not the best option. Elementor Or Template Toaster
The price of Oxygen is prohibitive. You don’t get a demo. It does have a 60-day money back guarantee. You can always return the Oxygene product if you’re not up to the challenge.
Basic Plan ($99 One time payment) | WooCommerce Plan ($149 one time payment) | Agency Plan ($169 one time payment) |
Most flexible and powerful visual builder for WordPress | Visually build websites as well as WooCommerce stores | Oxygen is the ultimate tool for creating websites for clients |
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Gutenberg Builder
While this is WordPress main builder, majority of online consensus is united: Elementor Or Template Toaster
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 has a mind of its own.
Finally, even with all the efforts made to improve its performance it still falls behind, especially when it comes to creating large posts.
There is a reason why WordPress page builder plugins were created. The default plugin is not recommended.
Verdict Elementor Or Template Toaster
At the end of the day, your choice of WordPress page builder or page builders, in general, is up to your preference. Of course, they might specialize in one field or another.
It’s a smart idea to choose a WordPress theme that you like and then use the page builder that comes along 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:
Avoid Gutenberg, WordPress’ default developer, and save yourself the hassle.