WordPress is the most well-known website platform. When talking about Content management systems alone, WordPress owns 60.8% of the market share. This is how widespread and massive 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.
Now WordPress is just a very simple site builder, it takes a lot of work to create a website in the levels of the bigger ones like Microsoft news and Time Magazine. It would be difficult to create a website as functional and elegant without the necessary know-how.
Use plug-ins. WordPress plugins are pieces of software that you “plug into” your WordPress site. 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.
Plugins are the heartbeat of WordPress. They are essential to maintain and enhance its function. WordPress plugins are so embedded in the WordPress environment, that there are over 55,000 plugins listed on the WordPress Plugin Directory.
Some are free and some are paid. Some plug-ins are simple to use while others require some time to get 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 Unfold
To begin with, Elementor is a drag-and-drop page builder plugin for WordPress. As the name suggests, page builders help users build their websites from the ground up.
Elementor is not new, however. Since its release in mid-2016, Elementor has been in the WordPress Plugin Library. It quickly became one of the most popular visual page builders in WordPress. It has not slowed down since then.
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. 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. This makes it easy to imagine how your website would look as you are building 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.
Elementor will take you to a different interface when you create your page. 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. 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. You can make and generate any content layout or page layout you can imagine with it.
Elementor works with all types of WordPress themes. So there is no need to worry if your theme will be bugging out since it is not compatible with Elementor.
The Features of Elementor
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. 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
First came the smart phones. Then came the Internet of things. Now, almost everything can be used to browse the internet. Still, the most common way to browse the Internet would be a debate between the personal computer or laptop versus the 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. 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. With its responsive design that is turned on by default, your website will look optimized no matter which gadget your viewer is using.
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 be used to avoid the “blank page syndrome” that many beginners experience. 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. 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. There is also a quick find tool to aid you in finding what you need to build your website with the Theme Builder.
The Pro version (paid version), allows users to create entire WordPress themes.
Dynamic Content
Dynamic content refers to any digital or online content which changes and updates based upon data, user behavior, and preferences.
Elementor lets you add dynamic content to your pages using custom fields or plugins such as 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. They are often used to convert leads.
Elementor’s Popup Builder allows you to design your popup using the same tools given for 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 also include products and integrate them into your design.
The Users for Elementor
Elementor can be used by almost anyone. Digital marketers, students and everyone in between. Anyone who has plans in creating a web page through WordPress, can spice up their pages through the different functions and styles available in Elementor.
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.
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.
It can be used as a drag-and-drop page builder to create sales pages or landing pages if you know how to do that. To really increase your sales, you could combine the plugin with Landing Page friendly plugins.
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.
You can even connect these lead forms to popular email marketing services. Zapier is one of the most popular integration and automation tools on the internet.
The Popup builder was mentioned earlier. This popup builder allows you to create opt-in, popups. These popups can be placed anywhere on your website and targeted to specific items.
Even the WooCommerce Builder can be used to sell products and services and design your sales pages.
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. 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.
Flexible themes can be used with the plugin by Elementor users to create 100% custom client websites.
However, Elementor allows you to still code.
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.
Elementor is a page builder that creates websites.
Making websites is not an easy task. Sure, you might know 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.
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.
It will require a lot of effort. 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.
Even starting from scratch can be a thing of the past. Thanks to the multiple professional grade templates available for use.
This is the core of website builders and webpage builders. They allow the users to have an easier and more accessible time in carving their space in the Internet. Elementor Unfold
The Examination of Elementor
The Interface
The Elementor plugin must be activated before it can be used. This can be done 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. Now we can head over to the pages and open one that we are allowed to edit.
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:
- The Main Canvas where most of the action will take place. 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. where you can switch between views on how your website will look like on different gadgets (desktop, tablet, or mobile)
- Preview the Changes
- Publish
This interface allows you to choose what you want for your website. You can either start from scratch. You can edit a pre-existing webpage. To get started, you can use a template. Elementor Unfold
Elementor Structure Hierarchy
Before you can truly begin creating websites in Elementor, you need to understand how it works. 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. There is a structure to all 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 change the size and background of a section. Most of all, sections hold columns and widgets. They basically hold all the elements together.
The sections are divided by columns. Each column can be customized and controlled individually, just like the sections. Each column is home to multiple content or widgets. You can also make each section’s columns different.
These are the smallest elements of 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
Although they aren’t necessary for creating web pages, you can still make them from scratch. However, pre-made templates are always a blessing. 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.
How many templates does Elementor offer 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.
Then there are 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 Unfold
There are pages for contact pages, about pages, landing pages, and niches. restaurants, hotels, resorts etc.) Portfolios and teampages are also available.
The library not only gives, but it also 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. While it is easier to build one from a template, it is still worthwhile to learn how to build one from scratch.
We can see the effectiveness of the Elementor plugin’s functions by looking at it.
To start:
- Open a blank page and click “Edit With Elementor”
- There will be a “+” button. Click on it to add a new section
- You will be presented with a page that has a selection of sections in it. Pick the one most suited to 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.
- Once you’re satisfied with the placement of your elements, you can modify them in the Content and Style sections. It is a good idea to experiment with the different options until you find the style that suits you best. Elementor Unfold
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. You can find many templates in Elementor’s library. Or they can be other templates that you have imported into Elementor.
No matter the source, one thing is true: Editing a webpage from a pre-built page is a lot easier than building one from scratch.
Let’s move on.
- Adding in a new widget is the same as doing it from scratch. You just take the widget you want to use from the Elementor Panel and then drag it to where you want to place it on the page.
- You can also arrange widgets in the visual preview by dragging them and dropping them to the new place.
- It is easy to edit text in content boxes. You just need to click on the box and then type the new text you want 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. In the case of widgets, it will open the appropriate 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 Unfold
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
You might have noticed that the Pro version is mentioned. 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.
These are the details of the plan:
| Essential Plan | Expert Plan | Studio Plan | Agency Plan |
| $49 per Year | $199 per Year | $299 per year (1st year only).
$499 |
$999 per Year |
| 1 Pro Website Activation
More than 100+ basic and pro widgets
More than 300+ Pro and Basic Templates
60+ Pro Website Kits
Theme Builder
WooCommerce Store Builder
Landing Page Builder
Premium Support |
25 Pro-Website Activations
More than 100+ basic and pro widgets
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
More than 300+ Pro and Basic Templates
60+ Pro Website Kits
Theme Builder
WooCommerce Store Builder
Landing Page Builder
VIP Support
Elementor Expert Profile |
1000 Pro Website Activations
More than 100+ basic and pro widgets
More than 300+ Pro and Basic Templates
60+ Pro Website Kits
Theme Builder
WooCommerce Store Builder
Landing Page Builder
VIP Support
Elementor Expert Profile |
The case for going pro
When it comes to Elementor Pro, there is much debate. 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.
Aside from the ones listed above, Elementor Pro has its other benefits. These include: Elementor Unfold
- 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
- Sidebar widgets and widgets can be used to deploy Elementor elements
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 Unfold
The Pros and Cons 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. 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.
- The drag and drop builder removes the need for HTML, CSS, or PHP skills. Elementor is your friend!
- 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. You can literally fine tune all details of your page.
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 can be difficult to correct misaligned elements, particularly when it comes to 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 Unfold
The Verdict on Elementor
Elementor is an excellent page builder. Elementor has everything you need to build a simple page. It caters to both beginners and veteran page builder alike. You get all its features at a low price.
So if you are looking for a drag and drop page builder plugin for WordPress, you will never go wrong with Elementor.
I’d even say that Elementor’s developers have made a fortune and have not stopped trying since. It is incredible that Elementors are still one of the top choices today, given their age.
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 works with almost all WordPress plugins.
There might be some incompatibility issue here and there, but you can report these incidents to Elementor’s support for them to locate and find a solution about the issue.
What is Elementor Pro?
Elementor Pro, the advanced version of Elementor, is available.
Unlike regular Elementor, it is not free. It adds many features and completes the tools web designers need to create a professional website. Elementor Unfold
Why is the Studio subscription to Elementor Pro discounted?
Elementor simply wants to offer a lower entry price point for their studio plan.
At 40% discount, this is a fantastic deal. However, this only applies for one year. During renewal users will have to pay the regular, full price of the Studio plan.
How do I pay for Elementor Pro?
Elementor Pro can be paid for using Stripe, PayPal or any other credit card.
Is there a Demo Version of Elementor Pro available? Elementor Unfold
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. If you are interested in the Pro version of Elementor Pro, you can pay for it and then use it for one month to decide if it is worth keeping.