Among website platforms, WordPress is probably the most famous. When talking about Content management systems alone, WordPress owns 60.8% of the market share. That is how ubiquitous and gigantic WordPress is.
Even 14.7% of the world’s top websites are powered by it. Time Magazine, Sony Music, The Harvard Gazette and even Microsoft News itself only function due to WordPress. 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 are pieces of software that you “plug into” your WordPress site. These plugins will enhance or add functionality to your WordPress site. Through plugins, you can make your website into anything you can imagine.
This is the reason why plugins can be considered as the beating heart of WordPress. They are vital to the function of WordPress. Plugins are so baked into the WordPress environment that the WordPress Plugin Directory features about 55,000+ plugins.
Some of them are free, some are not. 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. You can still read our article to get an overview of Elementor.
Elementor: A Quick Overview Essential Addons For Elementor Parallax
To begin with, Elementor is a drag-and-drop page builder plugin for WordPress. Page builders are a tool that allows users to build websites from scratch.
That said, Elementor is nothing new. 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. 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.
It is easy to use, as it uses drag-and-drop technology. Elementor is easy to use, even for people just starting to build websites. Drag and drop website elements onto your workspace is the most common part of Elementor.
Most drag and drop builders operate on the “what you see is what you get” model. This means that you can see what you create while building or editing 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.
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 whatever current WordPress theme you are using. You can make and generate any content layout or page layout you can imagine with it.
Elementor works with all types 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.
Aside from being one of the most used and well reviewed page builder plugin in WordPress, Elementor also has 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. It is named after the building blocks users use to build out the page. These blocks are the so-called elements that form the web page.
These are the things that users need to “drag-and-drop” to form their eye popping designs. These are the Elementor names.
Responsive Design
First came the smart phones. Then came the Internet of things. The internet can now be accessed by almost any device. 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. Your website will look great on any device, thanks to its responsive design.
You can also customize the look and function of your browser to suit your needs.
Templates
Elementor is a drag-and-drop builder that makes it easy to create a WordPress page. It is not surprising to see people who don’t know where to start when creating a website.
These poor souls can be helped by templates. Templates can help avoid the blank page syndrome that most beginners suffer from. Elementor offers hundreds of professionally designed templates.
These templates are a great place to start when you’re creating a new website. These templates can also be used to inspire you in creating your own unique websites.
Style options
Elementor offers style as well as templates. Elementor offers many options for customizing your design to make it pixel perfect. What’s more is you do not need to know custom CSS or any coding at all.
Convenience
Elementor’s many tools make it easy to create web pages. You can access right-click support to get assistance with just a mouse click. You can also use the quick find tool to help you locate what you need to build your site with Theme Builder.
The Pro version (paid version) even allows users to design entire WordPress themes.
Dynamic Content
Dynamic content is defined as any digital or online content that changes and updates based on data, user behavior and preferences.
Elementor lets you add dynamic content to your pages using custom fields or plugins such as ACF, Pods, and Toolset. This allows the added benefit of having your pages constantly up to date with any relevant changes you want to be reflected.
Popup Builder
Another feature available only to Pro users of Elementor is the popup builder. 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 primary draw is its ease of integration on your site and its customizability.
Elementor allows you to set up an eCommerce store with the WooCommerce plugin. You can create your WooCommerce shop through Elementor using Lementors. You can even include products and integrate it in your design.
The Users for Elementor
Anyone can use Elementor. 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. Elementor is the ideal tool to do this 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 also great for digital marketers and teams because it allows for lots of 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.
You can use the Elementor Pro features to create lead forms if you’re serious. These forms are not far from those plugins that focus more on lead conversion or landing pages.
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.
One feature discussed earlier is the Popup builder.This popup builder is perfect to create opt-in popups. These popups can be placed anywhere on your website and targeted to specific items.
The WooCommerce Builder can also be used to design sales pages and sell products.
Site Builders
For people whose work involves building websites for clients, there is no better choice than Elementor.
Elementor has plenty of features to make website building an easier and more streamlined process. Drag and drop allows builders to quickly create a website. This feature can be combined with the website preview to almost instantly see the results.
There are even themes to make the website building process easier. Or these very same themes can be used as an inspiration for the next websites they will be making. 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.
The Case for Using Elementor
While we know of Elementor’s features and we know who can benefit from using the plugin, we should probably get to know why we should use Elementor in the first place.
Elementor is a page builder that creates websites.
It isn’t easy to create websites. 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.
Website navigation and aesthetics are important, as well as security. 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. These problems will be ten times more if you are a freelancer or website designer.
You will need to generate and create new ideas for each client you have or every website you build.
These people will find plugins and page builders apps a blessing. With lots of features to make the website building process more accessible and easier to use. It will be easier to do the work.
From the multiple features such as dynamic content, version features, and drag and drop builders, Website designers will have to spend less time fine tuning websites depending on their client’s preferences.
It is possible to start from scratch. Thanks to the multiple professional grade templates available for use.
This is the core of website builders and webpage builders. They make it easier and more accessible for users to carve their own space on the Internet. Essential Addons For Elementor Parallax
The Examination of Elementor
The Interface
The Elementor plugin must be activated before it can be used. You can do so through the WordPress Repository.
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
The dashboard will now have the following parts:
- The Main Canvas where most of the action will take place. This is where you will edit and redesign most of your websites look
- 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. Edit an existing webpage. To get started, you can use a template. Essential Addons For Elementor Parallax
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”. 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 can be described as 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. 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.
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. Of course, you can still customize and style these two.
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. 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? Free users are given 150 and more templates available to use. If that is not enough, Pro users are given three hundred and more templates to play around with.
There are also the Elementor Kits. These are “design kits” that consist of a collection of templates. These templates have a common design or are generally uniform. These templates are great for creating websites with a single design theme.
Both the pre-made templates and the Elementor kits are available on Elementor’s template library. This library contains most common templates for various purposes. Think of a web page, and you might find what you need there. Essential Addons For Elementor Parallax
There are pages for contact pages, about pages, landing pages, and niches. restaurants, hotels, resorts etc.) portfolios, and even teampages as well as many more.
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 makes it easy to choose a design when you are building another page that shares design or function elements from your previous pages. These designs can be shared to the wider community online.
Designing a Page from Scratch with Elementor
Elementor allows you to build and design your web page either from scratch, with a pre-existing template. Although it’s easier to use a template to create one, it is worth learning how to make one yourself.
Through examining it sprocess, we can clearly see how good the functions of the Elementor Plugin is.
To start:
- Click “Edit with Elementor” to open a blank page
- There will be a “+” button. To add a new section, click on the button.
- You will be presented with a page that has a selection of sections in it. Pick the one most suited to your needs. It is best to choose one that has enough columns to meet 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. Essential Addons For Elementor Parallax
Editing a Pre-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. 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.
- It is easy to add a new widget. 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 is divided into three tabs: Content, Style, and Advanced. Play with these settings until you find something you fancy. Essential Addons For Elementor Parallax
The Price of Elementor
With all the features elementor provides its users, it seems too good to be true that it is just a free plugin. Yep, you heard it right. Elementor is completely free
That said, you might have noticed that there is a mention of a Pro version. It is true that there is a Pro version. 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. If you wish to upgrade to Pro, this plugin will be required.
Speaking of the Pro edition. There are currently four plans. Each plan has more features and benefits. You will get a different amount of Pro Website Activation depending on the plan you choose.
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
100+ Basic and Pro Widgets
More than 300+ Pro and Basic Templates
60+ Pro Website Kits
Theme Builder
WooCommerce Store Builder
Landing Page Builder
Premium Support |
25 Pro-Website Activations
More than 100+ basic and pro widgets
300+ Basic and Pro Templates
60+ Pro Website Kits
Theme Builder
WooCommerce Store Builder
Landing Page Builder
Premium Support
Elementor Expert Profile |
100 Pro Website Activations
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 |
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. This really boils down to Elementor Pro.
Elementor Pro offers many other benefits, in addition to the ones mentioned above. These include: Essential Addons For Elementor Parallax
- 50+ additional content elements or modules
- Additional page templates available in 300+
- A theme builder (which allows you to change headers and footers for your current theme)
- 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 that can be used through the website (even not on the same page)
- For further customization, add custom CSS to any Elementor Blocks
- Deploying Elementor elements in sidebars and widgets
You can choose Elementor Pro Version if you don’t think these extra features are sufficient or you require some of these features on your website. Essential Addons For Elementor Parallax
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. They are even very easy 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. No Coding is Required when you got Elementor by your side
- The “What you see, is what you get” approach makes it simple to build your website. This approach can help you save time.
- All pages made with Elementor are responsive. They even allow you to view how they would look on mobile, desktop, or tablet as you are building 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.
- There are times where you can get stuck with Elementor’s default typography and color settings.
- It is difficult to fix misaligned elements, especially talking about their margin values. This is because most blocks, columns, and content elements have their own margin settings.
- Some people have observed that Elementor can sometimes slow down the overall speed of your website. Essential Addons For Elementor Parallax
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. It caters to both beginners and veteran page builder alike. What’s more is that you get all of its features for the low low price of free.
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 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.
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. Essential Addons For Elementor Parallax
Why is the Studio subscription to Elementor Pro discounted?
Elementor wants to provide a studio plan at a lower price.
At 40% discount, this is a fantastic deal. However, this only applies for one year. During renewal, Studio plan users will be required to pay the full price.
How do I pay for Elementor Pro?
The folks at Elementor access Stripe, PayPal, or any credit card to pay for Elementor Pro.
Is there a Demo Version for Elementor Pro? Essential Addons For Elementor Parallax
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.