WordPress is the most well-known website platform. WordPress holds 60.8% market share in Content management systems. This is how widespread and massive WordPress is.
WordPress powers 14.7% of the top websites in the world. 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.
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. 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 pieces of software will then add new functionality or enhance functionality on your WordPress site. Plugins allow you to transform your website into any type of thing you can think of.
This is the reason why plugins can be considered as the beating heart of WordPress. They are essential to maintain and enhance its function. Plugins are so baked into the WordPress environment that the WordPress Plugin Directory features about 55,000+ plugins.
Some 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.
Pink1472’s Youtube channel is reviewed in video format for those who like a visual experience. To get a comprehensive overview of Elementor, you may still want to check out our article below.
Elementor: A Quick Overview WordPress Elementor Vs
Elementor, a drag-and drop page builder plugin for WordPress, is the first. As the name suggests, page builders help users build their websites from the ground up.
Elementor is not new, however. It has been available in the WordPress Plugin Library since it was released in mid-2016. It quickly became one of the most popular visual page builders in WordPress. It has not slowed down since then.
Even today, Elementor continues to grow and evolve at a rapid pace, keeping up with the newest 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.
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.
Furthermore, Elementor allows you to do a lot of things. You can create pages and posts that are more unique than regular WordPress themes.
When making your page, Elementor will bring you to a separate interface. Here you can work on your pages and posts. 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. It can be used to create any page or content layout you can think of.
Elementor even works on all kinds of WordPress themes. So there is no need to worry if your theme will be bugging out since it is not compatible with Elementor.
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.
We wouldn’t discuss Elementor, however, if that is all Elementor can do.
Elementor is not only one of the most popular and highly reviewed page builders plugins in WordPress. It also offers the following features:
Content Elements Galore
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 called elements and form the web site.
These are the things that users need to “drag-and-drop” to form their eye popping designs. And through them, the Elementor name is apropos.
Responsive Design
First came the smart phones. Then came internet of things. Now, almost everything can be used to browse the internet. The most popular way to browse the internet is still via a personal computer or laptop, rather than using smartphones and tablets.
If you’re the owner of a website and want to get “hits”, you shouldn’t be allowed to pick on any cockfight. Both would be welcome to your site. As such, you would want your site to look the best it can no matter the device being used.
Elementor allows you to do just that. Your website will look great on any device, thanks to its responsive design.
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.
Luckily templates exist in order to help these poor souls. 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. 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
With its multiple tools, Elementor makes it a lot easier to build your web pages. Some of which include right-click support where you can get help with a click of the mouse. You can also use the quick find tool to help you locate what you need to build your site with Theme Builder.
The Pro version (paid version), 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 are small web pages that can be used into whatever you like. They are often used to convert leads.
Elementor’s popup builder allows you to create your popup with the same tools as your webpage builder. You can use the same visual, drag-and-drop interface and the “what you see is what it gives you” interface.
Elementor’s Popup Builder will allow you to create popups as striking as your pages.
WooCommerce Builder
WooCommerce is an open source ecommerce plugin for WordPress. WooCommerce is a plugin for WordPress that allows you to sell products online. Its primary draw is its ease of integration on your site and its customizability.
This customizability extends even to Elementor which allows users to create an eCommerce store using the WooCommerce plugin. Through Elementor you can design your WooCommerce shop using Lementors. You can even include products and integrate it in your design.
The Users for Elementor
Elementor can be used by almost anyone. From digital marketers to students. Anybody who plans to create a WordPress website can use the various styles and functions available in Elementor to spice up their pages.
Casual User
Casual users looking for a way to add pizazz and personality in their personal websites or blogs can use Elementor. 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 great for digital marketers, teams and individuals because it offers many marketing opportunities.
As a drag and drop page builder, it can be used to create a sales page or a potential landing page if you understand how to make those. To really increase your sales, you could combine the plugin with Landing Page friendly plugins.
If you want to get serious, you can avail of the Elementor Pro features that allow you to create lead forms. 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. It can even be integrated with Zapier, one of the internet’s most well known automation and integration tools.
One feature discussed earlier is the Popup builder.This popup builder is perfect to create opt-in popups. 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
Elementor is the best choice for those who work on websites for clients.
Elementor offers many features that make website building easier and more efficient. The drag and drop feature allows builders an easy way to create a website from scratch. This feature can be combined with the website preview to almost instantly see the results.
You can even choose themes to simplify the process of building websites. These themes can also be used to inspire the next website they create. They can use the aesthetics, functionality, form, or any combination of the above to build the perfect website.
Flexible themes can be used with the plugin by Elementor users to create 100% custom client websites.
But if you want to code, Elementor still allows you to do that.
The Case for Using Elementor
We know about Elementor’s features, and we also know who can benefit from the plugin. But we need to understand why Elementor is so important.
Elementor is a page builder that creates websites.
It isn’t easy to create websites. Sure, you might know the basics. It is possible that you even know what elements are needed to create a functional website.
It is still a fact websites must be unique to make their place in the internet. This might sound like an easy task, but there are a lot of factors to consider when maintaining a website.
Then there is the website navigation, the overall aesthetic, not to mention, the security of your website. To keep visitors and users satisfied with the website’s performance, each of these should be in top condition.
Doing so will take a lot of work. Now, put yourself in the shoes of a freelancer or a website designer and you will have these problems multiplied tenfold.
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. There are many features that make website building easier and more intuitive. It will be easier to do the work.
Website designers will need to spend less time tweaking websites based on the preferences of their clients.
It is possible to start from scratch. Thanks to the multiple professional grade templates available for use.
This is the core of website builders and webpage builders. They allow the users to have an easier and more accessible time in carving their space in the Internet. WordPress Elementor Vs
The Examination of Elementor
The Interface
Of course, using the Elementor plugin requires installation and activation before using it. 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.
To start editing: On the upper right side of the page, click on “Edit With Elementor”
The dashboard will now have the following parts:
- The Main Canvas where most of the action will take place. Here you can edit and redesign the majority of your websites.
- You can drag the Elementor widgets section from which most of the functions and “apps” for your website to be placed before you place it in the main area of our website.
- Elementor Settings
- Open Elementor Widgets
- Global Settings
- Revision History
- Switch View. Switch View. This is where you can switch between different views of how your website will appear on different devices (desktop/tablet, mobile).
- Preview the Changes
- Publish
From this interface, you can choose what to do with your website. You have two options: you can start from scratch. You can edit a pre-existing webpage. You can even use a template to get you started with your work. WordPress Elementor Vs
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.” This structure is essential for effective website building, and not just copying a template.
Each page created with Elementor has sections and columns
Sections are essentially rows. Each section is the foundation of the page. You can add a background in a section, change its sizing, and do more customizations. Most of all, sections hold columns and widgets. Basically they hold the other elements of the website together.
The sections are divided by columns. Just like the sections, you can control and customize each column individually. Each column can be home to multiple widgets or content. You can also make each section’s columns different.
These are the smallest elements of a website. This is basically the toppers of your website. Your website’s function will be determined by the widgets, while its personality will be determined by the content. Of course, you can still customize and style these two.
Pre-made templates
While they are not necessary in creating web pages (you can always make them from scratch) , having pre-made templates is always a godsend. They not only make it easier to do your job faster but also provide inspiration.
Elementor provides you with professionally designed pre-made templates you can use for your page. 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? Elementor offers 150 templates to free users. 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 “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. Think of a web page, and you might find what you need there. WordPress Elementor Vs
They have a selection of pages for about pages, contact pages, homepages, landing pages and their various niches (i.e. restaurants, hotels, resorts etc.) portfolios, and even teampages as well as many more.
The library not only gives, but it also receives. You can export web pages that you are happy with to a template so you can reuse them whenever you want.
This allows you to easily choose a design for a page that shares design elements or functions with your other pages. You can even share them to the greater community online.
Elementor allows you to design a page from scratch
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.
We can see the effectiveness of the Elementor plugin’s functions by looking at it.
To start:
- Click “Edit with Elementor” to open a blank page
- 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. It is best to choose one that has enough columns to meet your needs.
- Now that you have your sections, you can start picking your widgets in the Elementor drag and drop them to your columns where you want to place them.
- 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. WordPress Elementor Vs
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.
They can come from your own saved pages. Some can come front he dozens of templates available from Elementor’s library. They can also be templates 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.
- Rearranging widgets on the visual preview is also done by dragging the said widget and dropping it to the new location of where you want to place it.
- 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.
- Remember, you can always add new sections and columns. This is particularly useful if you need to create new layouts of your widgets.
- You can customize your widgets the same way you edit text, by clicking on them. It will open the appropriate widget setting in the sidebar. This section is broken down into three tabs: Style, Content, and Advanced. Play with these settings until you find something you fancy. WordPress Elementor Vs
The Price of Elementor
It seems unbelievable that elementor is a free plugin when you consider all of the features it offers. Yep, you heard it right. Elementor is completely free
That said, you might have noticed that there is a mention of a Pro version. It is true that there is a Pro version. However, you don’t really need to go pro to enjoy almost all of Elementor’s benefits and features.
You can get Elementor’s main plugin via the official WordPress repository. It’s completely free with no signups or registrations required. If you wish to upgrade to Pro, this plugin will be required.
The Pro edition. There are currently four plans available. Each plan has more features and benefits. Depending on which plan you choose, they will provide a different number of Pro Website Activation.
The plan are as follows:
| Essential Plan | Expert Plan | Studio Plan | Agency Plan |
| $49 per Year | $199 per Year | $299 per Year (1st year only)
$499 |
$999 per Year |
| 1 Pro Website Activation
More than 100+ basic and pro widgets
300+ Basic and Pro Templates
60+ Pro Website Kits
Theme Builder
WooCommerce Store Builder
Landing Page Builder
Premium Support |
25 Pro-Website Activations
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
100+ Basic and Pro Widgets
300+ Basic and Pro Templates
60+ Pro Website Kits
Theme Builder
WooCommerce Store Builder
Landing Page Builder
VIP Support
Elementor Expert Profile |
1000 Pro Website Activations
More than 100+ basic and pro widgets
More than 300+ Pro and Basic Templates
60+ Pro Website Kits
Theme Builder
WooCommerce Store Builder
Landing Page Builder
VIP Support
Elementor Expert Profile |
The case for going pro
When it comes to Elementor Pro, there is much debate. Many people struggle to pay for a service that offers 90% of the benefits it could offer 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. This include: WordPress Elementor Vs
- 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 (which allows you to rebuild your 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 (which can be integrated with multiple and 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
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. WordPress Elementor Vs
The Pros and Cons of Elementor
Pros
- The core product for Elementor is entirely free. Unlike most plugins, you do not need to get the Professional plan in order to get the most out of Elementor
- You have many options to create your website. They are even very easy to use.
- It allows users to build custom web pages and page layouts with eye-popping design that may not be accessible in your basic theme or on WordPress’ basic builder.
- The drag and drop builder removes the need for HTML, CSS, or PHP skills. No Coding is Required when you got Elementor by your side
- Chooses the “What you see is what you get” approach, makes it easy for you to build your website without switching to previews. This approach can help you save time.
- All pages made with Elementor are responsive. You can even see how your pages would look on mobile, tablet, and desktop while you build your website.
- The plugin provides detailed settings for all alignments, margins, and padding values. You can literally fine tune all details of your page.
Cons
- Sometimes, the custom styling to links does not always go as intended.
- Sometimes you may need to stick with Elementor’s default typography or color settings.
- It can be difficult to correct misaligned elements, particularly when it comes to their margin values. Because most content elements, including blocks and columns, have their own margin settings, this is not possible.
- Some people have observed that Elementor can sometimes slow down the overall speed of your website. WordPress Elementor Vs
The Verdict for Elementor
Elementor is an excellent page builder. Elementor has everything you need to build a simple page. Both beginners and veterans can use it. 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 would even go far as to say that the developers of Elementor have struck themselves gold and never really let go since then. 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 as long as they follow the coding standards of WordPress set by its Codex.
Can Elementor be used with other WordPress plugins?
Elementor can be used with nearly all WordPress plugins.
You might have an incompatibility problem. Elementor can help you to find and fix it.
What is Elementor Pro?
Elementor Pro is the more advanced version of Elementor.
Unlike regular Elementor, it is not free. It adds many features and completes the tools web designers need to create a professional website. WordPress Elementor Vs
Why is the Studio subscription to Elementor Pro discounted?
Elementor wants to provide a studio plan at a lower price.
This is a great deal at 40% off However, this only applies for one year. During renewal users will have to pay the regular, full price of the Studio plan.
How can I pay for Elementor Pro
Elementor Pro can be paid for using Stripe, PayPal or any other credit card.
Is there a Demo Version for Elementor Pro? WordPress Elementor Vs
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.