Lists of the best website builders usually feature all-in-one solutions such as Wix or Weebly. However, using a page builder plugin like Elementor with WordPress.org is also a great option, as it offers increased flexibility, full control over your own site, and an excellent range of beginner-friendly editing tools.
Elementor review: Snapshot
In case you haven’t heard of Elementor before, it’s a plugin that offers much more advanced page-building tools than the native WordPress editor. Free and premium versions are available, and you will benefit from a selection of advanced templates, a section-based editor, and numerous tools to help you get the most out of your site.
In our Elementor review, you will find out more about this popular site creation option. Discover why it’s up there with our favorite WordPress page builders, and find out when and why you should seriously consider using it to create your website.
Score: 4/5
Read on for the full review.
Elementor’s competitors
| Elementor | Divi | Beaver Builder | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Score | 4/5 | 3.5/5 | 4.5/5 |
| Pros | – Streamlined WordPress website creation – Very competitively priced – Great range of editing tools | – A huge selection of advanced templates – Responsive, mobile-friendly editing | – Excellent selection of modern design and editing tools – Clean, bug-free code creation – Reliable and beginner friendly |
| Cons | – Somewhat unorganized and confusing to use – Free option is quite limited | – No popup builder – Can be a little glitchy at times – Too many tools for the average user | – Quite expensive compared to other options – No free version |
| Verdict | `Elementor is one of our favorite WordPress website building plugins, and it’s backed by a tidy user interface and an excellent range of integrated tools. | Divi is a WordPress visual page builder that’s designed to replace the native editor. It’s a powerful option that makes it easier than ever for beginners to create their new site. | Beaver Builder is a WordPress page builder plugin that’s known for its clean code, intuitive user interface, and developer-friendly nature. |
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Key features
Elementor is one of the best and most popular WordPress page builder plugins available. It’s backed by an excellent range of advanced features, and we’ve outlined a few of the most impressive below.
One notable feature is Elementor’s theme builder, which essentially enables you to customize every aspect of your site’s global appearance. Here, you can edit elements that appear on multiple pages, ensuring you maintain a consistent, attractive design across the board.
The theme builder is only available with a premium subscription, but it will be worth the extra cost for many users. You will be able to edit your site’s header, footer, blog post appearance, product pages, and virtually everything else you can think of.
Those who plan to add an ecommerce store to their new website will love Elementor’s WooCommerce support. There are numerous widgets designed to help you set up your store in a fast, efficient manner.
Each widget is specifically built to add certain design elements. Along with the expected product description, image, and price widgets, you will benefit from more advanced options such as product ratings, upsells, and a related product slider.
Elementor: Key features and highlights
Another standout feature is Elementor’s highly customizable form builder. This is designed to help you add advanced forms to your website, enabling you to collect customer information and data as required.
You will be able to configure every aspect of your form’s layout and appearance. Change colors, fonts, element spacings, and more. There are dedicated data collection fields, enabling you to collect everything from names to phone numbers, email addresses, and simple text input.
Finally, there are numerous advanced developer tools that you can draw on to help you get the most out of your site. These won’t be useful for beginners who are using Elementor because of its intuitive editor, but they offer excellent versatility for more experienced users.
Standout features include a complete Elementor code reference guide, the ability to create custom widgets for your site, and full HTML and CSS code support. Take advantage of the suite of in-depth tutorials, and use the Elementor API to extend your site’s functionality.
What’s new?
Elementor has a full changelog that outlines all updates and new features. New versions are released every month or so, and a selection of interesting features are added each time.
The most recent update added video playlist and hotspots widgets, which are both designed to help you optimize the user experience. A PayPal button was added in March 2021, which enables users to easily accept payments. A February 2021 update added streamlined custom code snippet support, which you can use to add custom elements to your site in a fast, streamlined manner.
Pricing
Elementor is available with one free and five premium subscription options. Only annual payments are available, but the free forever plan comes with enough tools for you to test the editor. These include more than 40 widgets, more than 30 templates, and basic support.
Premium plans range from $49 to $999 a year. The main difference between these is the number of websites that you can create, which ranges from one with an Essential plan to 1,000 with an Agency subscription. The other notable difference is the level of support that’s available, and the three most expensive plans enable you to create an Elementor Expert Profile to showcase your portfolio.
| Plan type/feature | Free | Essential | Advanced | Expert | Studio | Agency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost per month* | Free | $4.08* | $8.25* | $16.58* | $41.58* | $83.25* |
| Cost per year | Free | $49 | $99 | $199 | $499 | $999 |
| Pro websites | One free site | 1 | 3 | 25 | 100 | 1000 |
| Widget | 40+ | 90+ | 90+ | 90+ | 90+ | 90+ |
| Templates | 30+ | 300+ | 300+ | 300+ | 300+ | 300+ |
| Support | Limited | Premium | Premium | Premium | VIP | VIP |
*Monthly billing isn’t available. All subscriptions must be paid on an annual basis.
Testing Elementor
In order to comprehensively compare Elementor to the competition, we analyzed a series of its features and tools to see how it performed. This included both its installation process and its webpage editor, both of which are key to its operation as a WordPress plugin.
How easy is it to install Elementor?
Elementor is a WordPress page builder plugin, which means that you will need to install and set it up before you can use it. Fortunately, this is a fast, streamlined process that you shouldn’t have any trouble with.
Once you’ve signed up with a web hosting provider and installed WordPress, head over to your admin dashboard. Navigate to the Plugins tab and hit the “Add New” button. Search for the Elementor plugin, click “Install Now”, and wait a few moments for it to be added to your site.
Ensure the plugin is enabled, and then head over to the Elementor tab on the left of the screen to begin customizing your experience. Here, you can specify a range of global settings, access custom font and icon options, and take advantage of a selection of specialized tools.
How does Elementor’s site editor work?
One of our favorite things about the Elementor page builder is its beginner-friendly user interface. The editor is versatile and intuitive, and it boasts much more power than the native WordPress editor.
To access it, navigate to the pages tab on your WordPress editor and hit the “Edit With Elementor” button on the page you want to customize. You will be taken directly to the editor, where you can add and remove widgets, personalize content, and change virtually every aspect of your site.
On the left of the screen, you will find a menu that enables you to add new widgets, specify global design settings, and more. Click a section on the page you’re editing to add your own content, and take advantage of the navigator panel to keep track of the elements you’re using.
Another neat feature is the ability to edit your site’s layout and appearance in separate desktop, tablet, and mobile formats. This is excellent, particularly for those with a large amount of complex content which may respond strangely to different screen sizes.
The competition
Elementor is arguably the most popular WordPress page builder on the market today. It’s backed by an intuitive user interface, and it’s one of the easiest page builders to set up and use that we’ve tested.
The free plan is quite basic, but premium subscriptions start at an affordable $49 a year. All premium plans come with more than 300 templates that you can base your site on; a selection of over 90 advanced widgets; and full access to the Elementor builder. You will also benefit from additional tools such as a popup builder, full CSS code access, integrations with over 20 third-party platforms, and more.
Divi is another popular option, but it starts at a much more expensive $89 a year. This gives you access to more than 800 premium designs, though, along with live chat support. Like Elementor, Divi includes a popup builder and CSS code access.
Unlike Elementor, however, a Divi subscription enables you to use the page builder with unlimited websites. The visual, what you see is what you get (WYSIWYG) editor is excellent, and there are so many design options that things can become a little overwhelming at times.
The Beaver Builder was one of the first WordPress page builder plugins to hit the market, and it has retained its position as an industry leader since its launch. It is a little limited, and you won’t have access to any premium themes without a high-end subscription, but there’s a lot to like as well.
For example, a Beaver Builder license enables you to create unlimited websites. The platform was designed with SEO and site performance in mind, and the fact that it’s used by more than one million websites across the world speaks volumes about its quality.
For more content related to WordPress, make sure to read our step-by-step guide on how to build a website with WordPress, and our feature outlining the biggest WordPress website mistakes, and how to fix them. We also compared WordPress vs Wix vs Squarespace, to see how the CMS leader fared against more traditional website builders.
| Elementor | Divi | Beaver Builder | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Templates | 300+ | 800+ | Beaver Builder theme with high-end subscriptions |
| Pop-up builder | Yes | Yes | No |
| Custom CSS support | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Support | Live chat and ticketing with premium plans | Live chat, active Facebook community | Business day ticketing |
| Basic plan | $49 a year | $89 a year | $99 a year |
The verdict
After a complete analysis, it’s easy to see why Elementor is one of the top-rated and most-used page builder plugins in the WordPress plugin library. It’s backed by a beginner-friendly user interface, an excellent selection of editing tools, and advanced features for more experienced users.
The editor is powerful yet intuitive, adopting a WYSIWYG approach so that you can visually customize almost every aspect of your site. You can add and remove content with the click of a button to ensure your site has the exact look you desire. In addition, there are numerous widgets that enable you to add different types of content, including a selection of WooCommerce-specific elements.
All things considered, Elementor is an excellent option for those looking for a versatile website creation option. It’s not quite as easy to get started with as standalone website builders such as Wix, but it works very well and offers great value for money.
The bottom line: if you plan to use WordPress to build your website, we’d highly recommend considering the Elementor page builder plugin.
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