Elementor Review: Should you buy it in 2024?
In this Elementor Review we look at how it enables you to craft professional-looking pages without the need for coding. The core plugin is free and includes a wide array of features that cater to both beginners and advanced users. For those seeking additional functionality, Elementor Pro expands upon the feature set with more sophisticated capabilities.
- Ease of Use: Elementor’s user-friendly design streamlines your site-building experience. You can edit and preview changes in real-time and utilize pre-made templates to expedite your workflow.
- Features: A vast collection of widgets and design options are at your disposal, allowing for a high level of customization for your website.
- Flexibility: Whether you’re aiming for a simple blog or a complex e-commerce site, Elementor’s versatility caters to diverse web development needs.
| Elementor Edition | User Base | Capabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Ideal for starters | Basic widgets and templates |
| Pro | For professional creators | Advanced widgets and theme builder |
Elementor is designed to integrate seamlessly with WordPress, offering a fluid site-building experience. Its reach has expanded over the years to act as a foundation for millions of websites across the internet, solidifying its position as a key player in the page and site builder ecosystem.
Here are some of our other Elementor Reviews you should consider:
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- Astra vs Elementor: Comparing Features for the Optimal Website Build
- Elementor vs Beaver Builder: Choosing the Best Page Builder for WordPress
- WPbakery vs Elementor: Comparing Features, Performance, and Usability
- Gutenberg vs Elementor: The best WordPress Builder
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- Elementor Free vs Pro: Which one Do you need
Getting Started with Elementor
Elementor is a robust drag-and-drop page builder plugin for WordPress, allowing you to enhance your website building experience. Before diving into the creative process, ensure that you have Elementor installed through your WordPress dashboard.
To begin, navigate to a blank page, select “Edit with Elementor” to launch the builder. You’ll be greeted by a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface, designed for ease of use:
- Create a New Section: Click on the “+” button. Choose a layout with the desired number of columns.
- Add Widgets: From the Elementor panel, drag widgets and drop them into your section’s columns.
- Customize: Adjust each widget’s settings to tailor the appearance and functionality to your needs.
Templates can fast-track your design process:
- Elementor provides over 150 templates, and around 40 are free.
- Look for the “Pro” tag on premium templates if you’re using the free version.
Video Tutorials are available for beginners. These resources can guide you through basic functions to more advanced features within Elementor.
Remember these key points as you start:
- Familiarize yourself with the different widgets and design options.
- Use the responsive mode to ensure your design works on all devices.
- Save your sections as templates for future use to streamline your workflow.
Starting with Elementor is straightforward once you understand the basics of the plugin. The real power lies in experimenting with the elements, so feel free to explore and unlock your website’s potential.
User Interface and Experience
Elementor’s user interface prioritizes ease of use and efficiency, offering you an intuitive way to create and manage your website’s design with real-time feedback across various devices.
Intuitive Design
When you begin with Elementor, you’ll notice its interface is user-friendly and welcoming, regardless of your experience level. It utilizes a drag-and-drop approach, allowing you to select elements and place them where you see fit on your webpage. The learning curve is minimal, so you can start crafting your web pages swiftly.
Real-Time Editing
One of Elementor’s standout features is the real-time preview. As you edit and customize your pages, you see the changes instantly without the need to switch between editor and preview modes. This seamless editing process ensures that what you create is exactly what visitors will see.
Responsive Editing Controls
Responsive design is non-negotiable in today’s web environment, and Elementor understands this. The responsive editing controls allow you to customize how your site looks and functions on various devices. You can adjust settings for desktop, tablet, and mobile views to ensure your site is accessible and visually appealing across all platforms.
Elementor Pro Features
Elementor Pro elevates your WordPress design experience with advanced capabilities beyond the standard page building. You’ll find features that cater to both aesthetics and functionality, directly impacting the efficiency of your workflow.
Theme Builder
With Elementor Pro’s Theme Builder, you gain control over your website’s entire layout. This includes the header, footer, single posts, and archive pages. Its dynamic content feature allows you to incorporate content directly from your site, so that your templates are filled with your actual information as you design.
WooCommerce Builder
WooCommerce Builder is a game-changer if you’re running an eCommerce site. Elementor Pro enables you to design product and archive pages with a drag-and-drop editor, giving you the ability to create unique, brand-specific shop pages without the need for coding.
- Custom Product Pages
- Category-specific Archive Layouts
Popup Builder
Creating popups that capture attention and convert visitors is straightforward with the Popup Builder. Whether you’re looking to implement email subscription forms, promotion announcements, or content lockers, Elementor Pro has you covered. The popups are fully customizable and responsive across devices.
- Trigger and Condition Rules
- Advanced Targeting Options
Form Builder
Lastly, Elementor Pro’s Form Builder isn’t just about creating contact forms. You can build high-converting forms for lead generation, with integrations for popular marketing tools. The form submissions can also trigger automated responses or be connected to your CRM software.
- Multi-step Forms
- Integration with Marketing Tools
As you use these features of Elementor Pro, you’ll notice the degree of customization possible, bringing your website closer to your vision with each element you create.
Customization Capabilities
Elementor’s robust customization capabilities allow you to shape and style your website to match your unique vision. You’ll find an extensive range of tools at your disposal, each designed to give you the flexibility to create a highly personalized web presence.
Templates and Blocks
Elementor provides a vast library of pre-designed templates and blocks that you can use as a starting point for your web pages. The templates span a variety of categories and styles, ensuring you have a professional foundation that can be customized. You can insert these with a single click and then tailor them to suit your needs, whether for a landing page, about page, or any other site section.
- Templates: Ready-to-use page designs
- Blocks: Individual sections for specific purposes (e.g., testimonials, contact forms)
Dynamic Content
The dynamic content feature in Elementor allows you to embed content that updates in real-time, for a more interactive user experience. Whether you’re aiming to showcase real-time statistics, post updates, or user-submitted data, you can effortlessly connect to various sources of dynamic content.
- Use of shortcodes, databases, and custom fields to display content
- Automatic update of content without the need for manual refreshing
Custom CSS Support
For those who have the skills or desire to dig deeper into website styling, Elementor offers full custom CSS support. This means that you can write your CSS code to override the default styles of the theme and widgets, allowing for even further design fine-tuning and personalization.
- Customization beyond Elementor’s built-in styles and options
- Freedom to implement specific responsive design requirements or unique hover effects
Using these customization tools, you’re empowered to build and brand a distinct and dynamic online presence that stands out in the digital landscape.
Elementor’s Widgets and Modules
Elementor Pro offers an expanded range of widgets and modules that can significantly enhance your website-building experience. With its drag-and-drop interface, you have access to an array of advanced widgets that allow you to create custom pages and content elements with ease.
Widgets
Widgets are the building blocks of your Elementor layout. They are versatile content elements that you can place within sections or columns on your page. Here are some widgets you might find particularly useful:
- Header & Footer: Customize the very top and bottom parts of your site.
- Posts: Display your latest blog posts in various styles.
- Social Media: Integrate social feeds directly on your pages.
- Testimonials: Showcase customer feedback attractively.
- Pricing Tables: Clearly display your pricing structures.
Modules
Modules, on the other hand, bring together various widgets and functionalities to provide cohesive features. Some notable modules include:
- Theme Builder: Control all aspects of your theme design without touching a line of code.
- WooCommerce Builder: Tailor your online store with widgets designed for product listings, categories, and more.
Content Elements
You have the flexibility to mix and match widgets to create bespoke content elements. For instance:
- Combine Text Editor, Image, and Button widgets to craft a compelling Call To Action (CTA) section.
- Use the Icon List widget to neatly list your services or features.
With Elementor Pro, your creativity isn’t limited by your technical ability. Instead, you have the power to bring your vision to life on your WordPress website through an intuitive and comprehensive toolbox of widgets and modules.
Design and Layout Options
When crafting your website with Elementor, you have a robust array of design and layout options at your disposal. From intricate layout configurations to advanced stylistic choices, you can fine-tune every aspect to achieve a responsive and aesthetically pleasing design.
Layout and Sections
Your page layout is foundational to website design. With Elementor, you can structure your content using “Sections” and “Columns” to create a personalized layout. The key components you’ll work with are:
- Sections: These act as the main containers and can encompass any number of columns. Think of them as the building blocks of your page.
- Columns: Nested within sections, they provide structure for your widgets and help you organize content horizontally.
To manipulate these effectively:
- Drag and drop sections to your page.
- Adjust the column width for a balanced look.
Advanced Margins and Padding
Margins and padding are essential for creating space around your elements, ensuring your website doesn’t appear cluttered. Elementor allows you to adjust these settings for sections, columns, and widgets individually:
- Margins: The space outside the border of an element. You can set different values for top, bottom, left, and right margins to control how elements on your page relate to each other.
- Padding: The space inside the border of an element. Adjusting padding ensures that text and images have breathing room, enhancing readability.
Manipulating margins and padding is straightforward:
- Navigate to the element’s settings.
- Input numerical values for precise spacing.
Motion Effects
Motion effects add a dynamic layer to your website’s design, helping you guide your visitor’s attention and creating a more interactive experience. Elementor presents you with a variety of motion effects such as:
- Hover Animations: Trigger an effect when the mouse is over an element.
- Scrolling Effects: Elements come to life as your visitor scrolls through the page.
To apply motion effects:
- Select the element you want to animate.
- Choose the desired effect from the “Motion Effects” section in the settings.
Remember, while motion effects can be engaging, it’s crucial to use them judiciously to maintain your site’s professionalism and loading speed.
Ease of Use
In navigating the realm of web page builders, you’ll find that Elementor stands out for its intuitive interface, minimizing the need for technical expertise. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned designer, the ease of use that Elementor brings to the table streamlines your website building experience.
Drag-and-Drop Editor
With Elementor’s drag-and-drop editor, you can easily add, rearrange, and style elements on your web pages without any coding knowledge. The process is straightforward: select a widget and drag it to the desired location. This hands-on approach makes it simple for you to construct your pages exactly how you envision them.
Editing History
Elementor understands the importance of being able to backtrack changes. With its revision history feature, you have the power to undo or redo actions or even revert to previous versions of your pages. This safeguard ensures that you never lose your progress and can experiment with designs without hesitation.
Live Preview Capabilities
As you craft your pages, Elementor’s live preview function allows you to see your changes in real-time. This means you can fine-tune settings and witness how your design choices unfold instantaneously, fostering a seamless design process and helping you create the perfect user experience with confidence.
Templates and Pre-Designs
Elementor offers an extensive library of pre-made templates that serve as a springboard for your web design projects. These templates cater to a variety of website types, including but not limited to, landing pages, portfolios, and blogs.
- Landing Page Templates: You can choose from a selection of high-quality designs specifically created for landing pages. These templates are designed to optimize your visitor’s user experience and conversion rates.
- Headers and Footers: Customize the often overlooked but critical parts of your site, the header and footer. With Elementor, you gain access to a set of design options that are easy to integrate and adjust, ensuring that your site’s navigation feels seamless.
Here’s how you can benefit from these templates:
- Efficiency: By starting with a pre-designed template, you significantly reduce the time needed to create a website.
- Consistency: Templates maintain a uniform look and feel throughout your website.
- Customizability: Each template is fully editable using the Elementor drag-and-drop interface, allowing for personalization down to the smallest detail.
| Templates | Uses |
|---|---|
| Pre-made | Quick-start design process |
| Landing Pages | Focused on user conversion |
| Headers | Navigation and branding |
| Footers | Essential links and business information |
Use these templates as a starting point, and tailor them to match your brand and meet the specific needs of your website project. Your ability to customize is nearly limitless, so each page you create can look and feel unique despite originating from a preset design.
Responsiveness and Mobile-Optimization
When building your website with Elementor, you have the power to create a responsive design that adapts seamlessly to different screens. Elementor’s mobile optimization ensures that your website will look and perform well on any device.
Adjusting Layout for Mobile: Elementor provides tools to fine-tune the layout for mobile screens. You have control over column stacking, spacing, and can selectively show or hide elements that work best for mobile users.
Mobile Editing Features:
- Adjust font sizes for readability on smaller screens
- Revise padding and margin to ensure adequate space
- Adapt button sizes for easy interaction
Elementor’s responsive editing options let you customize settings for various devices. By prioritizing mobile design, you can ensure a superior user experience. Remember to frequently preview your website on different devices to confirm the responsiveness of your design.
Performance Optimization: While Elementor is built for performance, use additional practices like caching and image optimization to further improve mobile load times.
To sum up, the core of a mobile-responsive approach with Elementor includes:
- Adaptable Navigation: Refine your site’s navigation for touch inputs.
- Optimized Media: Ensure images and videos scale correctly.
- Legible Typography: Choose fonts and sizes that are easy to read on small screens.
By leveraging Elementor’s responsive design capabilities, you provide visitors with a fast and intuitive mobile experience.
Additional Tools and Extensions
Elementor’s flexibility is further enhanced by its additional tools and extensions. You’ll find that these extensions provide specialized functionalities catering to diverse needs, from creating unique post grids with a Loop Builder to crafting impactful landing pages with a Landing Page Builder.
Loop Builder
With the Loop Builder, you have the power to create custom layouts for your posts and custom post types. It’s a dynamic feature that allows you to:
- Design templates for individual items in post lists or grids.
- Control the appearance of your blog listings with your own styling and layouts.
This feature gives you significant flexibility in showcasing posts, portfolio items, and more, offering an alternative to the standard post templates that come with WordPress themes.
Landing Page Builder
When you use the Landing Page Builder, your ability to convert visitors into customers can be greatly improved. It provides:
- Templates optimized for conversion to help you get started quickly.
- Freedom to build from scratch if you prefer a personalized touch for your pages.
The drag-and-drop interface of Elementor paired with this builder makes page creation intuitive and efficient, allowing you to include various widgets and elements that suit your marketing objectives.
Pricing and Value for Money
When evaluating Elementor, it’s essential to consider the pricing of the various plans and the value they offer. Elementor provides both a free and a Pro version, catering to different user needs and budgets.
The free version of Elementor includes the basic drag-and-drop editor, widgets, and templates. This option is suitable if you’re starting out and wish to build simple sites without a financial commitment.
Elementor’s Pro version, on the other hand, expands on the capabilities of the free version. It offers more professional tools and widgets designed for advanced designs and functionality. The premium version includes:
- A theme builder
- A form builder
- A popup builder
- WooCommerce integration
- Access to professional templates and blocks
Elementor’s Pro pricing plans are tiered based on the number of sites and additional features:
| Plan | Price (Yearly) | Sites | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essential | $49 | 1 Site | All Pro Features |
| Advanced | $99 | 3 Sites | All Pro Features |
| Expert | $199 | 25 Sites | All Pro Features |
| Studio | $499 | 100 Sites | All Pro Features + VIP Support |
| Agency | $999 | 1000 Sites | All Pro Features + VIP Support |
In terms of value for money, the Pro version’s pricing is competitive, especially considering the additional design capabilities and site-building tools it unlocks. If you manage multiple websites, higher-tier plans offer more value as they reduce the cost per site significantly.
Select the plan aligning with your project’s scale and needs. The Essential and Advanced plans are more than sufficient for personal use or small businesses, while the Expert, Studio, and Agency plans aim towards professional web designers and agencies managing a larger volume of sites.
Success Stories and Testimonials
When using Elementor, showcasing your success stories and testimonials transparently can significantly boost your credibility. Elementor simplifies this process with dedicated widgets and features that allow you to display feedback from satisfied customers in an engaging and professional manner.
Testimonial Widgets:
Elementor offers a Testimonial Widget that enables you to add individual testimonials with ease. You can customize testimonials with options for:
- Star ratings: Represent customer satisfaction levels visually.
- Name and title of the reviewer
- The testimonial content itself
Dynamic Testimonials:
For a more interactive element, you can use Dynamic Testimonials to automate the display of rotating feedback, keeping your page lively and up-to-date.
Design Customization:
- Typography and color: Tailor the text and background to fit your brand’s style.
- Image sizing: Adjust the display of reviewer images to align with your layout preferences.
- Alignment and border styling
Testimonial Carousel:
To conserve space while displaying multiple testimonials, the Testimonial Carousel widget is invaluable. Customers can browse through several reviews, gaining a comprehensive view of other’s experiences with your service or product.
Here is how you can embed these features:
- Navigate to the page where you want to display testimonials.
- Select the appropriate widget (e.g., “Testimonial Carousel”).
- Drag the widget to your page and fill in the details for each testimonial.
- Customize styling options to match your brand.
- Update and publish the page to make it live.
With these tools, your potential customers can witness the real-life experiences and satisfaction of your existing customer base, fostering trust and engagement.
Comparisons and Alternatives
When considering Elementor for your website projects, you should be aware of how it stacks up against competitors and alternative solutions. This can help you make an informed decision based on features, usability, and cost-effectiveness.
Elementor vs Competitors
Within the world of WordPress page builders, Elementor positions itself as a leading tool with a focus on design freedom, versatility, and ease of use. Key competitors include:
- Divi: Provides similar design elements and pre-made templates, with over 800 layouts to choose from.
- Beaver Builder: Known for its stability and clean code output.
- Themify Builder: Offers affordability with lifetime access deals, and can be used on unlimited websites.
Non-WordPress solutions like Wix and Squarespace also serve as alternatives, catering to users who prefer an all-in-one platform for website creation and hosting, without the need for plug-ins.
| Feature | Elementor | Divi | Beaver Builder | Themify Builder | Wix | Squarespace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-made Templates | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Unlimited Site Use | No | Depends on license | No | Yes | No | No |
| Pricing Model | Subscription-based | One-time fee or subscription | Subscription-based | One-time fee or subscription | Subscription-based | Subscription-based |
| Non-WordPress Solution | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Page building experience | Drag-and-drop | Drag-and-drop | Drag-and-drop | Drag-and-drop | Drag-and-drop | Drag-and-drop |
Agency and Developer Perspectives
From an agency standpoint, the choice of a page builder can significantly affect workflow efficiency and client satisfaction. If your agency frequently switches between numerous projects, Elementor’s extensive widget selection and template library can be quite beneficial. However, agencies planning to use the tool across multiple client sites should consider licensing costs.
For developers, customizability and clean code output are often paramount. Beaver Builder is a strong contender here, offering a balance of user-friendliness and developer options. Tools like Wix and Squarespace, while user-friendly, might offer limited flexibility for intricate custom coding compared to WordPress-based alternatives.
Your decision should weigh how these alternatives align with your project needs, skill set, and the type of client service your agency aims to deliver.
Final Thoughts
When considering Elementor as your page builder of choice for WordPress, you are faced with a variety of factors that settle its stature in the market.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Ease of Use: Elementor provides a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface that streamlines the website building process for you.
- Pop-up Builder: A powerful tool included that enhances your ability to engage visitors.
- Customer Support: Though support has room for improvement, it does provide assistance for resolving issues, particularly for premium users.
Cons:
- Support: There are suggestions that support could be more customer-centric, especially for complex problems.
- Pricing: The distinction between free and premium features can impact your access to the full capabilities of Elementor, which is something to consider if you’re budget-conscious.
Expert Opinions
Experts notably recognize Elementor for its supremacy in the field of WordPress page builders:
- Popularity and User Satisfaction: Over 5 million active installations with high user ratings speak volumes about its dependability.
- **Flexibility: ** While simple websites can revel in the streamlined experience offered by Elementor, more complex sites might still prefer traditional WordPress hosting options.
Remember to evaluate these points based on your unique website needs and preferences.
