In this article I’m going to make a bold confession, as I discuss my conversion to the Elementor WordPress page builder plugin and why I believe it will win and dominate all other page builders. Plus I’ll share my strategy, the how I use Elementor and with what themes.
If you’re looking for info on the Genesis Pro Page Builder, you should read this article here: https://wpmantis.com/wp-engine-launches-new-wordpress-page-builder-genesis-pro
The Confession
It’s really no secret that I have never been a fan of page builders. In fact, you can probably find several articles where I complain about their bulk and bloat. How they slow down WordPress sites and require way to many recourse to use.
Not to mention the disaster when the builder plugin or theme is deactivated. All that you get is shortcode nonsense. None of your actual copy is even accessible from the frontend.
I have had to fix so many sites that were built with Divi and Beaver Builder that I just started grouping all all page builders together. Not giving any of them a chance.
But here it is, are you ready!?
After only 1 months of playing with the free version of Elementor, I bought a license and built the first version of my business website!
Not only did I build out my site with it, but I was able to build another site in an 8 hour day with the page builder. And it was a complicated site that would have taken me a three to four days to code by hand.
Why Elementor
For one it is a plugin and not a theme. Which gives me freedom to continue to use the theme framework I’ve used for more than seven years.
Additionally, I have been pleasantly surprised by how light weight and fast the plugin is.
The support has been incredible. I have only had to use them once but it was a very pleasant experience.
When you deactivate the plugin, there is no messy shortcodes on your pages, what you are left with is the themes default style and all your copy is visible. Do not under estimate the value of this one aspect.
With the roll out of Gutenberg in WordPess core, I am convinced that page builders will have challenges with user retention as people start to shift to a more friendly version of the WordPress core software.
However, Elementor, of all the page builders I’ve tested or supported, is the one that functions the most like Gutenberg. Which leaves me to believe they will have a greater advantage over their competitors for continued compatibility.
One additional quality is the ability to use Elementor for designing your WooCommerce pages and products. If you’ve ever customized a WooCommerce site, you know how much of a pain it can be!
Why the Elementor Page Builder will Win
Like I mentioned above. From what I have experienced and of the page builders I’ve dealt with, Elementor is the only one (and I have not used them all) that seems to function extremely similar to the new WordPress core editor, Gutenberg.
Here is a quick video to show you what I mean.
My Elementor Strategy
If you’ve read my content or know me, you know the only WordPress themes I recommend using are Genesis Framework child themes.
Because I am so committed to using Genesis, Elementor being a plugin as opposed to a theme was crucial for me.
StudioPress has a child theme called, Genesis Sample, which is basically a blank canvas. So if I’m using Elementor to build a site, I am going to use the Genesis Sample theme as my starting point.
This way I still get to take advantage of the Genesis Framework features I have grown to love, but at the same time expand my possibilities.
I will mention, Elementor just announced the acquisition of Layers WP, which is a theme development company. Which will enable them to provide a new range of templates and styles for building your WordPress website.
The Wrap Up
I did a Facebook live episode a few days ago were I briefly open the topic of Gutenberg and the importance of page builders in the progressing market that WordPress is in. I’d encourage you to watch the video and add your own thoughts.
Should you use Elementor? If you’re in the market for a WordPress page builder, I’d highly recommend downloading the free version and giving it a try.
I’d suggest not using Divi or Avada which are theme based builders, I’d also avoid WP Backery’s Visual Composer which is a plugin. Mainly because they’re all very bulky and bloated.
As a final note I will add, if you’re a freelance WordPress website builder you could really expand your business and grow faster with a tool like Elementor.
Done-For-You Service
Want us to fix it for you!? If you don’t want to waste time with these tech issues, we’re happy to do-it-for-you! You can feel confident knowing you’ve got an expert fixing it for you!
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Hello,
Love the article. i’m a huge fan of Elementor myself; ive been using it for over 2 years now and it does do the trick 🙂
p.s: u got a small spelling error on one of your title (WHY THE ELEMENOTR PAGE BUILDER WILL WIN). just an FYI
Cheers,
I also like the Elementor plugin VERY MUCH. First, i used WP bakery and there were so many issues i have faced. Recently i purchased the Genesis framework and i am gonna try with that for our new landing page.
Like you I have used genesis child theme(Executive Pro) and Design Pallette Pro to help with the layout. Do you think Elementor would be a good substitution for DPP?
Simon, thank you for your comment.
Elementor is a great option. It will offer a lot more than DPP.
However Genesis just rolled out their own page builder, you should check it out here: https://wpmantis.com/wp-engine-launches-new-wordpress-page-builder-genesis-pro/
Can you edit any genesis framework/child themes using Elementor pro?
You can edit any child theme with Elementor. I would not recommend you edit the core Genesis Framework with anything since it is regularly updated and will overwrite your edits.
– Chris
So let’s say I’m using genesis framework and the child theme magazine pro. Will I be able to edit/customized magazine pro with elementor? What do you mean exactly by not editing the core genesis framework?
Thank you for your response. I am trying to model my site after http://www.wpbeginner.com which uses the genesis framework and just want to know if elementor pro can do tha
t.
Yes you will be able to edit the magazine pro theme. What I mean by editing Genesis core is, you can install genesis and activate it without a child theme. That would be a bad idea. But as long as you have a child theme activated that is fine.
I believe magazine pro is one of the themes updated to support Gutenberg so it will be even more flexible with elementor. Genesis child themes use to depend on widgets to create the homepage layout that you would see in their demos, however, you can get the same result with Elementor and by creating a page and assigning it as the static home page.
Thank you for the clarification. I couldn’t find a straight answer to this anywhere on the web. Again, thank you and great content!
THIS IS GREAT MAN! JUST WHAT I NEEDED! I own a very small web dev company and I LOVE Genesis too, but have been contemplating using a page builder for years now, but my ego and pride kept fighting that urge because I thought I wouldn’t be considered a “coder” any longer, but I have decided to provide many offerings to clients such as custom CMS builds using the Genesis Sample Theme coding everything from top to bottom which would be much more costly, then offer more cost effective builds using Elementor along with Genesis to help me complete projects much faster. Messing with PHP, JQuery, CSS/Sass, preprocessors, task managers, bundlers, IDE settings, yada yada, all that is a headache if the money isn’t there and many clients these days want something that won’t haven them bankrupt when it’s all said and done. Do you have any other content that provides more of a deep dive into Elementor/Genesis development and how they can work together? Thank you very much!