Elementor Review: Still The Best WordPress Page Builder Plugin?

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Elementor merits more than a casual look if you are searching for an easy to use WordPress page builder plugin.

The cool thing about Elementor, is you can master how to use it without any coding or tech experience.

Are you building your website or blog?

Or are you an agency creating multiple websites for your clients?

Elementor page builder will help you to quickly build your pages and posts with a beautiful and aesthetic layout.

In this Elementor review, I will show you how the page builder works and what makes it exceptional from my personal experience as a user.

I will go through some of the features, look at the various pricing options for the Pro plan and briefly look at some alternative WordPress page builders.

Here is what I am going to cover:

What Is Elementor?

Elementor is a drag-and-drop page builder plugin for WordPress.

It is so easy to use even if like me you have no previous coding skills or tech experience.

So anyone can design professionally looking websites using Elementor.

It has one of the fastest loading times of any page builder making it fun to work with.

Another functionality I find particularly useful is live editing.

Live design and inline editing mean you can see exactly how your page will look simultaneously as you edit it…

…without going to a preview mode.

Elementor works well with all WordPress Themes and so can be installed on old websites.

The popularity of Elementor has skyrocketed since I first started using it in 2018.

At the time of writing, there are over 4 million active installations.

Elementor Features

Elementor is packed full of features that make it one of the best WordPress page builders.

Some of the key features are:

Easy to use and powerful drag-and-drop editor.
Live editing allows you to view what your pages will look like as you edit them.
Very fast interface speeding up your work.
Over 90 elements and widgets that provide everything you need to make your design unique like heading, image, progress bar, button and text editor.
Over 30 of these widgets are available with the free downloadable version.

Elementor has special design features like Box Shadows, Background Overlays, Hover Effects, Headline Effects, Animations, Shape Dividers and Gradient Backgrounds.
There are over 100 full page pre-designed templates you can customize.
In addition, there are over 300 Blocks. These are pre-designed section templates like call to action and testimonials that can be customized and used on any page.
You can also create and save your own section templates.
An exclusive design toolset promotes responsive and mobile friendly websites.
You can redo and undo any action plus autosave.
Ability to edit in draft mode behind the scenes.
Switching to Revision History will show you a list of all your earlier saved versions of the list. Very useful if you mess up your page!
Elementor can be used to design landing pages for lead generation.
There is a dedicated in-house WordPress Hello Theme.
24/7 Support to deal with any queries and problems.
Open source developers help with regular updates and upgrades to the plugin.
There are multiple 3rd party add-ons to enhance user experience like the Ultimate Add-Ons
The comprehensive Knowledge Base has numerous documents, tutorials and videos about everything you need to start and use Elementor.

Elementor Pro Features

I started my blog to promote ClickFunnels and other business tools.

Building the WordPress website which was hosted on BlueHost, I downloaded the free Elementor plugin to go with OceanWP theme.

The free version of Elementor helped me get started and learn how the drop-and-drag editor worked.

I subsequently upgraded to the Pro version to give me more options and flexibility in creating unique pages and posts.

The paid Elementor Pro version comes with additional functionality and over 50 extra widgets like social share buttons, table of contents, custom CSS, lead generation forms and popups.

Here are some Elementor Pro features:

Elementor Pro Theme Builder

With the Elementor Pro drag-and-drop Theme Builder, you can visually customize your website headers, footers, archive pages, single posts and other areas of your website.

This means Elementor can be used with any WordPress theme with no coding skills.

This is great. When I first started using Elementor it was only fully compatible with a select group of WordPress themes including Ocean WP, the theme I chose for my blog.

With the Theme Builder, you can style your theme dynamically and customize several templates on your site.

50+ Premium Widgets

Elementor Pro comes with over 50 premium widgets including for media, marketing, lead generation and social media share buttons.

Visual Form Builder With Built-in Integrations

With the Visual Form Builder, you can build high converting lead generation forms.

Integrating this with your popular email marketing service like Active Campaign will help you grow your list.

WooCommerce Builder

If you are looking to run an ecommerce business, the WooCommerce Builder will help design your site through 18 dynamic widgets.

WooCommerce is a free open-source e-commerce plugin for WordPress.

Popup Builder

Many people find popups annoying.

Used properly however, they are highly effective marketing tools for lead generation.

Elementor has over 100 widgets you can incorporate in building popups integrated with your email service.

Motion Effects

For the adventurous, you can add animations to your pages and posts with Elementor Pro.

These include parallax scrolling, 3D tilt, horizontal and vertical scrolling amonst other features.

More Elementor Pro Features

Elementor Pro is packed full of several other features including over 200 templates, 24/7 Premium Support, Global Widget where you can save all your templates, custom fonts, adobe fonts and many more.

Embed Anywhere is a feature that lets you use widgets and shortcodes to embed Elementor designs anywhere in your site, including sidebars and footers.

Templates and Kits

Elementor has a library of over 150 beautifully designed free and pro templates.

They embrace some of the most popular business niches.

You can customize any of these templates to your own personal needs and taste.

They have also put together Elementor Template Kits, which give you different layouts wihin each niche to choose from.

You can use template kits to create complete websites using the Theme Builder.

At the time of writing there are 6 kits covering Magazine and Blog, Travel and Tours, Law Firm, Portfolio, Gym and Fitness and Digital Agency.

These kits come with the Elementor pro plan.

Hello WordPress Theme

Launched in May 2019, Hello is a 100% compatible Elementor theme.

All Elementor upgrades are tested on Hello first.

It is lightweight, clean and described as the fastest WordPress theme in the market.

Hello Theme is minimalist, blank and optimized for SEO.

You will need Elementor Theme Builder to fully customize it.

Hello theme is compatible and supports most of the popular WordPress plugins like Yoast SEO.

If you plan to switch from your current theme to Hello, you will need to build your header, footer and other areas with Elementor Theme Builder.

You will need to install Elementor first.

How To Use Elementor

Install Free Elementor Plugin

There are two methods to install the Elementor plugin.

Via Elementor.com:

Go to Elementor.com and click download.
In the WordPress dashboard, click Plugins > Add New.
Click Upload Plugin, and choose the file you downloaded for Elementor.

Via WordPress dashboard:

Click Plugins > Add New
In the Search field, enter Elementor and choose Elementor page builder to install.
After installation, click Activate.

Installing Elementor Pro

Elementor Pro is an extension of Elementor, so you must first install the free vesion of Elementor as shown above.

Then follow the steps below:

After purchasing Elementor Pro, go to my.elementor.com
Login with the details you received in the email after purchase.
After the login, you will reach the ‘My Account’ page. Click on the Download Plugin button in the lower My Account section and download the .zip file to your desktop.
On your WordPress dashboard, click on Plugins > Add New. Choose the zip file you have just downloaded. Click on install and activate.
On the top of your site’s dashboard, you should get a message telling you to activate your licence key.
To activate go to Elementor > License. Click Connect & Activate.

Build Your First Page

On the top left side of the WordPress dashboard, click Pages > Add New

Click Edit with Elementor to open the Elementor Page Builder.

Elementor divides its interface into two core parts:

The Widget Panel on the left sidebar from which you can drag widgets into the content editing area on the right.
A visual content Editing Area on the right where you can look at your page.

Elementor has three page building blocks – Sections, Columns and Widgets.

The page is made up of Sections, and inside them are groups of Columns. Widgets are are placed inside of the Columns.

You can edit and customize the Sections, Columns and Widgets with their handle.

Editing Your Page

To edit the Section, Column or Widget, Right Click their handle.

Section

Click the icon to create a Section or click the icon to use a pre-designed template.

Set your Column Structure.

Right click to Edit, Duplicate, Copy, Delete etc.
Use the section handle to add a section, drag a section or delete.

Column

Set the Column Width. This can be done under Layout or drag the dashed line between the Columns.
To add more Columns, Right Click > Add New Column.
Drag and insert Widgets into your Columns.

Widget

Insert Widgets inside your Columns. Drag Widgets like Heading and Text, from the Widget Panel on the left into the Column Content area with the + icon.
A Widget Width is set by the Column Width.
You can edit text and headings for font, colour, styling, weight, transform, decoration, spacing and more.

Adding Templates

From the editing screen, Click the icon.
Click the magnifying glass icon to preview a template.
Click INSERT to select the required template.
You can give your favorite templates a heart and save them to My Favorites.
Click the arrow in the top right corner to upload a .json or .zip file.

Review and Publish Your Page.

You have finished designing and editing your page.

Preview and Publish it.

Go to the bottom panel.

To preview click the icon.

If you are satisfied with the result, go ahead and click the button.

Click ‘Have a Look‘ to view the published page.

Elementor Pro Pricing

Upgrading from the free version of Elementor to the pro plan unlocks so many more features that make this probably the best page builder.

The great news is that it will not cost you an arm and a leg to use Elementor.

For what you get, the prices are very reasonable.

You also get a 30-day money back guarantee during which you receive a full refund.

So how much does Elementor Pro cost?

Let’s have a look at the 3 price plans:

Personal Plan

For most entrepreneurs, bloggers and small businesses with just one website, the entry level Elementor Personal pricing plan licence costs $49 per year.

I think that is a great price.

Plus Plan

If you have up to 3 websites, the Elementor Pro Plus Plan licence costs $99 per year.

Expert Plan

Big agencies and high volume web creators will find great value in the Elementor Expert pricing plan with unlimited website licence for up to 1000 sites costing $199 per year.

Elementor vs Thrive Architect

Thrive Architect, from the Thrive Themes stable, is a drag-and-drop WordPress page builder.

The features are similar but there is no free version like Elementor has.

Thrive Architect however offers lifetime updates once you purchase the plugin.

With Elementor you have to purchase the package every 12 months.

Thrive Architect is big on email marketing with API integration to 23 email marketing providers.

In Elementor, you need to install a separate plugin if you want to connect an email marketing service other than Mailchimp.

This is not a huge issue. I have seamlessly used Active Campaign with Elementor for email marketing campaigns without any hassle.

Both of these are credible options for a visual ‘what-you-see-is what-you-get’ WordPress page builder.

Elementor vs Divi Builder

Divi is another very popular visual WordPress page builder wth a drag-and-drop in-line editor.

There are over 40 pre-made layouts which unlike Elementor that has nich templates, these are more general page types you can customize.

There are multiple third party Divi layouts.

Divi has no free version and no sidebar control panel like Elementor.

You either pay $89 per year or one time payment of $249 for lifetime access.

Divi is part of the Elegant Themes Membership.

So your payment covers all the Elegant Themes products.

Beaver Builder vs Elementor

Beaver Builder is a visual WordPress page builder.

Unlike Elementor it lacks in-line editing and has fewer pre-made templates – about 56 compared to over 100 for Elementor.

It has a sidebar control panel and a free version like Elementor but has fewer widgets and modules.

All the Beaver Builder pricing plans give you unlimited sites and their is a 40% discount for annual auto-renewals.

The Standard plan costs $99 per year but lacks the Beaver Builder framework theme and multi-site support.

With those two features included, the Pro plan costs $199 per year.

The Agency plan also has white labelling and costs $399 a year.

Final Thoughts

I have now used Elementor for about two years.

The ease of use and speed of its interface continue to impress me.

Overall it has been a game changer and helped level up my blog writing.

Are you undecided about which WordPress page builder to use?

This will give you the confidence to invest in the more advanced features in the Pro plan.

Elementor Pros

Very easy to use and fast drag-and-drop WordPress page builder
In-line visual editing so you can see what your pages would look like
Side bar control panel
Multiple widgets to make your pages unique
Large library of pre-built templates
Works with every WordPress Theme
Has the 100% Elementor compatible Hello theme
Has a free version
Competitive price for the entry level Personal Pro plan
Extensive Knowledge base
24/7 Support
Regular updates through open source forum.

Elementor Cons

The free version is limited. Though you can build your basic pages and posts, you will need the Pro version for its enhanced features.
No lifetime updates. You need to renew your licence annually to receive support and updates.

Elementor Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Is Elementor free with WordPress?

Elementor has a free version you can download and use with your WordPress theme.

Its a great way to learn how to use the page builder before upgrading to the Pro version.

What Is Elementor Pro?

Elementor Pro is the paid version of Elementor WordPress page builder.

It has over 50 premium widgets and features that web creators need to build professional looking websites.

It includes the Theme Builder, visual form widget, custom CSS and many other features.

How much does Elementor Pro cost?

The cost of Elementor Pro depends on how many sites you plan to install the page builder on.

The Personal plan cost $49 per year for one site.

For 3 sites the Plus plan costs $99 per year.

The Expert plan, really for Agencies costs $199 a year.

Can I use Elementor with any WordPress Theme?

Yes Elementor can be used on any WordPress theme.

You will need the Theme Builder.

Elementor has its own 100% compatible and very fast theme – the Hello theme.

Elementor Pro Theme Builder will customize your WordPress header and footer, design every part of your blog and build advanced, dynamic websites visually without code.

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Can I edit my blog page with Elementor?

Yes you can edit your blog pages and posts with Elementor page builder.

However, you will need the Theme Builder to edit them.

What do I need to do to start working with the Theme Builder?

You need to install both the free and Pro Elementor plugins.

Both must be activated together to start using the Theme Builder

What happens if I don't renew my license after one year? Will Elementor Pro still work?

Your existing project will remain intact.

The only difference is that you will no longer receive support, updates, and access to premium templates which require annual renewal.

Can I upgrade a license after I have already purchased one?

Yes you can upgrade any time and get a license for a whole year.

You just need to cover the price difference.

What happens to pages created in the free version after I upgrade?

Elementor Pro is an extension of Elementor.

After you upgrade to Pro, you can continue just where you left off, without any interruptions.

You’ll be able to leverage your existing pages using the Pro features.

Can I transfer the Elementor Pro license key from one domain to another?

Yes you can. All you have to do is deactivate the plugin from the previous domain and activate it on the new one.

You can manage it in your Elementor account via View Websites > Manage License.

Does Elementor Have A Demo Version?

There is no demo version of Elementor Pro for trial.

However, there is a refund policy which lets you cancel your purchase and get a refund during the first 30 days.

So you can try Elementor Pro for a month and then decide if you want to keep it or not.

Alternatively you can use the free version to get used to the basic features.

What are the best WordPress Caching Plugins For Elementor?

A good cache plugin will help speed up the loading time of your website.

The five best WordPress caching plugins for Elementor users are W3 Total Cache, WP Fastest Cache, WP Rocket, WP Super Cache and Cache Enabler.

Affiliate Disclaimer: I hope you got value from this Elementor Review. Please take note that some of the links inside this article may be affiliate links. That means that if you buy through one of our links, we may get an affiliate commission for it. If you do click on one of our links, we really appreciate it! Any money we make keeps this site running smoothly and allows us to keep producing these high-quality reviews.