What is Elementor?

Elementor is a third-party page builder plugin for WordPress that launched in 2016. Elementor is one of the top WordPress page builders and has a vibrant community of developers and users. It is a third-party application, which means that, to use it, you must install the plugin first.

Elementor has gained massive popularity because its powerful feature set appeals to both beginners and experienced users and developers. Elementor offers extensive customization options and versatility that allow users to create complex designs without writing any code. Over five million WordPress websites use Elementor.

Key features of Elementor

Elementor offers extensive customization options, but performance optimization is essential to maintain site speed and SEO rankings.

Real-time editing

Elementor users can see changes as they make them in a visual preview. While Gutenberg also offers a visual preview, it shows the changes before the theme or other elements are applied. Elementor users can see exactly what the website page will look like when published.

Pre-built templates

Elementor offers over 300 designer-made templates to help users jumpstart their website designs. Elementor includes templates for sections, websites, pages, headers, and landing pages, all of which require a premium plan. While Gutenberg has section templates, Elementor’s templates are richer.

Widgets library

Elementor gives users access to over 90 widgets, including carousels, forms, sliders, and image galleries. These can be used as alternative to “blocks” in Gutenberg. Elementor also boasts an array of pre-built content widgets. For example, there are widgets for Google Maps, Code Highlights, WooCommerce Product Data, and more.

Theme builder

The Elementor Pro version includes the Theme Builder, which allows for complete control over website design elements, including headers, footers, and dynamic content. It can be compared with Site Editor that also allows users to customize these elements.

The Elementor Pro plan includes a Popup Builder, which allows users to create pop-ups without the need for extra plugins.

Motion Effects

Elementor contains a vast array of design elements for inserting animated Motion Effects onto the web pages.

Responsive page design

Elementor lets you create different versions of a page for different device types right from its visual interface.

Elementor offers both free and paid versions. The free version provides basic functionality, while Elementor Pro unlocks advanced features. Elementor Pro also includes many third-party add-ons that extend its functionality beyond what’s available in the free plugin.