When it comes to creating a good-looking page or website on WordPress, you need to make sure you have everything you need to accomplish it. Sure, the platform’s in-house page builder is always ready to assist you, but the problem is you can’t edit it as much as you’d like because of how bulky and out-of-the-place it is.
Third-party plugins for web design can be used to solve problems you might have with WordPress. One of the most popular is Elementor. Elementor aims to aid you in creating websites in a uniquely easy way – and when we say it’s a breeze to work with, we do mean it. No coding required!
Are you a believer that Elementor is the right page builder? Are you still undecided? To answer your curiosities, we’re deeply diving into everything it offers.
For those of you who prefer a more visual experience, here is a video review from the YouTube channel Pinky1472. You can still read our article to get an overview of Elementor.
Elementor in a Nutshell: What Is It About? How To Convert WordPress Template To Elementor
Elementor is a website builder plugin designed for WordPress. It is best known for its intuitive and visual drag-and-drop editor. This allows you to create a variety of design assets and blocks, and then see how your page looks to visitors in real time.
Elementor’s interface is similar to popular website builders such as Squarespace or Wix. You can either choose a pre-made template or build a custom-made WordPress website. One good thing about this one-of-a-kind platform is that all the tools you need to build a website are within your reach – all without the added hassles of coding that may get in the way of enjoying it.
What Does It Have to Offer?
Living up to the reputation of being a very excellent WordPress plugin, Elementor provides a sleek and neat interface that lets you seamlessly go through everything it can offer.
- With Elementor, you’re greeted with an illustrious range of dynamic and attractive themes compared to the more standard and plain templates that often come with WordPress’ in-house themes.
- To edit your pages and posts, you have a completely separate interface that allows for interaction. WordPress’s similar editor is lightweight and easy to use.
- You can keep your current theme, even if it’s from WordPress – Elementor can deal with all WordPress themes as long as they’re compatible with version 5.0 of the platform or higher. The plugin can be used to transform a dull theme into something more appealing.
- The front-end handles all editing of your pages and websites. You’ll see your work as soon as your customers or visitors see it. This outstanding feature gives you a better understanding of which design element keeps them returning for more or otherwise.
Elementor, as a whole, makes it easy for anyone to use when it comes to creating an impressive page. Its interface is designed to be so streamlined and filled to the brim with essential tools that even those who may need more expansive knowledge in web design can navigate through it with no problems. This has made the website builder an excellent choice for those with limited resources or who work in a small team.
Many similar web designer plugins may offer working individuals a pleasing drag-and-drop experience and a handful of useful tools. Elementor’s standards are not met by all plugins. With that being said, Elementor has gained a positive reputation among many WordPress users – more than three million of them have had the plugin installed on their accounts.
What is it that makes this web design platform unique? What other features does it offer that others don’t have? We will soon find out as we look deeper into Elementor’s features, beginning with its impressive list.
Meet Elementor’s Features
Fully-packed Template Library
Elementor’s library of more than 150 templates is perfect for those who are new to web design, or have some knowledge but don’t have the time. They make site-building easy as they turn your ideas into products that will grab attention.
Two categories are available for the platform’s templates:
- Pages – full-length templates that only require you to do low-effort customization
- Blocks are templates that can be used to create pages for specific and individual parts. Examples of blocks include portfolios, pricing tables, FAQs, portfolios, and more.
If you wish to expand beyond Elementor’s in-house template selection, you may find them from tons of third-party sources all over the internet and import them onto the platform under the My Templates tab.
Massive Widget Selection
Elementor has a lot more than just a wide range of templates. There are many widget options available in the plugin. Widgets are smaller, more contained elements that house a wide range of content.
There are 60+ widgets that you can use to get a lot of information about how your website should look and the flexibility you have in doing so. These include text-related elements like headings, inner sections, media files such as images and videos, buttons and icons, as well as website sidebars. Map widgets powered by Google Maps, testimonials, star ratings, and gallery widgets are also part of what Elementor has in store.
You may add as many as you want to your page. As with the templates, you may also opt to import those from third-party sources to further expand your selection.
Convenient Drag-and-drop Editing
Elementor’s user interface is the most notable feature. It has been best-known for its drag-and-drop capabilities, allowing users to build and edit pages as freely as possible. Drag the widget you prefer from the left sidebar and drop it in your workspace. Similarly, you may tweak some adjustments between the page’s elements by dragging it to a different location.
Apart from that, Elementor offers right-click support to assist users without having to go over the sidebar for slight edits all the time – something a couple of WordPress web design plugins aren’t equipped with.
Included is a Navigation view section that gives you a comprehensive list of content arranged accordingly to Elementor’s page structure – we’ll discuss that later on in full detail.
The editing interface also includes a Finder tool that will help you navigate quickly between pages and content elements.
Fine-tuned Control Over Your Elements
Elementor, a simple WordPress page-building plugin is packed with design options that can be used by anyone. It knows that the finest of details matter when it comes to creating an eye-catching website, so it allows you the liberty to edit and fix every single design element in whatever you’re building.
You can make necessary changes to your site’s content blocks and widgets, images, text, and text. You can also change the font, sizing, and color of your text content and headings.
These are just a few of the basic editing options you have in Elementor. You can also make specific adjustments to the plugin’s content elements. The plugin offers advanced customization options that include widget positioning within columns, custom CSS settings, animation effects and exact margins and padding for numbers.
Options for Your Mobile-friendly Page
All of Elementor’s templates are mobile-friendly by default, but you may be wondering if you could make some changes to match how you want it to look. You’ll be glad to know that the platform gives you full control to do whatever you want to make your website more appealing on smartphones and tablets, as with everything else.
Just click the Switch view icon along the sidebar, and you’ll be greeted with three viewing options, each for the desktop, tablet, and mobile phone. You can choose from any one of the three viewing options to edit or omit widgets.
An opportunity to look back at the changes you’ve made
Sometimes a few ‘undo’ actions may not be enough to fix a huge design mistake. You might have encountered similar occurrences if you tried editing on any design platform.
Elementor’s Revision History tool is a great help in this situation. With it, you can revert to any of the previous versions of the page you’re editing without sacrificing the rest of your design elements.
Pricing
The Elementor plugin is offered completely for free, letting you take full advantage of all its core web design features and elements needed to create a good-looking site or page. Elementor Pro has many more upgrades and additions than the previous version. You might be interested in one.
Among the things you may get to enjoy if you choose Elementor Pro include exploring an expanded library of themes, templates, and design blocks; custom CSS and advanced coding capabilities; creating forms and pop-ups within the platform’s editing interface; integrations with WooCommerce; and, of course, the theme builder.
Elementor Pro has four main subscription plans, each designed for various individuals and/or groups. It also includes a special website builder and hosting plan for next-level site management. All tiers are paid annually and share the same premium features; the only two factors that set each other apart are the number of website activations and customer support response time.
Elementor Pro Plans
- Essential Plan – $49/year, 1 pro website activation, 24/7 customer support
- Expert Plan – $199/year, 25 pro website activations, 24/7 customer support
- Studio Plan – $299 for the first year, and then $499/year thereafter; 100 pro websites activated, VIP customer support in less than 30 minutes
- Agency Plan – $999/year. 1000 Pro Website Activations. VIP Customer Support in Less Than 30 Minutes.
Elementor Cloud Website Building + Hosting is $99 per year. It gives you the same features you can expect from any Elementor Pro plan but includes stunning hosting and CMS capabilities. It offers a wide range of templates and design assets. Your website is protected by Google Cloud Platform integration, SSL and robust website management.
Elementor Free vs. Elementor Pro
The tricky part is: Do you feel the free WordPress plugin version is still appropriate for you, or do the Pro versions have such an advantage that you want to give it a try instead?
The free plugin version is a good option if you don’t want to add any extra features to your website or landing page. Elementor Free has many features that are already impressive in retrospect. Its core tools are just as dynamic as those of other web design platforms, which offer the same level or more delivery. It is so dynamic that business teams can use the free version. How To Convert WordPress Template To Elementor
Elementor Free allows you to:
- Optimize your website and pages for mobile viewing.
- Check out the version history of your website.
- You can use fully customizable themes and pre-made templates.
- Add or edit out website blocks however you need them.
If the ability to build and license more than one website is what you’re looking for, Elementor Pro may be a more logical option. It offers a lot more value than the free version. This means that you have more options and more features to help you get the most out of your software. These include:
- A growing list of more than 300 themes and over 100+ premium block templates.
- Global widgets that allow you to use and edit the same widget across multiple pages without having to edit it individually;
- A front-end form builder and a pop-up editor if you want more ways to attract potential customers;
- Integrations with the popular e-commerce platform WooCommerce, complete with template blocks and widgets that let you build an online storefront;
- The ability to create your personalized theme from scratch through its Theme Builder feature. How To Convert WordPress Template To Elementor
Elementor Pro should not be considered the only way to grow the WordPress plugin if you don’t want to license multiple websites. As previously mentioned, Elementor Free is already sustainable enough for most users – there are plenty of flexible themes and templates out there that can be integrated with Elementor, a notable example of which is Astra.
Using Elementor: How Does It Work?
First, install the Elementor plugin and activate it in WordPress. After you have installed the plugin, you will see a settings panel. You can modify any content while editing. You can also go to WordPress’s pages section.
From there, you will notice the Edit with Elementor button placed conveniently along the bar above the canvas. You will be immediately redirected to the builder interface as you click the button. The image below perfectly illustrates what it looks like. How To Convert WordPress Template To Elementor
Based on the picture, here are a couple of things that you should expect as you explore the interface:
- The workroom or canvas. It takes up the largest part of the screen.
- The widgets area. It is located on the left side, next to the canvas. It contains lots of content as well as design elements that can be used.
- Settings. Symbolized by three small horizontal lines, it is where you get to access a wide range of colors, fonts, and other design assets.
- The Open Elementor Widgets button. Essentially considered a form of the menu button, it allows you to return to the widgets list – nine little squares represent this.
- The Global Settings button. This button is represented by the cogwheel icon. It takes you to more advanced settings.
- The Revision History button. Displayed as a clock icon, it allows you to take a look at the history of previous versions of your page or website.
- Switch View. You can convert your desktop page to tablet-friendly or mobile-friendly versions by clicking the small monitor icon. This icon can be used to edit the content you wish your customers to see on their smartphones.
- Preview your changes. Once you click the tiny eye icon, you’re given a full look at the changes you’ve made to your page before you’re ready to publish it.
- The Publish/Update button. When the shaped button turns green, you are ready to publish. If it’s grey, it means your page is updating – this time, unlike when it’s green, you can’t click it. How To Convert WordPress Template To Elementor
Structure Hierarchy
Before you can begin building, it is important to understand the structure hierarchy Elementor uses. This similar structure has been used by many web designers, including those who are more experienced in website design.
In Elementor, your primary goal is to create a page. A page is where it usually contains a series of sections and the columns that come after that.
On the one hand, a section is a row that you can customize with plenty of design elements, such as background, colors, sizing, and more.
The columns, on the other, go inside a certain section. These are the places where widgets and content elements are located. Each can be styled and sized individually.
To recap, this is how Elementor’s structure hierarchy plays out:
Page > Section > Column > Widget/Content element
Designing a Page
Let’s create a page now that we have an understanding of the skeletal structure. On WordPress’s page design interface, click the Edit with Elementor button. Soon you’ll see a plus (+), highlighted in red violet. Click on it to add a section. How To Convert WordPress Template To Elementor
The next thing you must do is select the structure of your section. You may choose a single column or multiple, depending on what type of content you wish to add. From there, you may populate those columns with content elements. Simply drag any widget from the interface’s widget area and drop it onto them, be it a heading or an image. You can even adjust or rearrange them and sections and columns within the page.
Now is the time for fine tuning the details and making the page more attractive. You can explore three main editing tabs: Style, Content, and Advanced.
It is easier to design a pre-existing theme page than it is to create one from scratch. You would usually only need to make minor adjustments between sections, columns, and widgets, unless you are adding a new design element. Elementor’s drag and drop functions make it much easier to refine some changes than coding.
The Disadvantages: What Else is Lacking?
We don’t mean to mislead you, Elementor is certain to be one of the best WordPress web design tools. However, nothing in this world is always perfect. While there are many things that we love about it, there are a few that some of you may find inconvenient:
- The editing interface can be a bit buggy on some occasions. Although it’s fast, efficient, and ultimately very convenient, it can freeze too quickly. To get it working again, refresh it and reopen it.
- Though most of Elementor’s features are offered for free, there are a few that may appear essential but are only limited to Elementor Pro, which may be a bit discouraging for some. For instance, you can’t set site-wide styles in the free version, as you’re essentially stuck to a few pages simultaneously. How To Convert WordPress Template To Elementor
- Some editing refinements may not go exactly as you wish them to. You may find that the default font and typography of certain links is what you have chosen, even if you add your own styling. On the other, you may have difficulty locating the exact margin value whenever the alignment of your design elements is off.
Who should use elementor?
Elementor has a wealth of expert-level features and tools. The free version includes these, as well as additional useful upgrades for any Elementor Pro plan. Furthermore, most users will likely find it easier to grasp than other WordPress web design plugins.
It’s easy to see why so many people love Elementor. Elementor is both a popular DIY tool for those who don’t have the necessary web design skills and an intuitive platform that can be used by a broad range of businesses.
However, there are some specific users we have in mind that will find Elementor to be a more suited choice. These are:
- Casual internet users. Elementor offers many customizable benefits that are especially useful for bloggers and website owners.
- Digital marketing professionals. Design tools aside, most of Elementor’s features are built to be marketing-ready – from the seamless integrations to thousands of platforms using Zapier to the pop-up and e-commerce widgets.
- Site builders. Elementor is an excellent stepping stone for those who are interested in creating websites for clients. How To Convert WordPress Template To Elementor
Alternatives to Elementor
Elementor may have some advantages over other web design plugins, but that doesn’t make it the best choice.
Many WordPress web design plugins offer similar functionality to Elementor. Some may only offer a few. WordPress’s web design features are not for everyone. We all know this. That’s why plugins were created.
Right now, there are two other leading WordPress web builder plugins out there that are on the same par as Elementor in terms of features: the Divi builder by Elegant Themes and Beaver Builder. Divi, one on hand, offers the same feature-rich range as Elementor and has the same ability to edit your website from a front-end interface as your clients see it. However, despite giving off a very similar edge, it somehow doesn’t include a free option. Beaver Builder is a more straightforward plugin than the others, but it packs as many design tools as you need into one platform. These are already enough to create an attractive website.
Elementor is not the only web design plugin you can use. SeedProd, Page Builder are also notable alternatives.
Final Verdict: Is Elementor Worth Trying?
Answering the question is yes. Elementor is a premium drag-and-drop page building tool for WordPress. It’s packed with top-quality design tools and features. Most of these core features are offered free. How To Convert WordPress Template To Elementor
It’s easy to see why so many people continue to use this plugin to build websites and pages. Elementor is different than other web design plugins in that it allows anyone to create whatever they want with no restrictions. Unlike others, it doesn’t force you to upgrade to a higher plan or a paid license, ensuring there’s enough space for everyone.
Before we let you explore Elementor, here’s some advice: If your job involves creating websites for clients or running multiple websites, we recommend that you use Elementor Pro. The free plugin for WordPress will still work fine.
FAQ How To Convert WordPress Template To Elementor
Can I export or upload my templates to Elementor
Yes, Elementor can import your templates. You can create a new template using the Theme Builder. Additionally, you can import your personal themes to the website builder via the Templates tab.
Similar to the previous function, you can export your template files to be used on another WordPress site – useful if you work as a web-builder for multiple clients.
What types of pages can I create using Elementor?
With Elementor, you can create homepages, landing pages, landing pages, about pages, or any mixed-interest pages under the sun.
If you’re subscribed to Elementor Pro, you can create full websites and even online stores apart from numerous pages.
Does Elementor slow down my website?
Elementor won’t slow down your website to the point where it will take as many seconds as possible to load. However, a website that was built using this plugin may be two seconds slower than the one made from WordPress’s built-in website builder. Nonetheless, both equally bit faster than the version made through, say, Beaver Builder.
WordPress websites made with plugins can take longer to build due to multiple factors, including poor hosting, large media files and slow themes.