Yes Elementor with 5 million users, Elementor has established itself as the page builder of WordPress.
One of the reasons for its success is its generous free version that offers many possibilities.
You will create your page exactly the way you want it. The WordPress editor is improving every day, but it still lacks finesse in organizing a complex page (homepage, sales…).
I’ll show you some tips and techniques to give a wow effect to your creations.
In this article I will only cover the features of the free version.
You will find three videos that complete the tutorial with examples of creations.
Why use a page builder?
Elementor is perfect for complex pages:
- Overlapping elements
- Full-width format without menu and footer
- Fine management of margins
- Transition effects between blocks
- Animations
With Elementor you can build rich and attractive homepages and sales pages. However, I strongly advise you against using it for articles.
If possible, it is best not to use a page builder.
You will lose precious time. Elementor is less flexible than the WordPress editor. Moreover, you have to prepare for the future.
Elementor is the most powerful page builder at the moment, but that could change. WordPress is rapidly integrating page builder features into Gutenberg. The team does not hide its goal to replace them.
Some pages to redo are easily manageable. When you have to redo dozens of articles, it’s a different story.
Elementor integrates a specific layout. It will no longer be possible to work on these pages in the WordPress editor without breaking the appearance.
There are many possibilities with Gutenberg that you will discover in this tutorial dedicated to page layout on WordPress.
What is Elementor?
Elementor is similar to Gutenberg in its operation. You stack sections that host blocks.
You have columns to organize your elements within a section.
You customize the parameters of your section and then of each component. The options are numerous and allow for elaborate layouts.
My home page and the newsletter page are made with Elementor. This will give you an idea of the rendering for simple pages.
Compatible themes
Most of the recent themes work with Elementor. Some developers work in close collaboration with the team in charge of Elementor, including :
- Hello Elementor
- OceanWP
- Astra
- Jupiter X…
Install and make settings for the extension
You install and activate Elementor from the official WordPress directory.
Before you start, you make some quick settings.
Elementor > Settings
Uncheck the content types you won’t use Elementor for:
- My Library
- Articles (recommended)
If you have customized your theme, you deactivate the default colors and fonts to harmonize the look of your site.
You indicate the font that will be applied while your main font loads in Style (Serif or Sans-serif).
In Role Manager you specify who will have access to Elementor. If you are alone, it is better to remove the access to subscribers anyway.
You save.
The Elementor interface
You create a new page. Complete your title and save.
Click on Edit with Elementor.
The central zone is the visualization of your current page. You find the menu on the left.
The menu options are quite dense. Let’s take a look at the features that interest you.
The main menu
You access the main menu through the hamburger.
This is where you return to WordPress.
If you have not activated the default ones of your theme, you indicate :
your colors
- Main
- Secondary
- Text
- Accent