If you’ve ever used WordPress, there’s a good chance you’ve probably also used Elementor. Though it's not mandatory for building a WordPress website, the Elementor page builder plug-in is the best way to elevate a WordPress website with helpful features while streamlining the entire editing process. 

We use Elementor every time we work on a WordPress website, and today, we wanted to share some of the reasons why.

Why We Use Elementor

WordPress is one of the internet’s biggest website hosting systems, but that doesn’t mean it’s the most intuitive. The standard WordPress editor is more technically advanced than most website building platforms and requires extensive HTML and CSS knowledge to use. This makes the platform a non-starter for beginners, and that’s before we even talk about how you’ll need to find, pay for, and install a bunch of plug-ins for most advanced web functions.

Elementor addresses all those issues. It comes with a great template library, which is ideal for first-time web designers. But for us, we still find plenty of value in Elementor through its drag-and-drop editor, e-commerce features, and available widgets. 

Elementor’s additional features and widgets mean we have more flexibility with how we build WordPress websites, while the drag-and-drop editor means we don’t have to waste hours combating a headache-inducing web-builder. We can put text, images, and other features in their precise perfect spot and create pages that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to put into a WordPress site with the platform’s standard editor. 

Coding on Elementor

Another great thing about Elementor is that you can do everything we discussed above without writing a single line of code. All Elementor’s tools and widgets are available directly from their plug-in and drag-and-drop editor, which is ideal for us and our work. 

However, the option to write custom code for your website is also available through most of Elementor’s pricing plans. So, if you’re not fond of how one of Elementor’s pre-built features looks or operates, or if you simply want a tool unavailable in their library, you can insert your own code to expand on Elementor’s shortcomings.

Elementor Pricing

The Elementor Page Builder Plug-In is available in four price plans, with prices varying depending on their included features and how many websites you can build with the plug-in in a year. You can read more about Elementor’s pricing options here, but this is the basic overview: 

• Essential: $59/year

• Advanced: $99/year

• Expert: $199/year

• Agency: $399/year

The three highest-priced Elementor plug-in subscriptions all come with the same features and widgets; the only difference is how many websites each supports. You can build up to three websites yearly with Elementor Advanced, 25 with Elementor Expert, and 1,000 with Elementor Agency. Finding the right subscription for your needs will depend on how many websites you hope to create. For us, Elementor Agency is perfect, and another reason why we use and love the plug-in. For $400 a year, the ability to easily build and edit up to 1,000 WordPress websites is a deal we’re happy to make.

Elementor has different pricing options for each of their tools, which you can look at here on their website.

Features Available on Elementor

Elementor Essential includes 75 widgets and tools, compared to the 107 included with Elementor Advanced, Expert, and Agency. While that might sound like a lot, many of those 75 are barebones features like text and image blocks. Although there are a few more advanced elements included in the Essential plan, such as:

• Custom Fonts + Google’s Font Library

• Form Building + Editing Tools

• Google Maps

• Social Media + SoundCloud Icons and Links

If you’re not building an advanced or expansive website, you can create great pages with Elementor Essential that look sharp and feature many helpful tools. However, for us to get our money’s worth from Elementor and build the most functional websites, we need the pro widgets available in the more widget-dense plans, which include:

• Full e-commerce set-up

• Blocks and carousels for customer testimonials and product reviews

• Pop-up builder 

How to Use Elementor

If you’re interested in using Elementor now after reading about it, it doesn’t take much to open a subscription and start building a website. All you have to do is create an Elementor account, answer a couple of questions about the website you’re building so that the plug-in can offer you the most relevant subscription, purchase the plan you want, and download the plug-in. After that, you should have access to a great new WordPress editor the next time you open your WordPress website.

You can also download Elementor’s page builder plug-in directly from your WordPress dashboard if you already have a WordPress account. Regardless of how you download the plug-in, you should see a button toward the top of your web page that says “edit with Elementor” the next time you’re working on your site. 

To summarize, not only is Elementor easier to use than the standard WordPress editor, but it also includes several useful features, all available without needing to write a line of code. It’s a must-have tool for the designers on our team and one we recommend if you’re struggling to get your WordPress site looking as sharp as you want it to.