You need everything to create a WordPress page or website that looks great. 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.
Thankfully, third-party web design plugins are there to address those woes you may often experience with WordPress’s own, and one of the most notable is Elementor. Elementor is designed to make it easy to create websites. Plus, no coding is required!
Do you think Elementor could be the right page builder for you? Or are you 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. To get a comprehensive overview of Elementor, you may still want to check out our article below.
Elementor in a Nutshell: What Is It About? Elementor How To Make A Pill
Elementor is a WordPress website builder plugin. It’s best known for its visual and intuitive drag-and-drop editor that allows you to use a wide range of design assets and blocks and see what your page will look like to visitors in real-time.
With an interface that’s more akin to that of popular website builders like Squarespace and Wix, Elementor lets you either opt for a ready-made professional template or create a good-looking WordPress website from the ground up. 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.
- Elementor offers a wider range of attractive and dynamic themes than the standard, plain themes that are often included with WordPress’ in-house themes.
- You get a separate and highly interactive work interface to edit your posts and pages. There’s no single sign of bulkiness associated with WordPress’s similar editor – everything is built to be silky smooth on your end.
- Elementor will work with any theme that is compatible with WordPress version 5.0 or higher. You can use the plugin to refine your dull-looking theme into a more eye-catching one.
- All the editing for your pages and sites is done from the front end. You’ll see your work as soon as your customers or visitors see it. This remarkable feature allows you to better understand what design elements keep customers coming back for more.
Elementor, as a whole, makes it easy for anyone to use when it comes to creating an impressive page. The interface of Elementor is so simple and packed with useful tools, even people with more advanced knowledge in web design, can use it without any difficulty. 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. Elementor is a well-respected plugin that has been installed on more than 3 million WordPress 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. All of them make the site-building experience easy on your end, as they help turn your ideas into a product that can catch anyone’s attention immediately.
Two categories are available for the platform’s templates:
- Pages – Full-length templates which require very little 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.
Huge Selection of Widgets
It’s not just the vast range of templates that Elementor is lucky to be packed with. The plugin is also rich in widget choices. 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. Elementor’s drag-and-drop functionality allows users to create and edit pages as easily as possible. Drag the widget you prefer from the left sidebar and drop it in your workspace. You can also adjust the layout of the page by moving it to another 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.
You will find a section called Navigation View that provides a complete list of content, arranged according to Elementor’s page layout. We’ll talk more about that later.
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
For a basic WordPress page-building plugin, Elementor is surely stuffed with many design options that anyone can enjoy hassle-free. 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 amend some necessary adjustments to your site’s content blocks, widgets, images, and text. You can also modify the font, size, and color of text content and headings.
Those are some of the basic editing tools you can explore 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. The platform allows you to customize your website to look better on tablets and smartphones, just like everything else.
You can click on the Switch view icon in the sidebar to be presented with three viewing options: one for your desktop, tablet and one for your mobile phone. If you want to omit a widget or limit whatever you want your clients/customers to see, you may choose any of the three and edit right away.
A Chance to Look Back at the Changes You’ve Made
Sometimes, a few ‘undos’ actions are not enough to correct a major design error. Similar situations could have occurred if you tried to edit on any other design platform.
Elementor’s Revision History tool is a great help in this situation. You can easily revert to previous pages without losing any design elements.
The Pricing
You can use the entire Elementor plugin for absolutely free. Elementor Pro has many more upgrades and additions than the previous version. You might be interested in one.
Elementor Pro will allow you to explore a wider range of themes, templates and design blocks, as well as custom CSS and advanced programming capabilities. You can also create forms and pop-ups in the platform’s editing interface, integrate with WooCommerce, and use the theme builder.
Elementor Pro has four main subscription plans, each designed for various individuals and/or groups. The plan also offers a website builder and hosting plans for advanced site management. All tiers can be paid annually and all share the same premium features. The only thing that sets them apart is the number of website activations, and the time it takes to respond to customer questions.
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 in the first year, then $499/year after; 100 pro website activations, VIP customer support in under 30 minutes
- Agency Plan – $999/year, 1000 pro website activations, VIP customer support in under 30 minutes
The Elementor Cloud Website Builder + Hosting plan is $99 annually. You get all the features of an Elementor Pro plan, but with amazing 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
Now comes the complicated part: Is the free WordPress plugin version still suitable for your needs, or do you think the Pro version has such a big advantage that it makes you want to try it instead?
If you want to build a website or landing page without thinking of adding anything else to further attract your clients, you may choose to stand by the free plugin variant. Elementor Free is already feature-rich in retrospect – its series of core tools are as dynamic as other web design platforms where their premium plans bring the same level of delivery. It is so dynamic that business teams can use the free version. Elementor How To Make A Pill
Elementor Free allows you to:
- Optimize your website and pages for mobile viewing.
- Check out the version history of your website.
- Make use of fully customizable themes as well as built-in pre-made templates
- You can add or modify website blocks as you wish.
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. One of its advantage that sits above the free version is that there is a lot of value added to it. What we mean by it is you have more options to explore and more features to give you the extra edge. These include:
- An expanding list of over 300 themes and 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. Elementor How To Make A Pill
However, unless you wish to license multiple websites, Elementor Pro shouldn’t be viewed as the only way to expand the WordPress plugin. Elementor Free, as mentioned above, is sustainable enough for most users. However, there are many flexible themes and templates that can be integrated into Elementor. Astra is a notable example.
Using Elementor: How Does It Work?
To get the Elementor plugin to start, the first thing you will need to do is install and activate it in WordPress. Once you’ve installed it, there’s a settings panel that you can visit if you wish – you may opt to modify whatever you want to see while you do the 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. As soon as you click on the button, you will be redirected to builder interface. The image below perfectly illustrates what it looks like. Elementor How To Make A Pill
Based on the picture, here are a couple of things that you should expect as you explore the interface:
- The canvas or workroom. 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. It is represented by the cogwheel icon and takes you to the 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 to another view You can convert your desktop page to tablet-friendly or mobile-friendly versions by clicking the small monitor icon. You may use this to edit what you want your customers to see through their phones.
- Preview Changes. Click the small eye icon to see all the changes to your page.
- The Publish/Update button. Once this shaped button goes green, that’s when you’re ready to publish. It’s gray if your page is being updated. This time, unlike green, you cannot click it. Elementor How To Make A Pill
Structure Hierarchy
Before we can even begin building, you must first understand the structure hierarchy that Elementor follows. 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 a collection of sections and columns.
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.
This is Elementor’s hierarchy structure.
Page > Section > Column > Widget/Content element
Designing a Page
Now that we know how the skeletal outline works, let’s go ahead and create a page. On WordPress’s page design interface, click the Edit with Elementor button. You’ll soon notice a plus (+) button highlighted in red violet – click on that to add a new section. Elementor How To Make A Pill
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. You can then populate the 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.
Designing a pre-existing or pre-made themed page is much easier than doing so from scratch. You would usually only need to make minor adjustments between sections, columns, and widgets, unless you are adding a new design element. With Elementor’s drag-and-drop functions, refining some necessary changes has been made much easier than the more advanced processes done through coding.
The Disadvantages: What Else is Lacking?
Don’t get us wrong – based on what we’ve shown you so far, Elementor is surely poised to be among the very best WordPress web design plugins out there. However, nothing in this world is always perfect. There are many things we love about the world, but there are some things you might find annoying.
- 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. Elementor How To Make A Pill
- You may find that some editing adjustments don’t work as you expect. On the one hand, if you add custom styling to certain links, you may end up with the default typography and font color. 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. It is also easier to use than most other WordPress web design plugins.
With that being said, it’s no wonder why many individuals like Elementor as a whole – it’s both a popular DIY solution for folks who may not have on-hand expertise with web design and a quick, feature-rich platform for a wide 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. Elementor features can be used for design purposes, but they are also marketing-ready. This includes seamless integrations with thousands of platforms via Zapier and pop-up and online commerce widgets.
- Site builders. If creating websites for a handful of clients is your day job, then Elementor is a great stepping stone to get you to where you want to be. Elementor How To Make A Pill
Alternatives to Elementor
Just because Elementor has advantages that may far exceed other contemporary web design plugins doesn’t mean you should consider it as the only choice worth considering.
There are plenty of nice web design plugins for WordPress that deliver close to the same level as Elementor, with some that may offer only a few. We all know by now that WordPress’s in-house web design feature is not everyone’s cup of tea – that’s why the plugins were created in the first place, to make the experience much better by the mile.
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. On the other hand, Beaver Builder may not be as flashy as the other two plugins, but it still manages to pack as many essential design tools as possible into one platform. These are already enough to create an attractive website.
Other noteworthy web design plugin alternatives to Elementor include SeedProd and the SiteOrigin Page Builder.
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. Elementor How To Make A Pill
It’s easy to see why so many people continue to use this plugin to build websites and pages. We believe that Elementor stands out from most web design plugins because it allows individuals of all skill levels to build whatever they wish with no major obstacles in the way. 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 Elementor How To Make A Pill
Can I upload or export 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.
Elementor Pro subscribers can create websites, and even online shops.
Is Elementor slowing down my website?
Elementor will not slow down your website so that it takes as little time as possible to load. A website built with this plugin might take two seconds longer than one built from WordPress’s built in website builder. Both are still faster than the Beaver Builder version.
The reason why WordPress websites that are made using plugins take longer may derive from multiple factors: poor hosting, large media files, slow themes, and too many plugins at work.