What Is Elementor? The Complete WordPress Page Builder Guide

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Elementor is a visual drag-and-drop page builder plugin for WordPress installed on over 12 million websites worldwide. It replaces the standard WordPress editor with a live visual interface where you design pages by dragging elements onto a canvas and see the result in real time, without writing HTML, CSS, or PHP code. Elementor Free is available at no cost; Elementor Pro starts at £49 per year and adds the Theme Builder, Form Builder, and WooCommerce integration that most professional sites require.

This guide covers everything you need to know about Elementor in 2026, how it works, the difference between Elementor Free and Pro, pricing plans, the most important features, its honest performance impact, how it compares to Gutenberg, and when it is and is not the right choice for a WordPress project. Whether you are evaluating Elementor for the first time or deciding whether to upgrade from free to Pro, this guide gives you the complete picture.

Key Takeaways

Elementor is a WordPress-only plugin that works on self-hosted WordPress.org sites, it cannot be installed on WordPress.com (free plan), Wix, or Squarespace.
Elementor Free includes 40 basic widgets and 30 or more templates, sufficient for basic page layouts. Elementor Pro adds 50 or more additional widgets, the Theme Builder for custom headers and footers, the Form Builder with CRM integration, and the full WooCommerce Builder.
The Theme Builder is the single most valuable Elementor Pro feature, it enables full visual control over every part of the site including headers, footers, archive pages, and single post templates without touching any PHP template files.
Elementor can affect page speed if not optimised correctly. With managed WordPress hosting and WP Rocket caching, Elementor sites regularly achieve 75 to 88 mobile Lighthouse, sufficient for Good Core Web Vitals status.
Elementor Pro at £49 per year for the Essential (1-site) plan replaces the need for a separate header builder plugin, a form plugin with CRM integration, and a pop-up builder, combined replacement value of £150 to £340 per year.
Responsive design is built into Elementor, you can adjust layouts, font sizes, and spacing independently for desktop, tablet, and mobile viewports. This makes building mobile-first websites visually accessible to non-developers.
Gutenberg (Full Site Editing) is the long-term direction for WordPress core and is closing the feature gap with Elementor. For new projects in 2026, evaluate both, Elementor remains preferable for complex visual layouts, forms, and WooCommerce customisation.

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How Elementor Works

When you install Elementor on a WordPress site and click Edit with Elementor on any page or post, you enter the Elementor editor, a real-time visual interface that replaces the standard WordPress block editor for that page. The left panel shows the widget library and panel settings; the right panel shows a live preview of the page that updates as you make changes.

Elementor structures pages using a three-level hierarchy: Sections (or Containers in the newer Flexbox system) define full-width rows with their own background and padding settings; columns divide sections horizontally; and widgets are the content building blocks placed inside columns. Each element has its own styling settings, colours, typography, spacing, borders, animations, and responsive overrides for tablet and mobile, accessible in the left panel when the element is selected.

The Elementor Widget Library

Widget Category	Free Widgets	Pro Widgets	Most Important
Basic content	Heading, Text, Image, Button, Divider, Spacer	Same as Free	Heading and Text form the content foundation of every page
Media	Image, Video, Image Gallery, Image Carousel	Slides, Media Carousel	Image and Video widgets for visual content sections
Forms and conversion	Not included	Form (with CRM integrations), Popup Builder	Form widget replaces need for separate form plugin
Theme parts	Not included	Site Logo, Site Title, Nav Menu, Search	Required for Theme Builder header and footer construction
WooCommerce	Not included	Products, Add to Cart, Product Title, Price, Reviews, and 20 or more more	Powers custom WooCommerce product and shop page layouts
Dynamic content	Not included	Post Info, Post Content, Author Box, Related Posts, ACF fields	Enables fully dynamic blog and archive templates

Responsive Design Controls

Every Elementor styling option has a responsive breakpoint toggle, desktop, tablet, and mobile. Click the device icon next to any padding, font size, or column layout setting and set a device-specific value. This means a heading can be 52px on desktop and 36px on mobile without writing a single media query. Combined with Elementor's responsive column structure (a three-column layout on desktop becomes a single-column stacked layout on mobile with one click), this makes building fully responsive websites visually accessible to non-developers.

Elementor Free vs Elementor Pro

The decision between Elementor Free and Pro depends on what the site needs. Free covers basic page layouts effectively. Pro is required for full-site design control, marketing functionality, and WooCommerce customisation.

Feature	Elementor Free	Elementor Pro
Basic page building	Yes, 40 widgets, drag and drop editor	Yes, all Free features included
Theme Builder (headers, footers, templates)	No	Yes, complete control over every page type
Form Builder with CRM integrations	No	Yes, Mailchimp, HubSpot, Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign, and more
Pop-up Builder	No	Yes, full targeting and trigger control
WooCommerce Builder	No	Yes, product pages, shop, cart, checkout
Dynamic content (ACF, custom fields)	No	Yes, full dynamic content display
Global widgets and design tokens	No	Yes, site-wide colour and font variables
Custom CSS per element	No	Yes
Price	Free	From £49 per year (Essential, 1 site)

When Elementor Free Is Enough

Elementor Free is sufficient when: the site uses a premium theme that handles its own header and footer design; page layouts are simple and content-focused; form requirements are met by a free plugin such as Contact Form 7; and popup or CRM integration functionality is not needed. Many content-heavy blogs and simple brochure sites operate effectively on Elementor Free.

When Elementor Pro Is Required

Elementor Pro is required when: the site needs a custom header and footer that differs from the active theme; lead capture forms need to connect directly to an email marketing platform or CRM; pop-up functionality is part of the conversion strategy; WooCommerce product pages need a custom layout; or the complete site design, including blog archive templates and single post layouts, needs to be controlled visually. For most professional marketing and business sites, Elementor Pro is the correct choice.

Elementor Pro Pricing Plans

Plan	Sites	Annual Price	Best For
Essential	1	£49 per year	Individual site owners and small businesses with one WordPress installation
Advanced	3	£99 per year	Freelancers managing a small portfolio of client sites
Expert	25	£199 per year	Agencies managing multiple client WordPress projects
Agency	1,000	£399 per year	Large agencies or multi-site networks

All plans include the complete Elementor Pro feature set, the difference is only the number of WordPress activations. Elementor offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on all plans. The Expert plan at £199 per year provides 25 site licences at £8 per site per year, making it the most cost-effective option for any agency or developer managing 5 or more client sites.

Elementor and Page Performance

The relationship between Elementor and page speed is frequently discussed and often misrepresented. The honest assessment: Elementor adds CSS and JavaScript overhead compared to a hand-coded theme, but this overhead is manageable with the correct hosting and caching setup, and should not prevent a site from achieving Good Core Web Vitals status.

Setup	Mobile Lighthouse	Core Web Vitals Status	Notes
Elementor on shared hosting, no caching	30 to 55	Poor	Not a viable production configuration, performance must be addressed
Elementor plus WP Rocket on shared hosting	50 to 70	Needs Improvement	Budget setup, acceptable for very low-traffic sites
Elementor plus WP Rocket on managed hosting	70 to 88	Good	Standard professional setup, achieves Good CWV consistently
Elementor with heavy animations and many widgets	55 to 75	Needs Improvement	Complex pages require more aggressive script optimisation
Hand-coded custom theme on managed hosting	85 to 95 or higher	Good	The performance ceiling Elementor cannot match, see custom development

The most important performance decisions for Elementor sites: use managed WordPress hosting on Kinsta or WP Engine; install WP Rocket and configure image lazy loading, CSS and JavaScript minification, and page caching; enable Elementor Pro Optimised CSS Loading in Elementor Settings; and compress all images to WebP format. With these five steps, achieving Good Core Web Vitals status on an Elementor site is achievable for the majority of standard business pages. See our website speed guide.

Elementor vs Gutenberg (Block Editor)

Gutenberg, the native WordPress block editor introduced in 2019 and expanded with Full Site Editing in 2022, is the built-in alternative to Elementor. The comparison is not straightforward, both tools have continued to develop rapidly and each has genuine strengths the other lacks.

Elementor vs Gutenberg: Choose Based on Your Priority

Choose Elementor Pro when

The project needs complex visual layouts with pixel-level control; WooCommerce pages require a custom design; forms with CRM integration are required; pop-up functionality is part of the conversion strategy; or the team needs to manage the full site design without touching PHP.

Choose Gutenberg when

Maximum performance is a hard requirement, Gutenberg produces leaner HTML and CSS output than Elementor; the team is comfortable with the block editor workflow; the project is using a modern block theme for Full Site Editing; or reducing plugin dependencies is a priority.

Performance winner

Gutenberg produces lighter pages on average, no page builder CSS overhead, tighter HTML output. For sites where 90 or higher Lighthouse is a hard requirement, Gutenberg FSE with a block theme is the correct path.

Feature winner

Elementor Pro, the Theme Builder, Form Builder, Pop-up Builder, and WooCommerce Builder remain more mature and more capable than Gutenberg equivalents in 2026, though the gap is narrowing.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Elementor

What is Elementor and what is it used for?

Elementor is a visual drag-and-drop page builder plugin for WordPress installed on over 12 million websites. It is used to design professional website pages, landing pages, and complete site layouts using a real-time visual editor, without writing code. Elementor Free provides basic page building for simple sites. Elementor Pro adds the Theme Builder for custom headers and footers, the Form Builder for lead capture, the Pop-up Builder, and the WooCommerce Builder for eCommerce sites.

Is Elementor free?

Elementor has a free version in the WordPress plugin repository with 40 basic widgets and 30 or more templates. Elementor Pro starts at £49 per year for a single site licence and adds the Theme Builder, Form Builder, Pop-up Builder, WooCommerce Builder, dynamic content, and 50 or more additional professional widgets. Most professional WordPress sites use Elementor Pro because the Theme Builder is essential for controlling the full site design, and the Form Builder with CRM integration is required for lead capture.

Does Elementor slow down WordPress?

Elementor adds CSS and JavaScript overhead compared to a hand-coded theme, which can reduce mobile Lighthouse scores if not managed. With managed WordPress hosting on Kinsta or WP Engine, WP Rocket caching installed, and Elementor Pro Optimised CSS Loading enabled, Elementor sites regularly achieve 70 to 88 on mobile Lighthouse, sufficient for Good Core Web Vitals status. The performance impact is real but manageable with the correct setup. See our website speed guide.

Is Elementor Pro worth buying?

For most professional WordPress projects, yes. At £49 per year for a single site, Elementor Pro provides the Theme Builder (custom headers and footers), Form Builder with CRM integrations, Pop-up Builder, and WooCommerce Builder. The Theme Builder alone replaces a separate header builder plugin (£40 to £60 per year). The Form Builder with Mailchimp or HubSpot integration replaces a dedicated form plugin (£79 to £200 per year). The combined replacement value significantly exceeds the £49 annual cost.

What is the Elementor Theme Builder?

The Elementor Theme Builder (available in Elementor Pro only) enables building the structural templates for every part of the site, the global header, the global footer, single post templates, archive page templates, the 404 page, and the search results page, using the same visual Elementor editor. Without the Theme Builder, these site parts are controlled by the WordPress theme PHP templates, which require developer involvement to modify. The Theme Builder is the reason most professional projects upgrade to Elementor Pro.

Can Elementor be used with WooCommerce?

Elementor Pro includes a complete WooCommerce Builder, it provides widgets and templates for product pages, the shop archive page, the cart page, and the checkout page. This enables fully branded WooCommerce page designs without custom PHP development. The WooCommerce Builder includes dedicated widgets for product images, product titles, prices, add-to-cart buttons, star ratings, related products, and upsell displays.

What is the difference between Elementor sections and containers?

Elementor originally structured layouts using Sections containing Columns. In 2022, Elementor introduced the Container system based on CSS Flexbox, which replaces Sections and Columns with a single flexible Container element. Containers are more versatile, they can be arranged horizontally or vertically and nested freely, and produce cleaner HTML output. New Elementor installations in 2026 use the Container system by default. Older sites built with Sections and Columns continue to work normally.

Does Elementor work with any WordPress theme?

Elementor works with any WordPress theme that follows standard WordPress coding practices. For maximum design flexibility with Elementor Pro Theme Builder, use a minimal blank theme such as Hello Elementor (free, made by Elementor) or GeneratePress. These minimal themes have no predefined header or footer design, Elementor Pro Theme Builder provides complete control over both. Using Elementor with a feature-heavy premium theme can cause CSS conflicts and performance issues.

How does Elementor compare to Divi?

Elementor and Divi (by Elegant Themes) are the two most used premium WordPress page builders. Divi costs $89 per year for unlimited sites (better value for agencies). Elementor Pro costs £49 to £399 per year depending on the number of sites. Both include full theme builders and form builders. Elementor has a larger market share and community. Divi has a more comprehensive built-in A/B testing tool (Divi Leads). For most professional projects, both are strong choices, the decision often comes down to existing team familiarity.

Can Elementor create pop-ups?

Yes, Elementor Pro includes a full Pop-up Builder with display conditions (show on specific pages, post types, or user roles), triggers (exit intent, scroll depth, time on page, click), and frequency controls (show once per session, once per user). Pop-ups connect to all major email marketing platforms, Mailchimp, Klaviyo, HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, ConvertKit. For most marketing WordPress sites, Elementor Pro Pop-up Builder replaces the need for a separate pop-up plugin.

Is Elementor good for SEO?

Elementor itself does not directly affect SEO positively or negatively, its impact is through page speed. Well-optimised Elementor pages achieve Good Core Web Vitals status, which is a confirmed Google ranking signal. Poorly optimised Elementor pages can fail Core Web Vitals and suppress rankings. The SEO content strategy, keyword research, meta titles, internal linking, structured data, is handled by the SEO plugin (Yoast or Rank Math) independently of Elementor.

How do I install Elementor on WordPress?

Install Elementor by going to WordPress Dashboard, then Plugins, then Add New, and searching for Elementor. Click Install Now and then Activate. Once activated, a new Elementor menu appears in the WordPress sidebar. To edit any page or post with Elementor, open the page and click Edit with Elementor. For Elementor Pro, purchase a licence at elementor.com, download the Pro plugin file, and install it via Plugins, Add New, Upload Plugin. Connect with your licence key in Elementor, then Licence. See our WordPress development guide for the full setup process.

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Elementor in 2026: Still the Professional Standard for Most WordPress Projects

Elementor remains the most widely used WordPress page builder for good reason: it provides genuine visual design control without requiring PHP development, scales from a simple marketing page to a complete eCommerce site with no additional tools, and at £49 per year for Elementor Pro, delivers extraordinary value against the functionality it replaces. For the majority of professional WordPress development projects in 2026, Elementor Pro is the correct page builder choice.

The performance trade-off is real but manageable. Managed hosting, WP Rocket, and Elementor Pro Optimised CSS Loading consistently produce Good Core Web Vitals status on standard business pages. The cases where Elementor is not the right choice are specific: maximum performance requirements above 90 Lighthouse, or teams committed to Gutenberg Full Site Editing for tighter WordPress core integration.

Whatever page builder you use, the principles of good WordPress development remain constant: managed hosting, correct SEO foundation, performance engineering from the start, and a maintenance programme that keeps the site secure and updated. The page builder is the tool, execution determines the outcome.

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Devyansh Tripathi

Devyansh Tripathi is a digital marketing strategist with over 5 years of hands-on experience in helping brands achieve growth through tailored, data-driven marketing solutions. With a deep understanding of SEO, content strategy, and social media dynamics, Devyansh specializes in creating results-oriented campaigns that drive both brand awareness and conversion.

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