WordPress block editor or Elementor: which one to build your pages with

Short answer: for most sites, the block editor that comes with WordPress is enough, is light and ties you to nothing. Elementor pays off when you need fine control over the design (columns, spacing, elaborate sections) without writing code, and you accept the cost in weight and dependence. The mistake is using both at once on the same page.

Side by side

Block editor Elementor
Where it comes from Part of WordPress. Nothing to install. A plugin. The free version is in the official repository. The paid version (Pro) is bought from Elementor, not from us.
How you work A column of blocks (text, image, button, columns) on a simple editing page. A screen of its own where you drag elements and see the result as you drag.
Weight on the site Light. It uses what WordPress already loads. It adds stylesheets and scripts. Worth measuring before and after.
If you stop using it The content remains WordPress text and blocks, and can be reused. The content is tied to Elementor’s structure. Once you deactivate it, pages tend to come out unformatted or incomplete.
PHP limits The normal ones. It asks for more memory and more fields per request when saving big pages.
Who updates it WordPress, along with the core. The plugin, with updates of its own that you have to test.

How to choose, in four questions

1 What kind of site is it? A blog, a company site with simple pages or a presentation page with text and images: blocks. Campaign pages with many sections designed to measure: Elementor saves time.
2 Who will be editing six months from now? Someone who writes without touching the design gets on well with blocks. Someone who has to change the structure without a developer likes Elementor, but can also break more.
3 How heavy can the page be? If speed is the priority, start with blocks. If you choose Elementor, switch on a page cache: installing and tuning a page cache.
4 Do you already have a theme? A light theme suits either. With Elementor, avoid themes loaded with options of their own: they only add weight and conflicts.
Do not mix them on the same page. Each one stores the content in its own way, and a page started in one and continued in the other gives results that are hard to predict. Turning a whole Elementor page into blocks is, in practice, rebuilding it. If you are going to switch, switch in one go and page by page.
Before deciding, do an afternoon’s experiment: the same page, one in each editor, with the same content. Measure both with the same tool (measuring your speed) and open them on a phone. If Elementor gives errors when saving or the editor opens blank, PHP limits are the first suspect: PHP limits.

Building your site in WordPress and wondering whether the plan can cope? Talk to us.

Open a support ticket

SEE ALSO

Using Elementor

Creating and editing pages in WordPress

WordPress or a drag-and-drop website builder

WordPress hosting

RECOMMENDED PRODUCT

WordPress hosting

One-click install, updates handled, and speed that holds up. from $6.60/mo (3-year plan, with coupon)

See plans
  • 0 Users Found This Useful
Was this answer helpful?

Related Articles

Hostinger in Mozambique: what it offers, what it leaves out, and alternatives Hostinger is one of the largest hosting companies in the world, and it reaches Mozambique the way it reaches everywhere:...
Hostinger or MozOut: which to choose for a website in Mozambique The right question is not which is better in the world - it is which serves a site built for customers in Mozambique bet...
Can you register a .mz domain with an international provider? How to check before paying It is a fair question: you found cheap international hosting and want to know whether you can register your .co.mz there...
Google Workspace or Professional E-mail: what changes for a Mozambican company Google Workspace is a good product - saying otherwise would be dishonest. The real question is different: are you buying...
Hosting providers in Mozambique: what to compare before deciding Mozambique has few hosting providers, and almost all of them say the same thing on the front page: fast, secure, with su...
Block theme or classic theme in WordPress: what is the difference and which to pick Short answer: with a block theme you edit the whole site (header, footer, page templates) using the same blocks you writ...