With one of my most successful client accounts, we had the freedom and flexibility to test new layouts and content in our Google Ads each week without going through a developer or stakeholder approvals.
That flexibility allowed us to test theories quickly and deploy new landing pages based on winning A/B tests within a couple of days. As a result, we tripled the account's Google ad conversions and there was a feast held in our honor.
Okay, there wasn’t a feast but we definitely all celebrated. 😀
The point is, good marketing is a series of theories, tests and actions, and your primary digital asset — your website — needs to be flexible enough to react to those changes.
Not every website builder allows for that kind of flexibility, but WordPress websites have a go-to builder that was created to give marketers tons of room to test, tweak and modify without ever hiring a developer.
We're talking about Elementor.
We’re going to dig into the features that make Elementor our go-to for WordPress websites and how it could make all the difference for your brand.
Our Favorite Features
Elementor is packed with a ton of features and customizability, so we pulled out a few of the ones we think are applicable to every marketer.
Here’s a quick video of the back end of one of our Elementor websites so you can see all the features in action.
https://share.vidyard.com/watch/eozY1gQADoqLxeaTw78da3
No-Code Required: The Drag and Drop Page Builder
One of the biggest reasons people use a website builder within WordPress is so they can make changes to their site without having to dig into the code. There are a ton of options out there, from Divi to WP Bakery, but in my experience, Elementor offers the biggest range of functionality.
Elementor’s interface is user-friendly and completely drag-and-drop. That means you can go to their page builder, select a module and drag it where you want it. This allows for easy layout editing and makes it simple to test new user flows.
Here’s what Elementor’s drag and drop editor looks like in WordPress.
Get Into the Nitty Gritty with Responsiveness
Have you ever built a page that looked glorious on desktop, but then you check it out on mobile and it looks like garbage?
That comes down to the page’s responsiveness. In a custom website, developers will tweak how the page naturally lays out according to screen size. In Elementor, you can change the way a page looks on mobile and tablet from their editor, without ever touching the code.
I'll admit the process can be a bit arduous, but it's easy and effective.
Popup Builder Included
Most WordPress builders need another plugin to accommodate popups on the site. There’s nothing wrong with that, but Elementor’s builder includes popups, so you have one less plugin to keep track of.
P.S. I know we all hate popups, but the truth is they work. Just make sure you’re offering something relevant and valuable.
Pricing and What's Included
You can choose between the free version of Elementor and the paid version.
Elementor Free
- Basic Widgets – Widgets are the elements you drag and drop onto the page.
- 30+ Elementor Design Templates – These are pre-designed templates to get you started with your new site.
- Responsive Editing – Most websites won't look perfect on mobile without some customized adjustments. Having this built in is one of the biggest things that sets Elementor apart in the sea of website builders.
Elementor Pro
- Pro Widgets – More widgets mean more flexibility for the types of elements on your page. You'll find elements like pricing tables and testimonial sliders in the Pro widget library.
- Popup Builder – You already know we love the Popup Builder!
- Form Builder – If you don't have a marketing platform like HubSpot, Elementor has a forms feature built in.
- WooCommerce Builder – If you are in the eCommerce space, Elementor has a native integration with WooCommerce to make integrating with your store super easy.
For a complete breakdown, click here.
Getting Started with Elementor
There are two main options for building your site on Elementor. Either you DIY or you hire outside talent to build it for you. Either way, you still retain all the flexibility that comes with the builder so you can easily edit your website in the future.
The upside of building it yourself is pretty plain: you save a lot of money. But the downside is you'll need to dedicate a lot of time to getting your site set up and looking the way you want it to, especially if you're deviating from one of the pre-designed themes. Although Elementor's Theme Builder (included in Pro) makes this a bit easier by providing all the main elements of your site in one place, it'll still require some hours to get going.
Obviously, we're biased as an agency but I'm still going to lay out the two situations in which you should hire an agency to build your website on Elementor:
- When you want a custom-designed website. Hiring a design and development team that understands responsiveness and conversion optimization can set you up for a really effective website. Plus, these teams usually have a process for their project that ensures your site goes through a rigorous QA and that as many bugs as possible are worked out before launch.
- When you don't have a lot of time on your hands. Even if you want to be the one maintaining and updating your website in the future, hiring out the initial work can give you back a huge chunk of time that you can devote to other things. It also lets you focus on the effectiveness of your website design and less on getting the padding just right on that little box below the header.
In a World Full of WordPress Website Builders, Elementor is at the Top
Honestly, when Elementor reached out to us about doing a sponsored review of their builder, I thought it was a perfect opportunity. We have long touted it as our preferred choice when it comes to building websites. It's super flexible and user-friendly, and it leaves our clients with plenty of functionality without needing to call us for help (unless they want to because we do have a pretty fun team).
If you have any questions about building a website, feel free to reach out!
This Elementor review is sponsored, but all opinions are our own.
