Building a beautifully-designed, engaging WordPress website is no easy feat. If you have a specific vision in mind, it may be impossible to achieve using ready-made themes and the WordPress Customizer alone.
This is where page builder plugins come in. Choose the right one, and you’ll be well on your way to creating a striking website in record time. You won’t even need to delve into your website’s code or hire the services of a professional designer or developer.
In this article, we’ll talk about what WordPress page builders are and why you might want to use one. We’ll then introduce you to four of our favorite page builder plugins. Let’s get started!
An Introduction to WordPress Page Builders (And Why You Might Want to Use One)
Put simply, a page builder is a type of WordPress pluginA plugin is a software component that adds specific features and functionality to your WordPress website. Esse... More you can use to design your website visually. Most include ready-made elements that you can simply drag and drop into your pagesIn WordPress, a page is a content type that is used to create non-dynamic pages on a website. Pages are typica... More. These may include common User Interface (UI) features such as images, headlines, contact forms, and breadcrumbs.
Some page builders even include pre-built templates for common types of websites, such as personal blogs and e-commerce sites. These can help you create more advanced page layouts quickly and with minimal effort.
The drag-and-drop interface most page builders provide is also perfect for quickly testing out lots of different designs, and finding the best possible layout for your particular website. Likewise, many page builders can edit parts of your site that are difficult to access using WordPress’ built-in tools, such as your header and footer.
All of these features can help you bring your creative vision to life, without compromise. They give you more flexibility than a standard WordPress themeA WordPress theme is a set of files that determine the design and layout of a website. It controls everything ... More and enable you to work quickly to make your desired changes.
On top of that, page builders can help you keep the number of plugins you need to a minimum. For example, most page builders provide a pre-built contact form element. Instead of installing a dedicated contact form plugin, you can simply drop this ready-made component into your website’s design.
WordPress has a huge repository of third-party plugins. They’re one of the platform’s greatest strengths, but they can also have drawbacks.
Every extension adds code to your site that a hacker could potentially exploit. Maintaining a long list of plugins also requires time and effort. By opting for a multipurpose solution such as a page builder, you can work around these potential pitfalls.
Top 4 WordPress Page Builder Plugins Compared
Today, many WordPress users rely on page builders to create professionally-designed websites with minimal effort and setup costs. The popularity of page builders means there’s no shortage of plugins to choose from.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the available options, don’t worry. That’s why we’ve compiled this list of four of our favorites for you to consider.
1. Beaver Builder
Beaver Builder is a popular, Gutenberg-ready page builder that’s used by over 1,000,000 websites. Its front end drag-and-drop website builder gives you complete control over your website’s pages.
With Beaver Builder, you can customize any onscreen element by giving it a click and then editing its properties. It’s an intuitive and user-friendly page builder that most beginners should be able to pick up quickly.
If you’re looking to create a professional-looking website in a hurry, Beaver Build has a selection of ready-made modules and mobile-responsive page templates for landing pages, e-books, contact pages, newsletter signups, pricing tables, and more.
Beaver Builder is available both as a free plugin and in a premium version. The free option is available in the WordPress Plugin Directory, but only includes a few modules for elements such as text, images, and headlines.
If you opt for the paid solution, you can choose between a Standard ($99), Pro ($199), or Agency ($399) plan. The Pro and Agency licenses include the Beaver Builder Theme, which is an adaptable framework that’s optimized for use with the page builder.
2. Divi
The Divi Builder is a user-friendly and intuitive page builder that enables you to design your page and see the results instantly. It’s the foundation of the popular Divi theme. However, you can use this page builder plugin with any other compatible WordPress theme.
The Divi page builder comes with 800 ready-made website layouts, and over 40 modules, including Calls To Action (CTAs), sliders, galleries, and testimonials. It also provides global elements that make it easy to apply a consistent design across your entire website.
Divi’s abilities aren’t just skin-deep. You can use this plugin to enhance your content with impressive hover effects and dynamic transitions. This makes it easy to add a stylish flourish to your web content.
To ensure you’re free to experiment with different designs, Divi has version control built in. You can easily undo, redo, and travel back through your page design history.
You can purchase a yearly access subscription to Divi as well as the Extra theme, the Bloom email opt-in plugin, and the Monarch social media sharing plugin for $89. A lifetime access plan is also available for $249.
3. Elementor
Elementor is a powerful page editor that lets you edit every part of your site from a single interface. According to its website, Elementor works seamlessly with “almost” any WordPress theme and plugin.
Additionally, Elementor integrates with a range of popular third-party tools. These include MailChimp, Zapier, ActiveCampaign, and MailPoet. To help boost your search engine rankings, Elementor also supports the popular Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plugins Rank Math and Yoast SEO.
If you’re targeting an international audience, Elementor offers Right-To-Left (RTL) language support. It’s also compatible with popular translation plugins such as WPML and Polylang.
To help you drive conversions, Elementor provides a range of widgetsA widget is a small block of content that performs a specific function and can be added to certain areas of a ... More that are designed specifically for marketers, including pricing tables, social icons, CTAs, testimonial carousels, and star ratings. You can also use this page builder to design more user-friendly and engaging forms, which are helpful for driving signups.
The core Elementor plugin is free to download and provides over 40 basic widgets and more than 30 templates. If you invest in a premium plan, you’ll also gain access to some additional features, such as Elementor’s popup builder and WooCommerce builder.
The paid plans also provide access to the Elementor Theme Builder. You can use this tool to customize your entire WordPress theme, including its header, footer, and archive pages. Elementor Pro subscriptions range from $49 to $199 per year.
4. Visual Composer
Visual Composer is a responsive What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) editor. It includes over 500 templates, blocks, and content elements and provides everything you need to build virtually any webpage without having to write a single line of code.
Once you’ve added common elements to your site, Visual Composer makes it easy to inject some personality into your design. You can use it to apply background effects including CSS animations, gradients, and modern parallax effects.
It also enables you to create eye-catching hero sections using content from YouTube or Vimeo, or by inserting self-hosted videos. On top of that, this page builder also comes with flexible rows and columns, so you should have no problems creating unique grid layouts for your website.
If you’re looking to build or redesign an online store, Visual Composer integrates with the popular WooCommerce platform. You can use it to easily design unique product catalogs, lead capture forms, and eye-catching popups.
Organic traffic is important, which is why all Visual Composer elements follow SEO best practices. This can help contribute towards improving your search engine rankings.
Visual Composer is available as a free plugin. Alternatively, you can purchase a premium subscription starting at $49 per year.
Conclusion
Your website’s design is essential for grabbing visitors’ attention and driving conversions. However, you may struggle to bring your creative vision to life using WordPress’ built-in tools. This is where a page builder plugin can become your secret weapon, helping you achieve design success.
If you want to test one of these page builders yourself, here are our top four suggestions:
- Beaver Builder. A live front end editor that lets you customize your pages with pre-built modules.
- Divi. A visual page builder that offers a wide selection of ready-made templates and content elements.
- Elementor. A popular page builder that integrates with many third-party services.
- Visual Composer. A drag-and-drop customization plugin that makes it easy to create eye-catching background animations and transitions.
Do you have questions about any of the page builders we mentioned? Leave them for us in the commentsComments are a feature of WordPress that allow users to engage in discussions about the content of a website. ... More section below!
