Can you remember what it was like creating a website twenty or so years ago? In case you forgot, building an engaging website was a time-consuming collaboration among copywriters, developers, and project managers who required extensive coding knowledge. Making a few simple changes to the site was a frustratingly long process. 

No coding required

Today, almost anyone can build a website without knowing how to code, thanks to a page builder plugin called Elementor. Its free version is perfect for beginners since it's so easy to use, and you can create your page and content layouts from scratch or select from the available ready-to-use templates and page designs. 

The templates are customizable, and Elementor's drag-and-drop editor allows you to preview your edits in real-time as you make them. That way, you avoid any unpleasant surprises, and you can save the templates as your own to use for your next page.

Sections can be copied and pasted throughout the site

Suppose you have a section you would like to use and edit again. You can copy and paste it to any page on your site and customize it. Also, you can make a global section on multiple pages, but you only need to edit one of the sections to apply the changes to the entire site.

Elementor also enables you to completely control how your site looks on desktop computers, tablets, and mobile devices.

Get much more with the paid version

Although Elementor's free version has many features, its premium version, Elementor Pro, does considerably more. For example, it has an extensive library of over 300 site, page, and section templates perfect for a plug-and-play design. Its global settings ensure design consistency by allowing you to determine your site's primary colors, styles, and fonts and edit the entire site's global settings—all from one place. 

You can create custom marketing components

Make eye-catching pop-ups, expert landing pages, contact forms, newsletter signs ups, and other custom forms that integrate with platforms such as MailChimp, Constant Contact, and more. You can also save time by using the multiple templates available for marketing components.

Give your customers a fully customized e-commerce experience

Elementor's e-commerce widgets allow you to customize every aspect of your customer's experience from the store, the product page, my cart, checkout, and more. Keep in mind that templates are also available for e-commerce, allowing you to create a website that customizes everything from the color to the content.

Easily customize headers and footers

The header and footer provide a positive user experience by helping to facilitate website navigation, making them essential components of your website design. They also promote your brand, display your call-to-action (CTA), and display helpful information such as terms of use, contact information, website navigation, etc. 

You can easily customize your header and footer using Elementor's custom Header & Footers feature. You can also edit your header and footer from any page you edit.

You'll get consistent plugin updates, improvements, and support

Elementor continuously improves its site performance by offering worldwide support from specialized experts. Customer support chat is available 24/7, with hundreds of resources for frequently asked questions. You can even grow your web-creation skills with the Elementor Academy.

Should you get the free or pro version?

Either version gives you control over how your WordPress site looks without knowing its code. Even if you have the technical knowledge to code everything yourself, Elementor makes designing your website easy and intuitive, so there isn't a good reason not to use it.

Although Elementor's free version allows you to do almost everything, if you're building sites for clients or your website is the primary asset of your business, it's a good idea to upgrade to one of the pro plans. Being able to create your theme, along with the global widgets feature, make it worth the relatively low investment. 

If you'd like all the benefits of Elementor without the creation part, contact us to get a site built and full training on how to maintain it yourself after launch. WRIS Web Services likes to make this process even easier! 

Written by John Levan 

Professional Reference: Alayna Quiles