WordPress page builder plugins are the rave now.
Normally, to get a website built using WordPress, all you need is a theme and a few plugins, and you’re good to go.
The only problem is that every other person is using the very same themes and plugins you just selected, so no room for diversity.
How can you fix this? I have a few ideas: first, You can build your own theme from scratch, which takes an eternity and plenty money. Not to mention the fact that you may need a month or two to learn how; You can hire a WordPress developer (us) to get you there, but we will bill you.
Or you could be smart and use one of the available WordPress page builder plugins and make your life easier.
WordPress page builder plugins come in handy when you need to have a unique look. If you’re coming from a Wix kind of website then you should already be familiar with a page builder and drag and drop plugins.
Our criteria for comparing these WordPress page builder plugins are many: ease of use, flexibility, SEO, compatibility and the design output.
What is the difference between a page builder and a website builder?
A page builder is obviously for creating custom pages within WordPress, such as landing pages, sales pages, product pages, etc. A website builder tool, on the other hand, is for creating an entire website from scratch with WordPress.
7 WordPress page builder plugins
Here we go, in no particular preference:
1 Elementor:
Though new, this plugin – the free version – is an absolute favorite of mine and you can’t contest the fact that it has over 3million downloads on the WordPress store. It is both a page builder and a website builder.
The two most notable features of the pro version are:
Theme Builder – design your entire theme using the same convenient Elementor interface. And I mean ENTIRE THEME – header, footer, archive pages, single post pages, WooCommerce pages, etc. You get dedicated widgets for common elements, and you can even dynamically insert content from custom fields.
Popup Builder – design flexible popups using the full Elementor interface. You can include all the regular Elementor widgets, which lets you create email opt-in popups, contact form popups, login popups, and more. (Really nice!)
The free version comes with 40+ templates which is wayyyyyy more than you need while the Pro version just intimidates even seasoned designers like myself.
Beyond basic stuff other WordPress page builder plugins offer, like colors, backgrounds, and typography, you can also control more advanced settings such as: Custom margins/padding.
Custom CSS classes/IDs, and Responsive controls. You can show/hide elements on specific devices.
Pricing is at Personal: $49 for use on 1 website, Business: $99 for use on 3 websites and Unlimited: $199 for use on unlimited websites.
I think the pricing for Elementor is outrageous. $99 for 3 websites and after a year you don’t get support or updates unless you renew. That’s not how subscriptions should work.
All of the Elementor Pro pricing options allow you to use the plugin for an unlimited amount of time. However, you’ll only get access to updates and support for one year (unless you renew your license by paying 50% of the original price paid, not worth it in my opionion).
2 WPBakery:
WPBakery Page Builder, formerly known as Visual Composer, (not the other page builder on this list) is one of the original WordPress page builders. Ever since it was released, it’s one of the most popular page builder plugin for WordPress in the CodeCanyon marketplace and now has almost 400k+ direct sales.
WPBakery lets you create WordPress pages the way you want with its easy-to-use drag and drop builder. It also gives you both visual front end editing, as well as back end editing.
While there’s a bit of a learning curve to get used to how it works, WPBakery Page Builder is relatively easy to use, and will save you a lot of time.
No matter the kind of website you are wishing to build, WP Page Builder’s predesigned templates got them covered and most of these templates look like the ones on theme forest. Lol
The pricing for WPBakery Page Builder starts at $45 (minus VAT) for regular license and one website.
3 Beaver Builder:
The Beaver Builder plugin lets you create intricate layouts in the content area of your WordPress page. Out of the box, Beaver Builder is enabled for pages, but there are settings to enable it for posts and custom posts.
With Beaver Builder, you get twelve (12) pre-built homepage templates, and eleven (11) inner page layouts such as contact, portfolio, about us and services among others.
The builder also supports WPML, Multi-site installs and is SEO friendly. It is truly one of the really cool WordPress page builder plugins available today.
All Beaver Builder plans provide support for one year and can be installed on an unlimited number of websites. The standard license retails at $99. Upgrading to the pro license at $199 adds the Beaver Builder theme and WordPress multisite capability.
4 Divi:
Divi builder is another popular page builder plugins from ElegantThemes. Divi Builder lets you edit your content using both a visual front end interface as well as a back end interface, and like Elementor, is also a website builder.
You get access to 316 pre-built templates spread across 40 different layout packs, as well as the ability to save your own designs as templates.
Divi is available as part of the $89 Elegant Themes membership.
5 Visual Composer:
Visual composer is not just a page builder but a website builder, also by the creators of WPBakery.
You can customize your sidebar, headers and footers, tweak mobile editing options, and utilize multiple page layouts.
When you first install Visual Composer (or if you’re just using the free version), you only get access to a few blocks and no templates But – Visual Composer has a huge selection of elements and templates — just connect to the Visual Composer Hub – which comes with tons of templates and content elements that you can import and use.
One thing to note is that Visual Composer works well with all WordPress themes. This allows you to switch your themes without losing custom layouts that you created with Visual Composer.
Visual composer has a limited free version while Pro version starts at $59 for one site license.
6 WP Page Builder
WP Page builder is super nice and easy to use. It is done by the guys from Themeum, an established WordPress developer. So while the plugin itself is new, the developers are not.
Even with the free version, WP Page Builder comes with a stellar selection of widgets such as pricing tables, post grids, flip boxes, and more. Most other page builders reserve these elements for the premium version.
You also get access to 31+ Layout Bundles, which are themed template packs for specific niches.
The paid version comes at a generous $39 for one license for one website and $59 for 5 licenses – all with a 1 year premium support.
7 Siteorigin
Siteorigin WordPress page builder is free, popular (over 1m downloads) and not bad. Even the pro version is $29.
SiteOrigin Page Builder’s styling options are going to be disappointing in comparison to the other page builders if you don’t know CSS. It also includes ~25 pre-built templates that you can use, though these are pretty weak in comparison to other page builders.
As stated above, the paid version cost $29 for a single license.
Hope these help. Have fun building!
Z
