The Top 5 Page Builders and Which Is Right For You?
A quality website is essential to attracting and retaining visitors, which is why integrating the right WordPress page builder has become a top priority for many users. On their own, page builders have a huge impact on the aesthetic and functionality of your website.
But more than this, page builders have made it possible for users to completely customize their websites almost seamlessly. Today we’re going to discuss why page builders are essential to your website and some of the best WordPress page builder plugins you should know.
Why Page Builders are Essential
WordPress is one of the most popular website builders for site owners. Its ease-of-use, advanced SEO measures, and impeccable design templates have made it one of the most preferred and beneficial platforms to date.
One of the highlights of using WordPress is its vast options for page builder plugins. Simply put, a page builder is a plugin of a theme that enables users to structure and design their website with minimal effort and time. Beyond this, page builders allow users to fully customize designs without the need to pay someone for a quality website.
In fact, many users prefer to build their websites themselves. But this doesn’t mean that they want to sacrifice quality at the same time. Page builders help bridge that gap by simplifying the process of designing a website for individuals — even those with limited technical knowledge. Essentially, page builder plugins allow for rapid development, are cost-effective, and require no coding knowledge.
Now that we’ve discussed why page builders are so essential to your website, let’s take a look at some of the best WordPress page builders available today.
5 WordPress Page Builders You Should Know
There are various page builders available through WordPress, each with its own unique strengths. But, deciding which one is best for your site can be confusing. To make things simple, we’re going to talk in-depth about 5 WordPress page builders available that will take your site to the next level.
Gutenberg Editor
Gutenberg Editor is different from the other page builders on our list in that it’s not actually a page editor — at least not yet. This is the new default WordPress editor, but it’s a nice upgrade from the classic.
Gutenberg uses blocks to add and arrange content elements for your posts and pages. However, you cannot drag and drop blocks at the moment. But it does enable users to add blocks and move them up and down for a custom experience.
If you prefer to stick with WordPress themes for your website, Gutenberg might be a great option for you as it relies on these themes for its functionality. But, users are able to add custom CSS for blocks. However, it won’t override your original theme style and settings.
Another key thing to mention with Gutenberg is that it’s a backend editor. This means that what you see in editing mode won’t be the same as the live preview. However, it does a great job of showing what your content will look like when you hit preview.
Gutenberg does try to give freedom to its users when it comes to content layout, but it’s still limited compared to page builders. On the other hand, this block editor comes with a nice set of default blocks, which covers all the commonly used content elements. You also have the ability to save and reuse blocks, which is a nice convenience.
Who is Gutenberg best for?
You should be using Gutenberg if you’re currently using the classic editor and ready for an upgrade. Gutenberg is far more innovative and intuitive than the classic editor, while still keeping things simple for its users. Gutenberg also provides far more customizations and reusable blocks when compared to the classic editor. This is great for those that want to cut time spent on designing.
Beaver Builder
This page builder is one of the most robust plugins through WordPress. Beaver Builder is the perfect plugin for those who tend to be more creative and want to go beyond simple design measures.
It’s important to note that this plugin is more expensive than other builders. In, fact, the premium version starts at $99. However, they do offer a free lite version that users can take advantage of.
With that said, Beaver Builder might be worth the money as it gives its users full creative control over their page designs. They also offer modern templates for an improved website aesthetic and easy drag and drop tools for those not-so-tech-savvy users. If that’s not enough, it’s mobile-friendly and works well with WooCommerce.
One of Beaver’s strong suits is its visual builder, which allows users to edit with more precision. In fact, Beaver Builder offers live, frontend editing. This means that you don’t have to keep clicking the preview button to see how your adjustments look. This can cut down a significant amount of editing time and make the editing process overall more enjoyable.
Who is Beaver Builder best for?
This is a great option for those who really want to put their creative cap on and make the most out of their website design. This is also a great page builder if live editing is a priority for you. In addition to this, you might choose this builder if you have a WooCommerce store and want to ensure that you can customize it for the best experience.
Elementor
Elementor is a popular WordPress plugin that many people use, and for good reason. For starters, it’s available as a free plugin download, but you can also get the Pro version, which starts only at $49.
This page builder is simple and easy to use but comes packed with powerful features along with one of the fasted interfaces you can find. Everything with this plugin is done instantly from live edits to instant page loads. This ultimately creates a seamless editing experience for site owners.
Elementor’s standard page builder includes things like animations, gradient backgrounds, and headline effects. It’s also mobile-friendly and has advanced tools for maintenance mode, under construction pages, landing pages, and more.
Many people feel like they’re missing out when they only purchase the free version of a plugin, but that’s not the case with Elementor. Its free and premium version are nearly identical in performance. In fact, it doesn’t really matter which version you choose rather it depends on what you need.
Who is Elementor best for?
Elementor is best for users that are looking for a cost-effective page builder with top performance. This is also a great option if you want to minimize your number of plugins as Elementor is already installed with things like maintenance, landing, and coming soon pages.
WP Page Builder
Next on the list is WP Page Builder, which is a free WordPress page builder. Although still considered relatively new, it has become one of the most preferred WordPress page builder plugins.
This is likely due to its simple and sleek design, which makes it easy for novice site designers to understand how to use it. It also boasts intuitive frontend editing to give you a visual of your work.
In fact, WP Page Builder’s toolbar is easy to understand, making rows and columns even easier to use. Not only that but the add-ons are designed to perform a specific task, which adds to its efficiency.
What’s even better is that WP Page Builder has 30+ add-ons with elements like texts, images, icons, and more. These varieties of add-on elements allow users to personalize their site in the simplest way possible.
Who is WP Page Builder best for?
WP Page Builder is best for users who prefer live mode editing. It’s also a great builder for those who want a simple drag and drop feature that enables them to use add-ons, blocks, and layouts to fully customize their page.
Visual Composer
The last page builder on our list is Visual Composer. Starting at just $49 for a single website, Visual Composer is one of the most popular page builders for beginner WordPress users. This plugin is extremely easy to use but packs a big punch. In fact, it comes with various features that novice, intermediate, and experts will enjoy.
The Visual Compose Hub is where this page builder truly shines. The Hub is a free marketplace that gives users access to 300+ ready-to-use elements, templates, and extensions — all without the need to touch code.
Even without coding, you can still get creative by utilizing Visual Composer’s custom CSS or Custom JavaScript section. Visual Composer also provides both frontend and backend visual editors to meet the needs of users. The frontend enables users to conveniently edit in real-time while the backend focuses more on drag and drop modules.
Who is Visual Composer best for?
Users might want to try Visual Composer if they’re looking for a simple drag and drop editor. This is also a great builder if you have no knowledge of coding but are experienced with Custom CC and JavaScript.
Page builders are one of the most important tools of a WordPress website. It enables users to easily build and customize pages and posts while eliminating the need for writing code. There are various page builders available for users to take advantage of. Choosing the best one for your website will ultimately depend on your budget and needs but if you’ve made it this far in the post we can tell you how to get two of the best absolutely free. Included with all of our managed WordPress and WooCommerce plans we include the professional versions of Elementor and BeaverBuilder. At Applied Innovations, we want to help you manage your WordPress site by providing technology solutions to help you meet your needs. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help.
