Elementor Sucks Because of This 1 Mammoth Reason

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Elementor Sucks Because of This 1 Mammoth Reason

Elementor Plugin for WordPress

Kyle Mann

Elementor Sucks Because of This 1 Mammoth Reason | elementor sucks doo doo
Value
Performance
Usability
Features
Support

Summary

Elementor is a widely popular WordPress page builder that is far from what it once was. With so many newer technologies and improvements to Gutenberg, Elementor is no longer the best way to build and customize WordPress websites.

1.9

Are you fed up with Elementor?

After using Elementor since day one, I've recently dumped it for more favorable options. Despite being a pioneer in the WordPress page-building market, I've grown tired of their clunky approach to web design.

Not only that, but the main reason I've decided to dump Elementor is directly rooted in its functionality, and compared to Gutenberg, I feel Elementor is no longer the best way to go, especially if you're looking for speed and efficiency.

And If you're just looking for validation, then you've come to the right spot because, by the end of this article, you'll be completely convinced that Elementor sucks.

Fortunately for you, I have some great suggestions and alternatives that will put you in the right direction.

Why Elementor Sucks

What's The Point?

I don't have many great things to say at this point, except that Elementor sucks! I think they prey on newbie blog owners and web designers who believe using Elementor will help them quickly design their websites. Here's the truth:

IT WON'T

There is still a huge learning curve for using page builders, so why not just ditch them and learn CSS instead? Instead of watching Elementor tutorials (like I did years ago), you can just as easily watch CSS tutorials. Or read my super simple styling guide on WordPress and CSS.

Why Elementor sucks and why you should learn CSS instead
Why Elementor sucks and why you should learn CSS instead

Besides, Elementor isn't solving much of a problem anyway. The way I see it, you have three options when designing a website with WordPress:

  1. Use a “multi-purpose” theme with all of the bells and whistles.
  2. Use a lightweight theme with a page builder (Elementor).
  3. Use a lightweight theme and customize it with CSS/PHP/Javascript.

And if you're extra special as I once was, you can use a “multipurpose” theme like The7 AND Elementor Pro with ADDITIONAL Elementor plugins! Back then, my visual load time was nearly 7 seconds. Oof.

For newbie web designers, Elementor has one thing going for it: the ability to add different “elements” on-demand without the need for other plugins. I'll admit that this is extremely helpful for designing websites for clients with different requirements. And if done correctly, it can still be super fast.

HOWEVER

GeneratePress is a much lighter and faster solution if you're building websites for clients. Combine that with CSS Hero if you don't have much CSS knowledge, and you're golden! You'll be able to build superb websites for anyone.

Where, then, does that leave Elementor? If you need an “element”, just grab a “discrete” plugin or Gutenberg block, and you have the same thing, except your website won't be so heavily bogged down.

Newbie blog owners don't understand this, so I am writing this post. This misinformation is the basis for my entire blog!

So, to reiterate, if you are thinking about creating a website for yourself, don't waste your money on Elementor. It's completely unnecessary. 

High Memory Usage

According to WP Hive, Elementor's memory usage is HIGHER than 94% of all other plugins. So basically, this is one of the biggest and fastest plugins there is!

Elementor Sucks Because of This 1 Mammoth Reason | elementor sucks memory usage
WP Hive stats on Elementor

Here is a user that can attest to the ever-increasing memory size and slow editor.

Elementor has high memory usage which is why Elementor sucks.
elementor sucks

And I agree! Elementor's editor is freakin' slow! Imagine having to wait long periods of time just to make a few edits. No thanks, I'll pass.

So far, we've discovered that Elementor has a limited purpose and high memory usage. What else could go wrong?

Support Sucks

The support sucks too! A quick Google search will turn up countless Elementor customers that are fed up with their poor support. Take a look at this comment from winningwp.com.

Unhappy customer describing why Elementor sucks.
elementor sucks

Almost everywhere you look, you will find more of the same. Here is another unhappy PAYING customer waiting endlessly for support to answer.

Elementor Sucks Because of This 1 Mammoth Reason | elementor support sucks thread
elementor sucks

You don't even have to dig to find this stuff! It's hilarious they still operate. If I haven't convinced you enough that Elementor sucks, maybe my next point will.

Removing Elementor is a Pain

Good luck removing Elementor once you have an entire website built with it. Once a website is built with Elementor, you'll have to pretty much redo everything if you want to remove it.

Sure, some things might get converted to Gutenberg blocks, but it won't be pretty, and many elements will be completely broken. Once you tread down the road with Elementor, you're basically stuck.

The Number 1 Mammoth Reason

And now for my biggest gripe with Elementor, the main reason I think Elementor sucks. The overall functionality isn't even that great. Please, allow me to explain.

Elementor sucks as a page-builder for WordPress.
Elementor sucks as a page builder for WordPress.

With Elementor, you can't easily insert elements in between paragraphs (unless you make each paragraph its own element, which is also quite overly complicated). For example, let's say you want to add a form between two paragraphs. 

This is how you would do it:

  1. Cut the second paragraph
  2. Add element after the first paragraph
  3. Paste the second paragraph back into another element

HOW BARBARIC IS THAT!?

It's totally barbaric, was always so frustrating for me, and is a nightmare when clients request a redesign! So yes, I'll say it again, Elementor sucks.

But what can you do about it, you ask? Well, for starters, let's ditch Elementor's ancient decrepit techniques and move on to something a little newer.

Elementor Alternatives

GenerateBlocks

Behold! The most robust theme for WordPress, GeneratePress, has a secret weapon, and it's ready to put Elementor to shame.

GeneratePress is the way to go!
GeneratePress is the way to go!

While not a front-end builder like Elementor, my number one suggestion for newbies is to use Gutenberg (now the default WordPress editor), and learn how to use GenerateBlocks, the secret weapon behind WordPress' most robust theme. You can easily insert blocks anywhere you want, unlike with Elementor.

AND IT'S FAST!

If you need a particular block, just search for one that does exactly what you need it to, and run it through WP Hive to check its performance. Combine that with their GeneratePress theme, and you can easily deploy sites using their site library. All without using bloated crap like Elementor. Compare both plugins on WP Hive to see for yourself.

Elementor Sucks Because of This 1 Mammoth Reason | generateblocks elementor
elementor sucks

See what I mean? GenerateBlocks is so much lighter and draws on fewer resources than Elementor. It's truly marvelous!

CSS Hero

CSS Hero helps edit live WordPress themes
CSS Hero helps edit live WordPress themes

CSS Hero is a live WordPress Theme editor plugin that works without modifying any of your theme's files. It has an extremely low footprint as it only adds a single static CSS file to your site.

While also not technically a front-end builder for WordPress, CSS Hero allows you to easily manipulate any WordPress theme on the fly. For example, you could import free Astra Gutenberg templates and edit them with CSS Hero. Check out their Live Demo to see it in action.

How to Use CSS Hero?

After installing the CSS Hero plugin, navigate to any page you want to edit and click the CSS Hero button from the top admin bar.

Elementor Sucks Because of This 1 Mammoth Reason | css hero plugin
CSS Hero

Then click on any element you want to style, and use the CSS editor to style it. When you're done, click Save. It's that easy. And no matter how much you edit, you only expand the CSS file by negligible amounts.

Conclusion

Anyway, those are my suggestions for Elementor alternatives. In my opinion, front-end builders are a thing of the past. Elementor sucks and is obsolete. Good riddance, I say!

And you know what else sucks? Hostgator.

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About the Author

Forced out of Colorado because of the housing market, Kyle now writes WordPress guides out of his Florida apartment, hoping one day to return to the mountains from which he came.
Why I Left SiteGround and How I Found My Next Hosting Provider

After many years with SiteGround, I finally made the switch, and I'm glad I did. Read the full story here.

9 thoughts on “Elementor Sucks Because of This 1 Mammoth Reason”

  1. Bullshit! I have worked with Elementor for 3 years. Never had these issues. Maybe it’s your hosting that sucks

    Reply
    • Hello,

      Which issues are you referring to exactly? Hosting does play a major role in website performance, but if Elementor doesn’t work with cheap hosting, isn’t that just more indication of why it sucks?

      Reply
  2. This was a timely and prescient post. Exactly one week after you posted this, Elementor was removed from Wordpress.org. Now if your site was built using Elementor, it no longer works! I know because my site has been down for the last week. I have no way to fix it. My site is managed by a small team that specializes in creative professionals. They have ghosted me for a week, probably because they realize how screwed they are. Imagine having dozens of websites built on Elementor and all the sudden they all break.

    In short, you’re right, Elementor is the worst, but I’m afraid your post is no longer relevant because Elementor is now a thing of the past as far as I know.

    Reply
    • Hey Brian,

      Thanks for the comment! Unfortunately, your website will always be at the mercy of something whether it’s your hosting, theme, or whatever.

      Elementor is yet another point of failure which is one of the main reasons I don’t recommend them.

      Your website is actually safest using a WordPress.org supported theme such as Twenty Twenty-one and customizing it with JS/CSS/PHP, but this isn’t always ideal.

      I don’t know what’s going on with your website, but I would contact your hosting provider and see if it can be rolled back. If not, you can ask them to remove all installed plugins from the database. That should clear the critical error

      Reply
  3. While I agree that Elementor has a lot of problems, both with the product and support, I don’t you’ve made a compelling argument, nor have you provided a better alternative.

    I’m not going to try redoing your article in this comment, but IMO, the real issue(s) with Elementor are:
    – it’s a pagebuilder, not a website design tool. As a pagebuilder, it can’t scale to other features, like template management (after 3 years, there’s still no cross-reference (where-used) for templates. Forget global widgets.
    – it’s based on WordPress, which is a blogging tool, not a CMS or an IDE.
    – unlike Oxygen or Webflow, it’s not based on flex, so it has a very kludgy (antiquated) section-column architecture. Not sure if, let alone when) they’ll be able to roll out flex containers (that work).

    I agree on support – tier 1 is just an annoying bottleneck. But to be fair:
    – a lot of support requests can be addressed by clearing the cache, or identifying conflicting plugins.
    – tier 2 is generally helpful.
    – once you get past tier 1, tier 2 responds in 24 hours.

    I’m not impressed with your alternatives. I haven’t used Generatepress, but it’s a theme, not an IDE. And my experience with theme vendors that tried to become pagebuilder vendors has been less than great. Likewise, CSSHero is not even a pagebuilder, so it can’t address page structure.

    Most of the Elementor challengers (Oxygen, Webflow, Duda) have their own issues – while most of them support flex (a big plus), each has its own limitations.

    The big problem is that WordPress is a blogging tool that tried to evolve to a CMS. The core product doesn’t even support different post types or custom fields (without plugins). And if you look under the covers, nearly every addon uses a highly proprietary architecture buried deep in the bowels of the postmeta table.

    Suggest you consider a real CMS with a separate front-end development tool. WordPress and its attendant pagebuilders are DOA.

    Reply
    • Hey Brooks,

      I appreciate the highly constructive comment and suggestions. You have many great points.

      Because this is a WordPress blog to help bloggers using WordPress, my suggestions are, of course, WordPress based. It wouldn’t make sense for me to suggest other systems.

      You’re right about GeneratePress being a theme; however, combined with GenerateBlocks (a block-based page-builder with global styling features) and the hook system, you can “build” your pages however you like. I encourage you to check it out.

      I used Elementor for many years and was always frustrated at how unintuitive it was. When I tried GeneratePress and GenerateBlocks for the first time, I realized I didn’t need Elementor anymore. It made so much more sense!

      Elementor does have the “elements” to choose from for added utility, but it restricts you to those elements, which isn’t always ideal. More often than not, I was looking for another plugin to do the job anyway, making Elementor even more redundant.

      And CSSHero is just for the tiny adjustments that aren’t obvious or possible without custom CSS. That and it’s incredibly lightweight and easy to use.

      Thanks again for your comments. I think I’ll this post to make my points a little more clear.

      Reply
  4. My number one issue with Elementor is template inheritance. Most of my clients like to have specialized page headers (under the site header) with differentiated image sliders and bespoke design. So if I made a mistake on one page, or need to adjust it in mobile, or if the client changes their mind on the design, it means I have to make the change on Every. Single. Page. We solved this problem with PHP and other template languages decades ago! Elementor lets you get started quickly but it’s incredibly inefficient for development and maintenance. As a designer I enjoy some of the stuff you can do with it, but as a developer I vastly prefer creating templates in CSS and PHP.

    Reply
  5. Elementor does indeed suck. So does WordPress though. So does the clueless WordPress Community, building monuments of mediocrity while grifting off of newbie business owners.

    Reply

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