Should you create your website using a elementor theme builder or a template?
What divide them, and when does using one over the other make sense?
The de facto method for managing the style of your WordPress site has traditionally been elementor templates, but elementor theme builders like Elementor Pro are quickly gaining support since they provide complete flexibility without requiring any technical expertise.
To help you in selecting the strategy that is perfect for your WordPress site, we’ll look at the key differences between WordPress templates and elementor theme builders in this post.
What is a Elementor Theme Builder?
Elementor Theme Builder is a feature of Elementor, a popular page builder for WordPress that allows you to design and build your entire website from one place.
Unlike standard WordPress themes, the Elementor Theme Builder allows you to customize every part of your site, including headers, footers, archive pages, single post pages, search result pages, and 404 pages. You can design these parts of your site just as you would a regular page, using the same drag-and-drop interface and widgets you’re familiar with in Elementor.
This level of control allows you to create a fully customized, cohesive design across your whole website without needing to understand or write any code.
Here’s a brief overview of how it works:
Creating Templates With Elementor Builder
Creating a template with Elementor is straightforward, thanks to its user-friendly interface.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do it:
Step#1
Login to Your WordPress Dashboard: The first step is to log in to your WordPress admin dashboard. Once you’re in, hover over the “Templates” option in the left-hand side menu, and then click “Add New.”
Step#2
Choose Template Type: A new window will pop up where you’ll be asked to choose the type of template you want to create. You can select from various options such as Page, Section, Header, Footer, Single, and Archive.
Step#3
Name Your Template: Give your template a name after selecting the type. This name will help you identify the template later. After naming it, click on the “Create Template” button.
Step#4
Design Your Template: You’ll now be redirected to Elementor’s editor. Here, you can start building your template. Using the widgets on the left panel, you can add elements like text, images, buttons, etc.
Step#5
Use a Pre-Designed Template (Optional): If you want to use a pre-designed template, you can click on the folder icon in the middle of the page to access Elementor’s template library. You can choose a template and then customize it as needed.
Step#6
Save Your Template: After you’re satisfied with your design, click the green “Update” button on the bottom left of the page. This will save your template.
Step#7
Apply Your Template: Once your template is saved, you can use it on any website page. Edit a page with Elementor, click on the folder icon, go to the “My Templates” tab, and then insert the template you created.
Remember, understanding your website's requirements and audience preferences is the key to creating an effective Elementor template. Once you have these insights, you can design a template that looks good and resonates with your visitors.
Designing with Elementor Widgets
In the Elementor builder, your primary toolkit lies within the Widget Panel. You’ll find everything from basic text and images to more complex features like sliders, testimonials, elementor iframe widget and forms here.
These widgets are your site’s building blocks, and using them to their full potential can make your pages more engaging and effective.
When you find a widget you’d like to use; you can drag and drop it into the content area. Once you’ve placed the widget, the real magic begins. A new set of options will appear in the Widget Panel that allows you to customize the widget in myriad ways.
For example, if you’ve chosen a text widget, you can now decide what the text should say, what color it should be, how large the font should be, and so forth. The customization options available will depend on the widget you’re working with.
Setting Display Conditions in Elementor Builder
In the Elementor builder, your primary toolkit lies within the Widget Panel. You’ll find everything from basic text and images to more complex features like sliders, testimonials, elementor iframe and forms here.
These widgets are your site’s building blocks, and using them to their full potential can make your pages more engaging and effective.
When you find a widget you’d like to use; you can drag and drop it into the content area. Once you’ve placed the widget, the real magic begins. A new set of options will appear in the Widget Panel that allows you to customize the widget in myriad ways.
For example, if you’ve chosen a text widget, you can now decide what the text should say, what color it should be, how large the font should be, and so forth. The customization options available will depend on the widget you’re working with.
Importance of Hello Child Theme
A crucial part of Elementor Theme Builder is the Hello Child theme. This lightweight and streamlined theme provides a solid foundation for your website, ensuring optimal performance.
Let’s get started,. In today’s, I will teach you, step by step how to download and install hello elementor child theme with 5 easy steps
The Advantages of an Elementor Theme Builder
Elementor Theme Builder has some significant advantages, making it an appealing choice for many Elementor website developers and designers.
Here are some of the primary benefits:
Full Customization: Unlike traditional WordPress themes that can limit your customization options, Elementor Theme Builder allows you to design every part of your site. This includes the header, footer, archive pages, single post pages, and more.
No Coding Required: One of the main advantages of Elementor Theme Builder is that you can create a fully functional, attractive, and responsive website without writing a single line of code. It’s a perfect tool for those who need to become more familiar with coding but want to create a professional and custom website.
Design Consistency: With Elementor Theme Builder, you can create templates for different elements of your site and reuse them across multiple pages. This ensures a consistent design across your entire website, enhancing your brand’s recognition and user experience.
Responsive Editing: Elementor Theme Builder allows you to create great responsive designs on all devices. You can preview how your site looks on desktop, tablet, and mobile and make necessary adjustments to ensure optimal display on each device.
Interactive Widgets: Elementor Theme Builder comes with a broad range of widgets that you can use to add functionality to your site. These include widgets for forms, sliders, testimonials, social media integration, and much more.
Integration: Elementor Theme Builder is compatible with all WordPress themes and plugins. This means you can use it alongside your favorite tools to extend the functionality of your website.
Cost-Effective: Instead of hiring a professional developer to create a custom theme for your website, which can be expensive, you can use Elementor Theme Builder to create a professional-looking, personalized website at a fraction of the cost.
By leveraging these advantages, Elementor Theme Builder can streamline your web design process, making creating a stunning and functional website easier.
What is a Elementor templates?
Elementor templates are pre-designed layouts you can import and use in your website design projects. They are specifically created with the Elementor page builder, a popular drag-and-drop builder for WordPress websites.
Professional designers create these templates and can greatly reduce the time and effort required to build a website.
They come with various elements and sections like headers, footers, service sections, testimonials, and more, fully customizable to fit your brand and style.
Check out these Elementor tempaltes
Elementor templates can be categorized into two types:
- Page templates
- Section templates
Page Templates: These are complete web page designs that you can customize and fill with your own content. They can be a complete webpage, such as a home page, about page, contact page, or service page.
Section Templates: These are pre-designed parts of a webpage, not an entire page. They could be a header, footer, call-to-action, or any other webpage element. You can mix and match these sections to create your own unique web pages.
Elementor templates are part of what makes the Elementor page builder so versatile and user-friendly. Whether you’re an experienced developer or a beginner, these templates can streamline your website creation process, allowing you to create professional-looking web pages quickly and efficiently.
The Role of Elementor SaaS Templates
Elementor SaaS templates can dramatically speed up the process of creating a website, especially for businesses. These templates are specifically designed for Software as a Service (SaaS) companies, incorporating key elements like pricing tables and feature grids.
Additionally, the agile design steps integrated into these templates ensure that they are not only visually appealing but also highly functional and adaptable to the evolving needs of SaaS businesses. This approach streamlines website development, making it more efficient and responsive to market demands.
The Advantages of Elementor Templates
Elementor templates come with several advantages, making them an excellent choice for building WordPress websites:
Time-Efficient: One of the most significant benefits of using Elementor templates is the time you save. Instead of building a webpage from scratch, you can import a pre-designed layout and customize it according to your needs.
Variety of Designs: Elementor provides various templates to choose from, suiting various industries and purposes. Whether you’re building a blog, a business website, a portfolio, or an online store, there’s likely a template that fits your needs.
Easy Customization: Each template is fully customizable. You can easily change the colors, fonts, images, and layout to match your brand identity. You can also add, remove, or rearrange elements as you see fit.
No Coding Required: Like with Elementor Theme Builder, you don’t need to know how to code to use Elementor templates. The drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to build and customize your site.
Consistent Design: Using a template ensures your website maintains a consistent design. This improves the user experience and strengthens your brand identity.
Built-in Functionality: Many Elementor templates have built-in features and functionalities, like contact forms, sliders, testimonial carousels, and more. This saves you from creating these features yourself or installing additional plugins.
Responsive Design: Elementor templates are designed to be responsive, meaning they automatically adjust to look good on any device, be it a desktop, tablet, or mobile phone.
SEO Friendly: Most Elementor templates are designed with SEO best practices in mind. They have clean code, fast load times, and are easy for search engines to crawl, which can help improve your site’s search rankings.
Overall, Elementor templates can provide a head start in your website design process, helping you easily create professional, attractive, and functional websites.
Comparison: Elementor Theme Builder vs Template
Web Design with Elementor
Using Elementor Widgets
Manipulating Image with Text in Elementor
Elementor Pro: Costs and Support
While Elementor offers a free version, Elementor Pro is where the tool truly shines. The cost of Elementor Pro provides access to additional features, as well as dedicated Elementor support.
The Value of Elementor Support
Best Practices for Building with Elementor
Understanding Elementor Kits
The Effectiveness of Elementor Side Menu
Conclusion
FAQS
Yes, Elementor Pro comes with over 50 additional widgets compared to the free version.
Elementor theme builder is a powerful tool that allows you to create, edit, and customize the layout and appearance of your WordPress website without any coding. It essentially lets you design the structure and look of different parts of your website including headers, footers, single posts, archives, and more.
On the other hand, an Elementor template is a pre-designed layout or page that you can import and use on your website. These templates can be fully edited using the Elementor page builder, but they provide a convenient starting point, particularly if you’re unsure about how to design a page from scratch or if you want to maintain a consistent look across various pages.
Yes, you can. Elementor templates can be integrated into your theme builder designs. This can be a huge time-saver because you can start with a pre-designed layout and then customize it to suit your specific needs, rather than having to build every page from scratch.
Elementor theme builder is designed to work with almost any WordPress theme. However, compatibility can vary depending on the specifics of the theme you’re using. It’s always a good idea to check the documentation or reach out to the theme’s developers if you’re unsure.
Most of the time, Elementor works best with lightweight and flexible themes that allow for a high level of customization. Some popular options include Astra, OceanWP, and GeneratePress, but there are many others that work well with Elementor.
Elementor Theme Builder is an effective tool for designing and customizing your WordPress website for several reasons:
1. Comprehensive Design Control: Elementor Theme Builder provides total control over every aspect of your website design. From headers and footers to blog posts and product pages, you can craft and modify all elements, going beyond the limitations of many pre-designed themes.
2. Code-Free Customization: Thanks to its intuitive drag-and-drop interface, you can create a professional-looking website without any coding knowledge. This makes Elementor Theme Builder a great choice for beginners or anyone looking to design a website quickly and efficiently.
3. Versatility and Personalization: With Elementor Theme Builder, you can design specific templates for different pages, categories, or post types, allowing for unique layouts and designs across your website. This provides a tailored user experience for your visitors.
4. Reusable Templates: Once you’ve crafted a design you’re proud of, you can save it as a template and use it again in other areas of your site. This not only ensures design consistency but also saves time in the long run.
5. Dynamic Content Capability: Elementor Theme Builder supports the use of dynamic content, allowing you to automatically populate certain elements in your templates, such as titles, featured images, or custom fields. This feature is especially useful for dynamic pages such as blog posts or product pages, where the structure remains consistent, but the specific content varies.
6. Seamless Integration: Elementor Theme Builder works well with a range of other popular WordPress tools, such as WooCommerce for ecommerce functionality and Advanced Custom Fields for extended customization possibilities. This compatibility allows for a more robust and versatile website design experience.