How to Remove Elementor from Your WordPress Site
I’m in the process of optimizing my site and simplifying it by using fewer WordPress plugins.
In our blogging membership, we’re doing a WP SEO Boost Challenge right now, and just the other day I shared with members exactly what plugins I removed and why, the better alternatives I found, and ways to make their site faster thanks to that.
I was also slowly preparing to remove Elementor, the most popular page builder for WordPress.
Why Remove Elementor
Page builders slow down sites, they aren’t necessary.
I got used to designing pages using Elementor, sure, and had a lot to redesign before removing it. But I wanted a more lightweight and faster website, and not to rely on a page builder.
Many of the top plugins we know and have been using for years might actually slow down our site or even cause errors (especially when many plugins are activated at the same time and have similar features that are enabled).
As mentioned here:
“website speed is usually not accounted for when rating a plugin, so a plugin may have a 5-stars rating and still affect your loading speed.”
This article contains a list of 75 slow plugins. Feel free to go through it and see if you’re using any of these (you probably are!), and do further research if you decide to delete and replace some.
As mentioned in it:
“Most slow WordPress plugins are related to page builders, any plugin that has to collect/process data (i.e. Broken Link Checker, Query Monitor, even Wordfence), social sharing, slider, portfolio, calendar, live chat, or plugins running heavy background tasks.”
The Alternatives
I’ve been thinking about deleting Elementor for a long time now. And I finally decided that the Gutenberg editor (the WordPress block editor) is enough, and simpler design for a site isn’t that bad.
You can also have an awesome theme that has beautiful templates.
Many expert bloggers recommend Kadence, even the free version, so you may want to check that out.
I did get a new theme (this one from BlossomThemes) and redesigned my site, after which I went ahead and removed Elementor.
If you’re about to do the same, let me share a few steps you need to take for a smooth transition.
Also read: Don’t Make These 7 WordPress Mistakes with Your New Site
Steps When Deleting Elementor
Prep: To be on the safe side, you can do a backup of your site first.
Step 1: Redesign your pages.
Go back to all the pages designed with Elementor, and edit them using the WordPress editor.
From the page settings on the right, next to Template, switch from Elementor Canvas or Elementor Full Width, to Default template.
Save the changes, and do that with every other page for which you’ve used the Elementor page builder.
Step 2: Deactivate the plugin.
Next, you can go ahead and deactivate the plugin (and any other plugins you have such as Essential Addons for Elementor).
No need to delete it right away, you can do that in a few days when you make sure all your pages appear correctly on both desktop and mobile.
Step 3: Check all pages, and delete the Elementor plugin.
Finally, you can make sure everything looks good and functions well before you delete Elementor and any additional plugins you have related to it.
Step 4: Clean up your database.
When deleting plugins, we’re often left with lines of code somewhere on our WP site without even realizing.
You can install WP-Optimize to remove irrelevant code on your site and optimize database tables. Use the chance to also clean all post revisions if you aren’t using another plugin for that.
Once done, you can also delete WP-Optimize and only install it again when you need it. It’s one of those WP plugins that we don’t need to have all the time.
What about other page builders?
If you too feel that Elementor is slowing down your site, you may look at other options, such as Beaver Builder or any other page builder plugin.
But the end result might be the same. It’s best to go without a page builder.
The alternatives are to hire someone to design your site, to get a theme like Kadence, or use the Gutenberg editor (together with a plugin that adds more Gutenberg blocks).
Or you can just code your header and footer in CSS, use Gutenberg for tables, galleries, buttons, etc. and just keep it simple for the rest of your design needs as a blogger.
Also read: 12 Tips for Beginner Bloggers to Kickstart Your Blogging Journey
Does your blog use Elementor?
How about you? Are you using the Elementor page builder? And are you planning to remove it?
