It is no doubt Content Management Systems help to build websites and manage content without necessarily writing code. From our review on the 8 Best Content Management Systems to Use, you could tell that WordPress outshone others in terms of features and customization capabilities.
It could be used to build a basic website, a portfolio, an eCommerce store, and even a social network. This is what makes it a top choice for people looking to build a website. Although building a website has already been made easier with CMS like WordPress, there’s a more optimal way to further design or customise your web pages.
This is done using page builders. We’d be looking at the top page builders you should consider using when setting up a website with WordPress.
Are Page Builders Important?
YES. Page Builders are tools that help you set up and design both simple and complex web layouts without the need to write code. Some are advanced and can also design not just pages, but every component that makes up a website.
Let’s get straight into the list.
Top WordPress Page Builders
1. Elementor
Elementor is one of the top players in the game of WordPress page building, with over 5 million users.
It has a beautiful and easy-to-use drag & drop editor to make live edits to a page. This means that you can see an immediate effect of the changes you are making to a design.
It also has over 300 pre-made templates and 90+ design elements you can use to quickly set up a beautiful web page. Other notable features include;
- Responsive editing
- Autosave
- Copy/Paste
- In-line editing, and
- Dark mode
Another good perk of using Elementor is its extensibility. Since Elementor is open-sourced, developers have made massive contributions to help improve the product. Due to this, third-party developers have created top quality add-ons to increase its functionality.
Pricing
Elementor is open-sourced but has a paid version called Elementor Pro. Its pricing plan is subscription-based and it depends on the number of sites you intend to use it with. Its plans are;
- Essential, for 1 website at $49/year
- Advanced, for 3 websites at $99/year
- Expert, for 25 websites at $199/year
- Studio, for 100 websites at $499/year, and
- Agency, for 1,000 websites at $999/year
2. Divi
Developed by Elegant Themes, Divi is one of, if not the most popular WordPress page builder. It has both a theme and a single page builder plugin. Just like Elementor, it has a drag & drop editor.
With Divi, you can easily set up a new website with its huge library of over 800 pre-made layouts, with new ones added weekly. The Divi page builder has great features like;
- Custom CSS Control
- Undo, Redo, & Revisions
- Responsive Editing
- Multi-Select & Bulk Editing, and
- Keyboard Shortcuts
Another notable feature Divi possesses is WooBuilder, which helps you to design a customised shopping experience for your eCommerce store.
Pricing
Divi doesn’t offer a free version and has two pricing plans;
- Yearly Access, which costs $89/year, and
- Lifetime Access, which costs $249 and is a one-time fee
Both plans can be used on an unlimited number of websites.
3. SeedProd
SeedProd is a landing page builder that is highly focused on high conversions and speed. With SeedProd, you can easily create;
- Sales pages
- Opt-ins
- Webinar pages
- Coming Soon, and
- Maintenance pages
It has over 100 templates for you to get started with. SeedProd comes packed with the following features;
- Subscriber Management
- Spam Protection
- Revision History
- Font Combinations, and
- Domain Mapping
The Subscriber Management feature helps you to easily connect to third-party marketing services like MailChimp and ConvertKit to manage your leads.
Pricing
SeedProd is subscription-based and offers 4 pricing plans namely;
- Basic, covering 1 site at $39.50/year
- Plus, covering 3 sites at 99.50/year
- Pro, covering 5 sites at 199.50/year
- Elite bundle, covering unlimited sites at $239.60/year
4. WPBakery
Formerly known as Visual Composer, WPBakery is another popular WordPress page builder. It consists of a frontend and backend editor. The frontend editor consists of a drag and drop interface and helps you to see changes that you make in real-time.
The backend editor is used to build posts and content post types. It is primarily meant to design content-rich layouts.
Other notable features of the WPBakery page builder are;
- Skin Builder
- Advanced Grid Builder
- Shortcode Mapper
WPBakery also has a repository of “free premium quality layout templates” called its Template Library. With the Template Library, you have unlimited free access to a wide array of pre-made layouts to implement on your web page.
Pricing
WPBakery offers 2 pricing plans;
- Regular, for a single site, at $45
- Extended, for a single SaaS application, at $245
These pricing plans aren’t subscription-based but offered as a one-time fee.
5. Beaver Builder
Beaver Builder is a top drag and drop builder used by top brands like GoDaddy and WP Engine. The editor works in real-time, which implies that you see immediate effects to the changes you make, thereby speeding up your workflow.
Apart from the page builder, it also has a completely customizable theme. Layouts built with the Beaver Builder can be saved and used on other areas on your site. It can also be exported and used on other sites.
Pricing
Compared to other WordPress page builders, the Beaver Builder is quite pricey;
- Standard, at $99 for the first year
- Pro, at $199 for the first year
- Agency, at $399 for the first year
All pricing plans can be used on an unlimited number of sites.
6. Oxygen Builder
The Oxygen Builder is a relatively new product in the page builder market with over 20k customers. It has an impressive drag and drop interface compared to its counterparts and is used by top brands like Codrops and CSS Tricks.
Oxygen also has support for WooCommerce and gives you the ability to customise the important aspects of your eCommerce store including the Shop, Cart, Product, and Checkout pages.
The drag and drop editor is impressive and offers great features like:
- Scroll Animations
- Flexbox Layout Engine, and
- Custom Fonts and Icon Sets
You can use Oxygen Builder simultaneously with other page builders like Elementor, in cases where you want to use both features. It might not be beginner-friendly compared to others, so a basic knowledge of front-end development is recommended.
Pricing
The Oxygen Builder offers 4 pricing options which are dependent on the features they cover.
- Basic, at $129
- WooCommerce, at $169
- Agency, at $199
- Ultimate, at $229
All four pricing options are purchased at a one-time fee (no subscriptions).
7. Thrive Architect
Just like SeedProd, Thrive Architect is a conversion-focused WordPress page builder. It is also beginner-friendly and has a drag and drop interface that is quite similar to Elementor.
Thrive Architect comes packed with landing page templates and pre-built conversion elements which can be implemented without design or coding skills. This helps you to easily build;
- High-Converting Homepages
- Sales pages
- Well-formatted blog posts,
- Product launch pages
The Thrive Architect builder also offers features like;
- Flexible Column Layouts
- Attention-grabbing hover effects
- Text & Image Combinations, and
- Total Font Customisation
Just like SeedProd, you can easily build your mailing list and integrate your site with third-party marketing services like MailChimp and SendGrid.
Pricing
Thrive Architect is a member of Thrive Suite, a collection of conversion-focused WordPress tools. To get Thrive Architect, you’d need to purchase the complete Thrive Suite which is subscription-based.
- Yearly, at $19/month
- Quarterly, at $30/month
It also offers an Agency License which can be purchased here.
Conclusion
This wraps up our list of page builders you should consider using when building a website or eCommerce store with WordPress.
We also recommend using WordPress page builders based on the purpose of what you intend to build. For example, when building a marketing-focused landing page, you may consider the likes of SeedProd and Thrive Architect.
