The pros and cons of WordPress page builders
July 9. 2019
Gone are the days when you had to know HTML or CSS in order to build a website that would fit the design you had in mind. With WordPress page builders, you get to bring your idea to life even if you are not too tech-savvy. You even get a chance of previewing your front-end while designing your pages which is nothing short of a godsend. Today, there are many page builders to choose from and use – but the question is should you? They certainly sound too good to be true and when that happens, it usually means there’s something wrong. We here at WP Full Care will let you be the judge of whether or not you should use page builders for WordPress. Our job is to bring you in on the pros and cons of such a move.
The pros of WordPress page builders
No one can deny that the benefits of using these plugins when creating your pages can mean the difference between you doing it yourself and paying a professional to do it. They wouldn’t be so popular had they not come with a bunch of positive characteristics, right?
Page builders give you bigger creative freedom
Finally, you no longer have to rely on other people to bring your vision to life. With a good and stable WordPress page builder, you get the option of creating and customizing designs. You have the possibility of easily creating high-impact landing pages, adding headers and adjusting layouts – all of that with a few well-placed clicks. Think of your future page as a blank canvas, and of yourself as the artist about to bring a creation to life – the creation being your page. There are almost no limits as to what you can create! That has to be one of the main pros of using these plugins.
No coding of any kind needed
One of the main benefits of using a WordPress website is the fact that everything is somewhat simplified and the user doesn’t have to be extremely tech-savvy. WordPress page builders only reinforce that idea. Having a drag-and-drop functionality, page builders allow you to create completely personalized content, and of high-quality for that matter, without having to write a single line of code. Think of all the time you are saving with these plugins, as it would usually take you weeks to create even the simplest design you could think of.
Choose among a wide array of features
When we say a wide array we really mean it! From images, pricing tables to testimonials, using a WordPress page builder will help you grab your reader’s attention by those things you want them to notice. Without a page builder, you’d have to work on installing a plethora of different plugins in order to get the same features. That would take time and money, as some WordPress plugins come with a pretty steep price.
The cons of WordPress page builders
Life is never perfect, and even those things that seem to make our lives easier come packed with negative sides. When it comes to page builders, it’s best you learned what the disadvantages are.
Once you activate it, you can’t deactivate it
In essence, page builders transform the design you make into corresponding shortcodes. Furthermore, those shortcodes are attached to a specific plugin. Should you decide to deactivate the page builder you used for creating your pages, the whole website will go haywire. Since we assume you won’t be keen on redesigning your website from scratch once again, you’ll have no other option except to continue using a WordPress page builder.
Your site’s loading time will increase
With every person basically aspiring to speed up their WordPress websites, the alternative would be a pretty huge drawback. But a slow loading time is something you’ll have to deal with should you install a page builder for WordPress websites. The more on-page features, the more shortcodes you’ll have, which will result in increased page loading time. Once you take into account the fact that an average person will leave a website if it takes more than three seconds to load, you can understand how page builders may not be the perfect solution they seem to be.
Sometimes, web design should be left for pros
Even though any person can make a page fit their design, that doesn’t mean everyone should start doing it. They say if you want something done right, do it yourself – but that may not be applicable to this situation. If you want to achieve a professional and alluring design, and leave such an impression on those viewing your site, it’s best to leave the task of designing your pages to those who are qualified to do so. Plus, that gives you more time to focus on what you are good at.
What’s the bottom line?
The bottom line is not so simple and straightforward. It’s true that WordPress page builders come packed with positive sides. For example, allowing you to create a design that you had in mind. But that same option can bring a lot of harmful things. Ultimately, it can result in circumstances which are not so good for the sake of your website. Like slow loading speed. At the end of the day, it’s best to weigh the pros and cons and try to imagine how they will fit into what you are trying to achieve. You don’t have to be psychic, but you should try to anticipate the effect a page builder would have on your website. That should help you arrive at an answer as to whether you should install one or not!