Building a WordPress website with Elementor Pro can feel empowering, but even experienced web designers make mistakes. There are many factors to consider. We’ve all struggled with a design that refuses to cooperate. Some of the most common Elementor Pro mistakes, and ways to avoid them, aren’t immediately apparent.
These challenges, from layout problems to unexpected slowdowns, can affect anyone. Let’s examine common pitfalls and the steps we can take to build better websites, improve the user experience, and enhance our workflow. Addressing the most common Elementor Pro mistakes and how to avoid them is important for a smooth website building project.
Contents
- The Most Common Elementor Pro Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
- Ignoring Global Styles
- Overusing Widgets and Addons
- Neglecting Mobile Responsiveness
- Improper Use of Columns and Inner Sections
- Failing to Optimize Images
- Ignoring Theme Compatibility
- Overlooking Caching Issues
- Using Too Much Custom Code
- Not Utilizing the Theme Builder Effectively
- Failing to Troubleshoot Errors Properly
- FAQs about The Most Common Elementor Pro Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
- Conclusion
The Most Common Elementor Pro Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Many people encounter a few common mistakes when working with Elementor Pro. Mistakes are a part of the learning process. The key to success lies in recognizing these common pitfalls and taking steps to prevent them.
Ignoring Global Styles
A common error is customizing individual widgets instead of using Elementor’s global settings. While this might seem fine initially, it can create problems later on.
Managing a consistent website appearance becomes difficult with this approach. It requires excessive effort to modify single elements when global styling isn’t utilized.
Setting Up Global Colors and Fonts
Navigate to the Site Settings within the Elementor editor. Select your preferred color scheme and typography from this section.
Setting default colors and fonts early on saves time and maintains design consistency. Future changes become easy, simply modify the global styles and all areas are affected at once.
Overusing Widgets and Addons
It’s tempting to use every widget available. However, overloading a page with too many widgets impacts loading time. Nobody wants to wait forever for a page to load.
Excessive widgets slow down the website. Elementor already includes features that can make adding extra widgets not necessary and its important to keep things to a minimum, unless they enhance functionality.
Optimizing Widget Use
Consider the user experience above all else. Focus on elements that improve navigation or provide relevant information.
By limiting plugins and elements, your web design efforts will be much improved. Carefully evaluate each widget before implementing it, prioritizing only those that are essential. See if reducing the usage has a noticeable impact.
Neglecting Mobile Responsiveness
Have you visited a website on your phone where the layout is messed up? It’s a common mistake to focus solely on the desktop view and overlook the mobile experience.
With mobile browsing so common, this oversight negatively affects the user journey and can increase your bounce rate.
Prioritizing Mobile Optimization
Utilize Elementor’s responsive editing tools. Ensure your design looks good on smartphones and tablets, not just desktops.
Review layouts and text sizes on different mobile devices to confirm readability. Test your site on various screen resolutions as well.
Improper Use of Columns and Inner Sections
Misusing columns and inner sections for positioning can cause coding issues. These should not be a work around for a simple design.
Adding extra columns unnecessarily increases HTML markup. Including these extra elements slows down website performance and may lead to website warnings.
Using Padding and Margin
Every Elementor widget has individual padding and margin settings. Avoid overusing them where not necessary.
Margin controls the space outside the widget. Padding controls the space within the widget’s boundaries.
Understanding these settings is crucial for proper layout design. These fundamentals will come more natural as you grow and use the Elementor plugin.
Failing to Optimize Images
Using unoptimized images significantly impacts website loading time. Some designers take shortcuts in this area that can hurt your design in the long run.
Large image files slow down the site. This frustrates visitors and may deter them from engaging with your content or making it so your site doesn’t rank in search results.
Proper Image Sizing and Compression
Optimize all images using an image optimizer to reduce file size. Adjust and edit images in your design tool before importing them into Elementor.
Always review and consider resizing or cropping photos before using them on your website. Use proper dimensions for all your images.
Ignoring Theme Compatibility
Selecting a theme without ensuring compatibility with Elementor is a common oversight. It often leads to unexpected issues down the line.
Incompatibility can cause conflicts in layouts and styles. Even the display of your dynamic content can be affected.
Choosing the Right Theme
Carefully consider your theme choice. Verify its compatibility with Elementor to avoid problems.
Elementor’s Hello theme is designed for seamless integration. Alternatively, use a well-known WordPress theme and confirm no reported integration issues on forums.
Overlooking Caching Issues
Users may become frustrated seeing outdated versions of a website. This occurs when changes aren’t immediately reflected after publishing and they email you because it appears there is an issue on the site.
Caching delays can arise from various sources if not addressed. A significant number of website building errors stem from overlooking caching in all areas.
Handling Cache Properly
Disable all caching layers before making major updates. Alternatively, clear the cache after saving changes on your WordPress site, allowing you to accurately review the results.
Various plugins help optimize caching. You can also use the “question mark tactic” (appending “?123” to your URL) in a browser to bypass the cache.
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Global styles not applying consistently | Verify settings in Site Settings; double-check widget-specific overrides. |
| Website loading slowly | Optimize images; review widget usage. Also avoid them if unnecessary. |
| Problems seeing your website when not logged into WordPress admin | Deactivate various Elementor Pro add-ons one-by-one. |
| Design looks wrong on Mobile Devices | Use Elementor’s responsive features, checking views in several screen sizes. |
| Incompatible Themes are detected | Choose Elementor’s Hello theme, verifying against reports. |
| The page shows not correctly updated on Live Site | Address any server-side, browser, or plugins that could cause caching, use an incognito window or alternative browser. |
Using Too Much Custom Code
While custom code offers unique design possibilities, it also increases the potential for conflicts. Incompatibilities will only continue to present more issues over time.
Simplifying with Elementor’s Built-In Features
Elementor provides many built-in features and flexibility. These allow for extensive customization without resorting to custom code.
Prioritize using Elementor’s widgets, settings, and supported add-ons. Do this instead of relying heavily on custom code.
Not Utilizing the Theme Builder Effectively
Failing to fully use Elementor’s Theme Builder leads to redundant and manual edits. It is highly useful and easy to set global design items.
Headers and other repeating elements benefit greatly from the Theme Builder. It streamlines managing these elements globally.
Leveraging the Theme Builder
Create custom templates for different website parts. Design and implement areas such as headers and footers, single posts, and other recurring sections to streamline your workflow.
Failing to Troubleshoot Errors Properly
Issues inevitably arise. Not having a clear troubleshooting process for errors results in wasted time and effort.
Avoid just winging it and hoping problems resolve themselves. Address and look into what could possibly be the cause.
Troubleshooting Steps
First, investigate potential plugin or theme conflicts. Systematically deactivate plugins or temporarily switch to a default theme to isolate the issue.
You may need to contact Elementor support in certain cases. Review server logs if necessary for detailed information to provide to the team.
FAQs about The Most Common Elementor Pro Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Is Elementor Pro bad for SEO?
No, Elementor Pro isn’t inherently bad for SEO. You can use the speed optimization features to your benefit.
What is better than Elementor Pro?
Elementor Pro’s suitability depends on your specific needs and how you intend to use the features available. Other page builders offer similar capabilities, but achieving comparable results might require more manual effort.
Do professional web designers use Elementor?
Yes. Many professional web designers utilize Elementor for WordPress projects, recognizing its expanded use and functionality.
What are the downsides of Elementor?
There are limitations. Overloading designs with too many heavy elements or conflicting features can lead to performance issues, you can create a bloated design.
Conclusion
From managing global styles to optimizing for mobile devices, each aspect contributes to the overall success of your website. Addressing them independently will deliver individual benefits.
Success in avoiding the most common Elementor Pro mistakes requires combining these strategies. By incorporating these checks into website building workflows with Elementor, success extends beyond aesthetics. Prioritize user engagement, efficiency, and overall site experience to maximize the impact of your efforts and avoid common Elementor issues.
