Let’s be honest—coding can sound as intimidating as learning to fly a spaceship. Thankfully, building a website today doesn’t require you to be a programming wizard. The days when you had to be an experienced coder to build a website are long gone.
However, with a lot of options out there, it might be overwhelming to find the best fit for you.
Instead of building a website by custom coding from scratch, you can use something called a drag-and-drop website builder. Think of it as the Lego bricks of the web: you stack pieces together, and voilà—you’ve got yourself a website.
In this post, I’ll walk you through using Elementor, my favorite tool for building websites without touching a single line of code. Whether you’re a small business owner, an aspiring blogger, or just someone who wants to share their cat’s adventures with the world, Elementor has got you covered.
And don’t worry – it’s free!
Table of contents:
- What are website builders?
- How do webpage builders work?
- What is Elementor?
- Is Elementor free?
- How long it takes to build a website with Elementor?
- Themes vs. custom designs: Which should you choose?
- How to get started with Elementor
- When does it pay off to buy Elementor Pro?
What are website builders?
Website builders are the magical tools that make web development quick and easy for everyone.
Today, everybody and every business is online, even the smallest local coffee shops.
With the internet boom, there is a high demand to make website building faster, cheaper, more efficient and without relying on programmers and developers.
These visual webpage builders allow you to build the website structure and elements using drag and drop features.
Imagine dragging a picture, a button, or even a contact form onto your page like you’re playing a computer game.
You can then customize fonts, size and colors using a visual editor – not through code.
You can build a website without memorizing complicated coding terms like HTML, CSS, or JavaScript (nope, you don’t need to know what those are).
With a builder like Elementor, it’s as easy as:
- Dragging an image onto your page
- Picking your favorite font from a dropdown menu
- Adding a form and form fields like name, email and message without feeling like you’re defusing a digital bomb
It’s fast, intuitive, and – dare I say it – a bit fun. All without touching a line of code.
The main benefits of webpage builders like Elementor are:
- Easy to use – no need to know how to code
- Cheap – no need for pricey developers
- Fast – they can build a website in a matter of days
- Versatile – you can customize everything
- Intuitive – visual editors build for non-coders
- See the progress in real time – see what you are building as you are building it
How do webpage builders work?
These webpage builders place the elements on your canvas using drag-and-drop with your mouse and generate the code for you automatically, so you don’t have to write it.
These visual editors are very intuitive and easy to use, they come with a lot of different settings and options to customize your layout and design and are aimed at complete non-coders.
They are showing your updates and design in real time, so you can have a preview of what you are making in an interactive interface.
What is Elementor?
Elementor is a WordPress plugin that lets you design websites the easy way.
Whether you want to create a sleek portfolio, an e-shop for your products, or even a wedding website to showcase your love story (complete with embarrassing dance videos).
I started exploring and experimenting with it when I needed to build my own portfolio website. I quickly got enthusiastic about being able to put a website online relatively quickly and without knowing a single line of code and I started learning more about it.
And that’s how I got into professional web development.
You can use Elementor to build websites easy and fast, without any coding, whether you are a professional web designer or a business owner making a website for your business.
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What kind of website can you build with Elementor?
Almost any. Think of:
Portfolio Website – For artists, designers, or photographers who want to shine and showcase their work
E-Shop – Create a fully functional online store with WooCommerce integration for selling physical or digital products.
Wedding Website – Share your wedding details, RSVP forms, and photo galleries with an elegant design.
Business Website – Build a professional site for small businesses or agencies with services, About Us page, testimonials, and contact forms.
Landing Page – Design high-converting pages for marketing campaigns, product launches, or promotions.
Blog or Personal Website – Start a blog or personal site with customizable layouts for posts and author sections.
Event Website – Promote events with registration forms, schedules, and countdown timers and create hype for your big next launch.
Online Course Website – Offer courses with integrated e-learning tools, payment options, and lesson pages.
Nonprofit or Charity Website – Share your mission, accept donations, and update supporters on your initiatives.
Restaurant Website – Display menus, accept reservations, and provide directions with a stylish and functional design.
You don’t need to know anything about coding or custom website building and development to build websites with Elementor.
Is Elementor free?
Yes, Elementor is a free WordPress plugin and is completely free to use once you have your website set up (more on that later in this article). That means that if you have purchased the domain and hosting and installed WordPress on your website, you can install and start using Elementor plugin for free.
Elementor does have a paid version as well, called Elementor Pro. You don’t need to purchase the Elementor Pro license and in a lot of cases, you will be just fine with the FREE version of Elementor.
Elementor Pro is great if you have a bigger or a more complex website, blog based website, an e-shop (e-commerce website) etc.
If you’re just starting, stick with the free version – you can always upgrade when you’re ready.
For more detailed comparison between Elementor FREE and Pro and how to decide which one suits you better, check the full table here.
How long it takes to build a website with Elementor?
It can take anywhere from a day or two to several weeks to build an Elementor website. It all depends on the scope and complexity of your website.
Think of it like baking: a cupcake is quick, but a three-tiered wedding cake takes a bit more time and effort.
Simple, one or two page websites can take as little as a day to set up and build.
A regular, 5 page website with basic functionalities can take around 1-2 weeks to build, while more complex websites can take anywhere between few weeks to few months.
Do I have to use a theme or can I create my own custom designs?
With Elementor, you have two options:
Create a Custom Design: Ideal if you want your website to look unique and fabulous.
Use a Theme: Perfect if you want something quick and don’t care about standing out.
Themes are like buying off-the-rack clothes – they work, but they might not fit perfectly.
If you are using a theme and pre-made templates, you can just customize the colors, fonts and add your own text, images etc. This is very useful if the main purpose of your website is functionality, without having a distinctive unique branding or look and when you need to set up something fast. Or if you don’t want to deal with design (or you can’t afford a designer to do so).
Custom designs, on the other hand, are tailored to your needs, making your website feel like a designer outfit.
This is another option (which is what most web professionals do) – create a completely custom design from scratch and build everything yourself. That way you can create unique websites that don’t rely on pre-made themes and that can truly stand out from the crowd. It will take a bit more time, but you’ll end up with a unique website.
How Elementor works and what do you need to start building websites with Elementor?
Elementor is a WordPress plugin.
If you don’t know what WordPress is, it is a free platform that powers around 40% of the web. It is used by amateur and professional web developers enabling you to build websites without advanced coding skills and coding from scratch.
With Elementor, you can customize every aspect of your website, from layouts to fonts and colors, and most importantly, in real time. You can see the adjustments and changes as you are working on your page, kind of in an interactive way and as you are making them, in real time.
All with a beautiful interface and in an intuitive way even if you are a complete beginner and you have never designed or built anything other than a card for Mother’s day when you were 6 years old.
The process or building an Elementor website is as follows:
Step 1: Buy a domain name and hosting
You first need to buy a domain name and hosting for your website (and don’t forget the SSL certificate!). These can be bought with the same provider or you can buy the domain on one and hosting on the other. GoDaddy, Bluehost, name.com are just a few to mention. How to do this step by step or where you can purchase the domain and hosting won’t be covered in this post.
Step 2: Install WordPress on your website
You need to install WordPress on your website in order to use Elementor.
Step 3: Install and activate the Elementor plugin
After installing WordPress and setting up the base for your website, you should then install and activate the free Elementor plugin from the plugin database. You don’t need to download the free version of the plugin from Elementor website – you can install it and activate it directly on your WordPress website from the plugin directory!
That’s it – you are set to go and start building your pages as the visual editor is now activated! Whenever you create a page, you will have the option of editing it in WordPress OR Elementor, where you have access to all the visual tools, widgets etc.
If you want better experience, more features and you are building websites with more functionality and more complex solutions, you might want to consider paid Elementor Pro licence.
How to install and use Elementor Pro?
Once you purchase an Elementor Pro license, you will get a .zip file. This zip file should be uploaded to your WordPress plugins:
- Go to Plugins > Add new plugin
- You then choose the zip file, click on ‘Install’ and ‘Activate’.
- You will then have to activate your license, not just the plugin. Go to Elementor > License and then to Connect & Activate. From there, you can log in to your Elementor account and connect to it to activate your license.
Note that in order to use Elementor Pro, you need to first install and activate Elementor plugin on your WordPress website that we described earlier.
When does it pay off to get Elementor Pro?
You absolutely don’t have to buy Elementor Pro to build beautiful, fully functional websites.
If you’re building a small, basic website – the free version of Elementor is all you need.
By this, I mean a personal website, small local business website for listing your services, location and working hours, showcasing your portfolio, your personal blog or a simple landing page. A few pages, no complicated functionalities like forms, pop ups, bookings, complex blog etc.
But, if your site is starting to feel like a Swiss Army knife (think e-shop), Elementor Pro is worth the investment.
If you do need something that Elementor FREE doesn’t cover (and you can see the full list on their website), you can always install a plugin that achieves that particular functionality, either free or paid. For example, you can install a plugin that enables you to create a contact form if you are using Elementor FREE.
However, adding more plugins makes your website bulky, slow and more vulnerable. If you have multiple functionalities that you would like to extend from Elementor FREE version, it might be worth to consider getting the Pro version.
You can find the full comparison and list of widgets available in FREE and Pro version on Elementor’s website.
In short: I would recommend getting the Elementor Pro license if:
- You are building a larger and more complex website
- You are building an e-shop
- You are building a professional blog
- You are building a post based website with a log of pages or posts with the same layout
- You are building a booking website
- You are building a simple website, but you can identify more than 2-3 functionalities, widgets and features that you might use and that are supported with Elementor Pro and not with the FREE version (check this link for the full list). For example popups, forms etc.
These extra plugins might slow down your website, make it more vulnerable and ultimately can even end up being more expensive than purchasing one Elementor Pro license instead of multiple plugins.
Why juggle a bunch of plugins when one tool can do it all?
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free 30min consultation
Ready to Learn CSS?
A step-by-step basic online course for beginners and non-coders with 50+ practical exercises to get you started with CSS.
- No HTML
- Interactive
- For non-coders
