So, here is my superduper honest and authentic Elementor review! Today, I received my first approved affiliate application from Elementor the popular WordPress plugin. Firstly, I want to note that I am exploring the Elementor pros and cons of the free version. I have not moved on to the pro version because there is no need. WordPress does a great job of creating posts and blogs.

An Elementor Review?

Yes! it is necessary. You see, when I first started this website (See: An Amazing New Start-up Business Journey!), I followed a YouTube tutorial by several affiliate link gurus. It seems they all recommend the plugin and its “Essential add-ons”. You know that I am skeptical when it comes to plugins and these SAAS (software as a service) type businesses. After all, it is all about the upsell for some of these plugins, which is frustrating.

Let me begin ranting: It makes me furious how many plugins are offered on WordPress and need to be upgraded to pro if one wants advanced features. Almost every plugin goes in that direction. So I installed it and followed the directions.

My Experience

Cons

I installed the Elementor plugin and found that it was clunky and confusing. Yes, I guess some people may find the ease of drag and drop appealing, especially for the technologically impaired haha. The hierarchy and flow of the plugin were not appealing. I found that I lacked control of the outline. Sure, I was able to put an image here and there, but it seemed sloppy.

When I tried to put the MailChimp (an email list form) on the website, it said, to upgrade to Pro. This is such a basic feature that I felt a tinge of resentment because I had already built most of the home page. I get so turned off by this type of tactic. Google spoiled me with all its free stuff.

Pros

I know, I know, it is usually pros and cons, but this time I decided to try it backward. The reason is that Elementor wasn’t a total failure. It has a certain charm that deserves recognition. It was not totally useless, one can design pages easily, and create a nifty layout. The block feature was interesting and images were manipulated with ease. My favorite feature was probably the menu selections. Though it had a learning curve I was able to adapt fairly quickly. Also, the yearly plan for a blogger like myself is only like $59.99 (aka $60), that’s pretty cheap. It all adds up though…a little upgrade to pro here and upgrade to pro there….$$$$$!

Other Usage

I find that the home page is like the front of a house. From there all the juicy stuff is inside. The stuff that makes a difference is blog posts such as this one. I really can’t foresee myself using Elementor on every single page. I’d rather focus on optimizing my website so it ranks well among search engines, relevance, and readability. I want you guys to get very authentic material, not overly excessive where the articles just go on forever. Do unto others as you’d want done unto you. I check out some websites and it’s like endless scrolling. I wanted information but not that much!

Final Thoughts

Elementor is meant for a quick and easy design experience, only it’s not so quick and easy. There is a learning curve and one will need a tutorial to really get the hang of it. Personally, it took me two days to get my page done, with instructions.

I haven’t removed it and don’t know if I will use the plugin again. Alternatives are out there but Elementor is well established and ranks high among competitors. I can understand why.

Until next time friends! Keep moving forward!!