When it comes to creating websites, a professional and visually appealing website is essential for businesses, bloggers, and individuals alike. WordPress, renowned for its user-friendly interface and extensive customization options, remains a top choice for website creation. When paired with Elementor, a powerful drag-and-drop page builder plugin, building stunning websites becomes accessible even without coding skills. In this blog post, we will show you how to build a WordPress website with Elementor.
What is Elementor in WordPress?
Elementor is a versatile drag-and-drop page builder plugin for WordPress, allowing users to create visually appealing websites without coding. It offers a wide range of widgets, styles, and customization options to tailor your site’s design to your brand’s needs.
Whether you’re building landing pages, blogs, promotional pages, or custom forms, Elementor’s intuitive visual editor makes it easy to craft professional websites. Its flexibility and user-friendly interface have made it a preferred choice among developers for creating various types of websites.
A step-by-step guide for creating your WordPress website using Elementor.
Step 1: Setting Up Your WordPress Environment
a) Obtaining Domain and Web Hosting
To start, you’ll need a domain name and web hosting service. Your domain name is crucial as it allows visitors to access your site. For personal websites like blogs or resumes, using your name can help build a personal brand. For business websites, using your business name is typically recommended. Popular domain extensions include.COM, .ME, .CO, and . NET. Tools like Namemesh or Panabee can assist in choosing a domain name.
It’s convenient to purchase your domain name and hosting plan together, which simplifies management. Hosting plans range from affordable shared hosting to more advanced options like managed WordPress hosting. Popular hosting providers include Bluehost, SiteGround, and others.
b) Installing WordPress
Before installation, it’s important to differentiate between wordpress.org and wordpress.com:
▪️WordPress.org is where you can host your website through a third-party hosting service provider. This is an open-source, free platform that allows you to create a website after downloading the software and purchasing a domain name.
▪️WordPress.com provides paid services and solutions for hosting and creating websites. WordPress will handle your server for you, eliminating the need to connect with a third-party service.
If you’re hosting your website with a provider other than WordPress, you’ll need to install the WordPress CMS and link your new domain.
Step 2: Choosing the Perfect Theme
Your website’s design hinges on selecting the right WordPress theme. WordPress themes are pre-made templates that dictate the overall look and feel of your site.
By default, WordPress assigns a basic theme upon setup, which may lack the customization options needed to create a visually appealing website tailored to your needs.
Installing a custom WordPress theme is an excellent solution to craft a unique website for your business. To get started, navigate to Appearance > Themes in your WordPress dashboard and click Add New.
Step 3: Installing Elementor
Elementor is a versatile plugin known for its user-friendly drag-and-drop interface, making it ideal for both beginners and experienced developers alike. It offers extensive customization options to enhance your website’s design and functionality.
To install Elementor:
1. In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New.
2. Search for “Elementor” and click Install.
3. Once installed, click Activate.
To unlock the full potential of Elementor, you’ll need Elementor Pro:
1. Visit Elementor.com and purchase the Pro version.
2. Install and activate Elementor Pro using the same process outlined above.
3. After installation, navigate to Elementor > License in your WordPress dashboard to enter your license details.
Using Elementor
Now that your technical setup is complete, let’s dive into building your site with Elementor.
Elementor empowers you to transform your design ideas into reality through live editing, where you can see each element as you design it. Here’s how to use the Elementor editor:
Elementor is user-friendly, allowing you to grasp its basics quickly. Here’s a guide to get started:
1. Begin by creating a new post or page and click “Edit with Elementor.”
2. You’ll enter the Elementor page editor interface.
3. On the left sidebar, find drag-and-drop features for building your page.
Before you start, understand Elementor’s three main building blocks:
– Sections are the largest parts.
– Columns organize content within sections.
– Widgets are content elements inside columns.
To add widgets, simply drag them into place within sections and columns. Widgets can’t be placed in the navigation bar or headings. You can manage sections, columns, and widgets using the blue handle by right-clicking to edit.
4. Drag widgets to your desired areas on the page.
5. Search and choose specific widgets like headings or image galleries to customize your pages.
6. Use the hamburger menu for “Site Settings” to set default colors and fonts for your site
7. Access the built-in “Revision History” under the “History” icon to trace and revert changes
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Building Your First Page in Elementor
Elementor is renowned for its ease of use:
1. Go to your WordPress dashboard.
2. Click “Pages” and then “Add New.”
3. Click “Edit with Elementor” to start building
4. Elementor’s editor will load for page customization.
5. Add widgets like headings, text, and images
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6. Edit each widget as needed, then click “Publish.”
Launching a WordPress Website
After designing your page, preview and publish it:
1. Navigate to the left panel in Elementor.
2. Click the eye icon to preview
3. Click the green “Publish” button to make your site live.
Elementor Templates
Templates simplify designing your WordPress site:
1. Go to the bottom of your page in the Elementor editor.
2. Click on the section labeled “Add widget here” to open the library.
3. Preview and insert templates with one click.
Using Advanced Features in Elementor
Explore Elementor Pro’s advanced capabilities:
a). Creating a Popup in Elementor
1. Navigate to Templates > Popups > Add New in your WordPress dashboard.
2. Name the template and click “Create Template.”
3. Select a template from the Library or design your own.
4. Click “Publish” and then “Save and Close.”
5. Open a new page in Elementor (Ctrl + E for PC, Command + E for Mac).
6. Add a button widget.
7. Under Layout > Link > Dynamic > Actions, select “Popup.”
8. Under Popup > Open Popup, choose the created popup.
9. Visit the live page.
10. Click the button to view the popup.
b). Customizing WooCommerce Product Page in Elementor
Prerequisites:
* WooCommerce and Elementor installed and activated.
* Products added to the website.
1. Go to Elementor > My Templates in the WordPress dashboard.
2. Click “Add New.”
3. Select “Single Product” as the template type and click “Create Template.”
4. Choose a pre-designed template or build one from scratch.
5. Add product widgets to customize the page, referring to the complete list here.
6. Preview the page by clicking the eye icon.
7. Select “Settings” and choose the desired product.
8. Click Publish to publish the page.
Essential Elementor-compatible plugins
If you’ve looked into Elementor, you know it’s a strong tool for WordPress users. But did you realize you might improve its functionality even more?
Elementor has a vibrant developer community that is continually generating new plugins and add-ons. These tools make it easier to integrate Google Maps, generate bespoke forms, and create distinctive layouts.
To maximize your Elementor experience, consider the following plugins:
1. Master Addons
Creating compelling landing pages is critical for increasing interaction and lead generation. MasterAddons streamlines this process without any coding knowledge. It has dynamic headlines, hover effects, sliders, image editing, multiple menu designs, and pre-designed pricing tables.
2. Dynamic Content
Dynamic Content brings your WordPress site to life with animated text, SVG effects, and cursor trackers. It smoothly connects with WooCommerce, allowing for dynamic product displays that promote sales and promotions.
3. Starter Templates
For beginners, Starter Templates offers over 600 templates geared to various sectors. Whether you’re creating a nursery website or a cuisine blog, these templates provide a solid foundation for your site-building journey.
4. Elements Kit
ElementsKit is a complete plugin that includes 85 widgets and extensions for Elementor. It combines themes with strong features such as mega menus, testimonials, and countdown timers to help you construct a visually appealing and fully functional website.
These plugins boost Elementor’s capabilities, allowing you to create professional websites more efficiently.
Conclusion
Elementor is a powerful WordPress page builder that lets you create attractive, flexible websites without requiring any coding skills. In this post, we have shown you the process of creating a WordPress website using Elementor. If you follow these steps, you will be able to design a professional-looking and interesting website.