{"id":10380,"date":"2026-04-06T11:16:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T10:16:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/josepgonzalez.com\/maquetador-visual\/"},"modified":"2026-10-31T16:39:33","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T15:39:33","slug":"visual-page-builder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/josepgonzalez.com\/en\/visual-page-builder\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is a Visual Page Builder and Which Are the Best?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I warned you, and as they say, forewarned is forearmed: I had been meaning to talk to you about <strong>visual page builders<\/strong>. And since it is one of the topics you ask me about most, I have updated this article to explain <strong>what a visual page builder is in WordPress<\/strong>, how the landscape has changed since I wrote it and which are the best for each type of user. If you are coming from <a href=\"https:\/\/josepgonzalez.com\/en\/add-instagram-wordpress\/\">how to add Instagram to WordPress<\/a>, this is the next logical step in designing your website.<\/p>\n<h2>What is a visual page builder?<\/h2>\n<p>A page builder is a tool that lets us design WordPress pages visually, dragging and dropping elements (text, images, buttons, columns, videos&#8230;) instead of coding or depending on what the theme allows.<\/p>\n<p>As you already know and I have mentioned several times, <a href=\"https:\/\/josepgonzalez.com\/en\/what-is-wordpress\/\">WordPress is one of the most used CMS<\/a>, if not the most. Everyone from bloggers to large companies uses it, so people of all kinds work with it, from experts to users with no technical knowledge. And it was the latter who drove the appearance of page builders.<\/p>\n<p>Do I have to be a web designer to have a different page? No. Page builders let us go much further than what the installed theme offers. That said, if we want to do it well, we will need the help of designers and developers so the website works on every level: design, speed, SEO and accessibility.<\/p>\n<h2>Why use a page builder?<\/h2>\n<p>For years, the WordPress editor fell short for designing freely. That has changed quite a bit: the block editor (Gutenberg) and the Site Editor (Full Site Editing) have advanced a lot and today let you create pages, templates, headers and footers without plugins. But for complex designs, animations, pop-ups or dynamic templates, page builders are still a step ahead.<\/p>\n<p>The main advantages:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Live editing:<\/strong> you see the result as you work.<\/li>\n<li><strong>No code:<\/strong> columns, colored sections, icons, animations or combinations of text, image and video in a few clicks.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Complete templates:<\/strong> you can design the header, footer, blog posts or product pages, not just individual pages.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Responsive design:<\/strong> you control how the website looks on mobile, tablet and desktop.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And the drawbacks, which are worth knowing:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Dependency:<\/strong> if one day you deactivate the page builder, part of the design may break.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Weight and speed:<\/strong> badly used, they add unnecessary code. With good configuration and good hosting and caching the impact can be kept under control.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Learning curve:<\/strong> it can seem complicated at first sight.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>The best visual page builders for WordPress<\/h2>\n<p>This is my current selection, based on my opinion and experience. Remember that &#8220;the best&#8221; depends on what you need, so at the end I leave you a guide to choosing.<\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Elementor<\/a><\/h3>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-6710\" src=\"https:\/\/josepgonzalez.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Elementor-pro-page-builder-1024x535-1.jpg\" alt=\"Elementor, visual page builder for WordPress\" width=\"1024\" height=\"535\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Today it is one of the most widespread page builders, and the one I use on this very website. It has a free version and a Pro version. The free one is fine for getting started, but to really get the most out of it (theme builder, forms, pop-ups, dynamic fields) it is worth upgrading to Pro.<\/p>\n<p>What I like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Very intuitive live editing that is easy to learn.<\/li>\n<li>Design with flexible containers (Flexbox and Grid), much lighter and more modern than the old sections and columns.<\/li>\n<li>Theme builder: header, footer, blog, archives and post templates.<\/li>\n<li>A huge ecosystem of add-ons and high compatibility with templates, with regular updates.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.elegantthemes.com\/gallery\/divi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Divi<\/a><\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-6704\" src=\"https:\/\/josepgonzalez.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Divi-builder-1024x502-1.jpg\" alt=\"Divi Builder, visual page builder by Elegant Themes\" width=\"1024\" height=\"502\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I have not used it as much, but many people speak very highly of it. You get it with an Elegant Themes subscription, which includes the theme and the builder. The most positive point, especially for <a href=\"https:\/\/josepgonzalez.com\/en\/wordpress-web-designer\/\">web designers and developers<\/a>, is that its license lets you use it on all the websites you manage, and that you can copy a design from one page to another without problems. It has evolved into a new generation (Divi 5), so if you are interested, check their website for the state of versions and migration.<\/p>\n<h3>Bricks Builder and Breakdance<\/h3>\n<p>Two more recent page builders that have gained a lot of strength among designers and agencies. They are known for generating cleaner, lighter code and for giving more control to those who know CSS. They are a good option if loading speed is your priority and you are not afraid of a somewhat steeper learning curve.<\/p>\n<h3>Gutenberg and the WordPress Site Editor<\/h3>\n<p>It is no longer possible to talk about page builders without mentioning the native editor. For simple websites, blogs or corporate websites with restrained design, it is an excellent option: no additional plugins, very lightweight and fully integrated into WordPress. It can be extended with block collections like Kadence Blocks or Spectra, and it is the most &#8220;future-proof&#8221; bet.<\/p>\n<h3>WPBakery Page Builder (formerly Visual Composer)<\/h3>\n<p>It was one of the pioneers and at one time it was the one I used most. It is still present in many ThemeForest themes, and if you inherit a website that uses it, it will work. But today I do not recommend it for new projects: its development and ecosystem have lost ground to modern options, and migrating a large website later costs time and money.<\/p>\n<h3>SiteOrigin Page Builder<\/h3>\n<p>The creators of SiteOrigin were among the first to popularize the term &#8220;Page Builder&#8221;. It is still a free, functional option for anyone who wants something simple, although it has lost prominence compared to the alternatives above.<\/p>\n<h2>Which one to choose? My quick guide<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>You want a professional website with design freedom and templates:<\/strong> Elementor Pro.<\/li>\n<li><strong>You manage many websites and want a single license:<\/strong> Divi.<\/li>\n<li><strong>You prioritize speed and know some CSS:<\/strong> Bricks or Breakdance.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Simple website, blog or minimal budget:<\/strong> Gutenberg and the Site Editor.<\/li>\n<li><strong>You inherit an old website:<\/strong> keep what it has and plan the migration for the medium term.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n<h3>Does a visual page builder slow down my website?<\/h3>\n<p>It can if used badly, but it does not have to. Good hosting, caching, optimized images and not overusing widgets and animations make the difference. You can check my guide on <a href=\"https:\/\/josepgonzalez.com\/en\/website-loading-speed\/\">how to measure a website\u2019s loading speed<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Is a visual page builder good for SEO?<\/h3>\n<p>The page builder itself does not rank, but it influences factors that do count: speed, heading structure, mobile design and user experience. With good configuration, it is not a problem.<\/p>\n<h3>Can I switch page builders later?<\/h3>\n<p>It is possible, but it usually means redoing the design of the pages. That is why it is worth choosing well from the start.<\/p>\n<h3>Do I need to know how to code?<\/h3>\n<p>Not for the basics. For very customized designs or for performance optimization, a bit of CSS helps a lot, or working with a professional.<\/p>\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>Visual page builders have matured, and they now coexist with a much more capable native WordPress editor. My advice is not to obsess over &#8220;the best&#8221;, but to choose the one that fits your project, your budget and your level, and learn to use it well. If we use a page builder well, we improve the user experience, increase time on site and interaction with the content, and reduce the bounce rate.<\/p>\n<p>I could talk about others like Thrive Architect or Beaver Builder and many more that appear every day. Do you know one I have not mentioned that you want me to review? Leave me a comment or find me on social media. And, as always, if you liked this post, share it!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I warned you, and as they say, forewarned is forearmed: I had been meaning to talk to you about visual page builders. And since it is one of the topics you ask me about most, I have updated this article to explain what a visual page builder is in WordPress, how the landscape has changed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10638,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[92],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wordpress-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/josepgonzalez.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/josepgonzalez.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/josepgonzalez.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/josepgonzalez.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/josepgonzalez.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10380"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/josepgonzalez.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10380\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10723,"href":"https:\/\/josepgonzalez.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10380\/revisions\/10723"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/josepgonzalez.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/josepgonzalez.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/josepgonzalez.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/josepgonzalez.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}