Our Top Three Favorite WordPress Page Builders After 40+ Hours Of Testing

There are many reasons to use a WordPress page builder when designing your website: they save time, they allow for customization and they extend functionality. 

But, not all page builders are created equal. 

Our development team recently spent more than 40 hours researching and testing 20 different page builders for speed, usability and functionality – and we have narrowed it down to our top three faves. 

Before we get into that, first things first:

What exactly is a page builder, you may ask? A component or plug-in of a WordPress theme, page builders enable users to design and build web pages easily and efficiently without having to code every single element. 

So, should every WordPress site use a page builder? Depending on the requirements, custom code may be your answer, but in our opinion, a WordPress site without a page builder is like a cup of decaf coffee.

Page builders unlock WordPress capabilities and allow us to create beautiful, engaging and responsive websites, enabling us to save our clients both time and money.

At Wingard, we use page builders to quickly and efficiently build the web designs our design team dreams up, which gives our development team more time to build out unique custom features that set your website apart from your competitors. 

How We Tested

When we set out to find the best page builder out there (at least for our needs), we wanted one that was 1) user-friendly, 2) performed well on the front and back end, and 3) included efficient built-in features that limited the number of additional plug-ins needed for the site design. 

To find our top three page builder unicorns, the analysis of each one had to be the same. We wanted it to be fair, after all. 

That required setting up the proper environment for our Scientific Method of WordPress Page Builder Testing. Ultimately, our team used this roadmap for successfully testing each one: 

• We built out a landing page with all the same assets and server setup
• We took notes about the experience and learning curve of each builder
• We compared page speed and how the plug-ins interacted with each page builder
• When applicable, we created a child theme 

What We Learned:

After testing, we came to the conclusion that three WordPress page builders really stood out from the rest: 

Elementor

Pros

• Page speed scores were the highest of all three, especially on mobile
• Backend runs smoothly with low CPU utilization (it doesn’t superheat your computer like some other builders can)
• Light and efficient JavaScript slider
• Great customer support with higher tier plans
• Advanced Custom Fields compatibility (another plug-in we utilize in nearly every website build)

Cons

• Biggest learning curve of all three
• Most expensive – recurring yearly cost

Divi

Pros

• Easy-to-use user interface
• Affordable buy-once license
• Large library of online tutorials and useful resources
• Advanced Custom Fields compatibility (another plug-in we utilize in nearly every website build)

Cons

• Backend builder can be slow and inefficient on your machine
• Page speed isn’t the best (especially on mobile), but has shown some improvement with recent updates

Oxygen 

Pros

• Highly customizable page builder with easy-to-use advanced options for developers, such as:
• WPQuery module
• Ability to code PHP right on the page, or create your own PHP modules
• Fast landing page development capabilities
• Affordable buy-once license
• Page builder optimizes WordPress at its core
• Highly optimized for Advanced Custom Fields

Cons

• Can be a large learning curve if you are not a developer
• Plug-in compatibility is subpar, especially with caching plug-ins
• Requires extra time to build out user-editable features
• Built-in JavaScript slider is heavy and can slow down the overall page speed 
• Lower page speeds than we expected to see

Final Verdict

After reading all those facts, you may still be wondering: well, what page builder is best for my specific website? 

The answer is: It depends! 

• If you want a website that’s easy to edit with a friendly front-end interface, Divi is for you. 
• If you want a website that’s ultra fast on the front-end, we suggest trying Elementor. 
• If you want a website that’s highly customized (and are at least a little familiar with code), check out Oxygen. 

Regardless of what you choose, however, we can help. We’re a marketing and communications company based in Jacksonville, Fla., with a team of web designers and developers ready to build you a beautiful, custom website.  

If you are interested in updating your site or speaking with a Wingardian about how we can help you get the website your business deserves, let us know how we can help over here at our Contact page. 

Page Builders Ranked

*If you are intermediate to advanced with HTML & CSS, this will be a 8/10