Why I stopped using page builders for WordPress client sites

For the first two years I built WordPress sites professionally, I used page builders. Elementor was my default. Every client site started the same way: install WordPress, activate Elementor, pick a template kit, drag things around. It was fast. It felt productive.

Then I started getting calls six months after launch. “The site is slow.” “Mobile is broken.” “I can’t update this plugin because it breaks the layout.” Every single call traced back to the page builder. I stopped using them on client work in early 2025, and I’m not going back.

What page builders actually cost you

The pitch is seductive: drag, drop, launch. But the cost is hidden until the site is live and real users are hitting it.

• Performance. Elementor injects 300KB+ of CSS and JavaScript on every page, whether the page uses those features or not. Page load times of 5-8 seconds are common on shared hosting.
• Lock-in. Every section you build is wrapped in custom shortcodes or HTML classes specific to that builder. Switch builders or deactivate the plugin, and your entire site renders as raw shortcodes.
• Update fragility. Major Elementor or WPBakery updates routinely break layouts. The fix is rolling back the update, which leaves you exposed to security issues.
• Hidden complexity. Page builders abstract CSS into a GUI. When something breaks, you can’t fix it in code — you have to reverse-engineer what the builder did.

What I use instead

For every client site I’ve built in the last year, the stack is the same:

• A custom theme (or a well-built starter theme like Underscores) — hand-coded templates, registered custom post types, proper WordPress template hierarchy
• Advanced Custom Fields — free version handles 95% of real-world client needs without visual bloat
• The native Block Editor for pages and posts that non-developers will edit
• One small plugin for forms (Contact Form 7 or Fluent Forms)

Total external dependencies: 2-3 plugins. Total CSS weight: under 50KB. Page load: under 2 seconds on shared hosting. Updates almost never break anything because there’s nothing fragile to break.

The honest counter-argument

Page builders exist because not every developer can code, and not every project has the budget for custom work. If you’re building a 5-page brochure site for €300 and the client will never touch it again, Elementor is fine. That’s not the work I take.

For anything that needs to last three years, load fast, and survive a plugin update cycle, write the code.