What I learned switching from Elementor to GeneratePress

Dave Swift

Aug 12, 2022 — 2 min read

In this detailed review, the author shares their experience of transitioning from Elementor to GeneratePress for building a WordPress website. The review covers various aspects, including page speed, appearance, and developer experience, providing valuable insights for WordPress developers and enthusiasts.

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Key Takeaways

Page Speed Comparison

Elementor Performance: The site built with Elementor passed Google Core Web Vitals, scoring impressively on metrics like largest contentful paint, total blocking time, and cumulative layout shift.
GeneratePress Performance: The GeneratePress version showed superior web vitals, achieving a perfect score on GTMetrix and Google Page Speed Insight, particularly showing significant improvements in mobile performance.
Mobile Performance: A notable disparity in mobile performance was highlighted, with GeneratePress significantly outperforming Elementor.
Conclusion: While GeneratePress won in terms of performance, Elementor also holds up well if configured properly.

Appearance and Design

Font Choices: Opting for system fonts with GeneratePress, the author notes faster loading times at the expense of uniformity across different platforms.
Design Quality: The GeneratePress site appeared more consistent and aesthetically pleasing, attributed to iterative design improvements during the rebuild.
User Experience: Despite the lack of scientific comparison, the author leans towards GeneratePress for better overall appearance.

Developer Experience

Usability Issues: Challenges with moving elements in Gutenberg, specifically with GenerateBlocks, were mentioned as a significant pain point.
Responsive Editing: GeneratePress provided a smoother experience in mobile responsive editing, with most elements adapting well without much need for adjustment.
Elementor Familiarity: The author's familiarity with Elementor countered some of its drawbacks, particularly with its Flexbox containers.
Overall Assessment: Both platforms have their pros and cons, but GeneratePress is perceived as more professional and suited for serious WordPress developers.

Conclusion

The author values the look and feel of the website built with GeneratePress over the performance metrics, emphasizing the importance of user experience over chasing perfect page speed scores.
While acknowledging the benefits of GeneratePress, the author maintains a positive stance on Elementor, highlighting that it remains a viable tool for creating effective websites.
The experience has increased the author's interest in using Gutenberg and GeneratePress for future projects, despite reservations about the full site editing future of WordPress.

This review offers a balanced perspective on the strengths and weaknesses of Elementor and GeneratePress, providing valuable insights for anyone considering these tools for their WordPress projects.