Can We Say GOODBYE To Page Builders Yet?

[@meredithgrubbs1602]

This is perfect timing for me. I've been learning a lot more about performance and have been wanting to take that into account with my client sites. Can't wait for your Generate press/blocks tutorials!! Thanks so much for this channel :)

[@davefoy7276]

Mate, this is a superb rundown of the current state of play with WP. I love the fact it's starting to become totally possible to build lightweight sites with tools that follow how WP itself works, not working against it. Nice one, thank you.

[@emadhosen]

Looking forward to related tutorials especially in regard to Generatepress and GenerateBlocks/ Kadence and Kadence Blocks. Thanks a lot for this video Paul.

[@ColeenHein]

Great topic! After watching your video on Blocksy and Stackable, I re-did my school's website with them (pro versions). It's SO much nicer than using the page builder I was using previously. I did have to nab a couple other block-based plugins for some specific uses, but that hasn't slowed anything down. I've also been able to set up SiteGround's caching with this suite of tools and nothing gets borked (I could never get it to work right with my last page builder - which will remain unnamed because it could honestly have been my fault... lol) Anyhow, all that said, the site is now scoring really well for load times and it's much easier and snappier on the back-end, too. I'll be forever grateful for your overview of Blocksy and Stackable - they've changed my life. 😀👌

[@Pedant_Patrol]

Been busy lately so only now catching up on this one, Paul. Thanks again for rhe great content, and for always showing us new ways to built better. I've been thinking for a while about moving away from page builders to something lighter; I'm just concerned about not having the same capabilities I currently enjoy with Elementor and the Crocoblock suite. I'll be following your channel keenly for tutorials on Generate Press/Blocks, as well as Kadence if you'll be covering that, too. Looking forward to it! Cheers!

[@berternieartist]

Been using WP for over ten years. Recently switched all three of my sites over to Full Site Editing. Blockbase theme + Kadence Blocks + W3 cache + Autoptimise = Lots of pages getting 94 -98 out of Page Speed Insights.I will never go back to page builders. Now if we can only do something about PayPal js.

[@kevinschmidt2210]

Defi blockchain will bury PayPal within the next 10 years.

[@coreykretsinger]

Wow, you've really upped your video game! Those new transitions and effects look incredible. Great job, Paul!

[@WPTuts]

Thanks Corey. I'm always looking for ways to increase the quality :)

[@MrRawUK]

I always thought Kadence was a page builder and was no quicker than Divi etc. Learn something new every day!

[@abulhassan-a1a]

I switched to Kadence bundle 15 months ago running away from Elementor' s anxiety ( with new updates disasters) + support, that switch gave me a lot of peace of mind and a lot of less bloated websites

[@design126]

Can't wait for your Generate Press videos! For so long it seemed to be behind themes like Kadence, Astra, Blocksy, etc.... But now it sounds like it's really become a big contender. Looking forward to it! 👍🏻

[@WPTuts]

I agree. I was never overly fussed on GP and tended to skip over it in favour of alternatives. I bought GenerateBlocks as soon as it was released, played with it for 30 minutes and decide it was too minimal and basic. Going back to it after that time has been a refreshing eye opener for sure.

[@GinaAnagnostopoulou]

Thank you once again, Paul. A full tutorial for GeneratePress would be greatly appreciated.

[@WPTuts]

It will be coming, have no fear. :)

[@MichaelFidelis]

As always..great work Paul! My current stack on a build is: Kadence + PRO + Kadence Blocks + Stackable Blocks

[@ARNBNDL]

You can use both stackable blocks and kadence blocks on a same project ?

[@Deejayronin]

I never had problems using elementor and get 90+ pagespeed. I am so waiting Elementor to release the containers which will remove more unused objects.

[@andreas-stricker]

I do use the containers on some pages and it works great. But some things aren't working like background animations or mouse move animation as well as fixed to top

[@محمدحمدين-ظ7ذ]

elementor generate a lot of un useful code.

[@andreas-stricker]

yes, but what's the best alternative? Oxygen? Bricks? Gutenberg? all in all I think Elementor is the best to use for Clients

[@enstantman]

What about Stackable? I mean their Dynamic option and Gutenberg addons? Does it slow down websites?

[@enstantman]

@@NorthTonawanda1 It is! Loving it with the combination of Blocksy theme. Actually it's been 1 year I guess since I have used any page builder on any of my websites. Just Blocksy and Stackable (or Kadence and UAG block)

[@WPTuts]

@@enstantman a great combo and the same as I use on the WPTuts website. 👌🏼

[@RivieraKid69]

Thanks Paul. Any chance you can clarify the difference between a block-editing-set and a page-builder? Just don't want to replace 1 headacehe with another.

[@Mista_Terrific81]

There basically the same thing, however, there is only so much the block editor can do, you may end up needing to use some css depending on how complex your trying to get. With page builders you can do really complex designs like 99% no coding skills needed.

[@Tom-Homer]

As Bryon says at their core they are doing the same thing. Provide a WYSIWYG type interface for building pieces of your website. This goes for Gutenberg, Page Builders, and Theme Builders. With most Page Builders you can get away without coding. Gutenberg looks to be going in this direction as well. Theme builders tend to allow the designer to do more but then you need to have css and HTML knowledge (and possibly PHP). Plus there widgets like blocks are usually not as feature rich as page builders widgets) Page Builders were around first for the most part so tend to have more features but at the time speed wasn't a huge concern. Speed is a concern now so Gutenberg and Theme Builders have taken this into consideration right from the start. This makes it easier to keep things fast as they add more features (but not perfect). All are evolving. Most page builders are slowly getting faster and the Gutenberg and Theme Builders are adding more features. But as you add features you will bloat and slow down the software Gutenberg by itself is not very useful so you need to add a pile of addons. Just like with Page Builders like Elementor this can add to increase chances of bugs and upgrade isssues. Whatever you use or switch to is going to have it's own headaches. Whether it is bugs, upgrade issues, speed, missing features. So it comes down to what type of sites you want to do, how knowledable you are with CSS and HTML, and what works with your workflow. Since Gutenberg is built into WordPress ultimately it will get to a point (who knows how many years) that it will be the goto editor. In the meantime though to get any sort of decent site you need to use addons.

[@wpglob-wordpresstutorials]

Hi, Paul. Thank you for raising this issue. I hope you will tell more about the presented plugins.

[@user-l9v7xff567]

Do you recommend a combination of GeneratePress and Gudenberg blocks? I'm a foreigner, so I'm not good at interpreting English, so I'm asking a question. Can't the Gudenberg add-on block be used for themes that use their own builder, such as Elemento or Newspaper?

[@StephaneBergeronPixelyzed]

I'm already moving away from Elementor and have been for a while. My stack's foundation is GeneratePress and GenerateBlocks. I complete it with mostly Kadence Blocks but used Stackable in the past too. The Kadence theme is great but, for me and my way of working, nothing has come close to GeneratePress yet.

[@WPTuts]

The more I dig into it the more I like Tom's approach to the theme and the blocks addon.

[@StephaneBergeronPixelyzed]

@@WPTuts Yep, and mixed with the new Elements features in 3.1.x, it works better for me than FSE.

[@thepurpleufo]

Really great video, Paul...hearing your thoughts on this topic. I am definitely looking forward to seeing the GeneratePress and GenerateBlocks tutorials you mentioned!!!

[@androidhowto45]

How can we build the equivalent of custom loops using dynamic data and having those loops display on the page? Coming for E, EPro, ECS

[@pahtashow]

Hello. Can you make a tutorial on destinations\tours website with Kadence and the fastest and most dynamic plugins for it? Thank you.

[@malaga16]

Can you combine the cwicly with other themes like generatepress? I have knew that isn't it. Anno cwicly written you have to use they own theme.

[@simonkerridge]

I am very impressed by and also enjoying using the combination of the Kadence Pro theme and Blocks. Recently completed a site using dynamic data, etc and the Kadence Elements feature was both useful and easy to use. 👍

[@DenisonCarlosMS]

Simon, Kadence is really a very good Theme. It has free options that Astra and Neve, for example, don't offer. Working together with Kadence Blocks (Free and Pro) makes the building experience really easy. Elements in the Pro version also provide options that make Layouts unique. I believe it is now time for Theme to offer options for WooCommerce that go beyond a plugin, but also replace Product Loop, create Custom Quick View and Single Product Page (I requested these features). It would make the Theme even more attractive for individual users, freelancers and agencies.

[@emadhosen]

@@DenisonCarlosMS I’ve been interested in Kadence and KadenceBlocks for a while but I’m a little bit hesitant since I read some people say the Kadence theme has recently taken the direction of Elementor being a theme for everything and everyone which causes some performance issues. As you work with Kadence and from your practical experience in this, what’s your opinion mate?

[@simonkerridge]

@@emadhosen I am not an expert, but that has certainly not been my experience of the Kadence products. I have been very pleased with the ongoing development of the products, especially some recent additions to the Blocks. I have seen no evidence of a performance hit. Certainly, my “tech stack” will start with both Kadence theme and blocks now and in the future. 👍

[@emadhosen]

@@simonkerridge thank you 🙏

[@DenisonCarlosMS]

@@emadhosen, my experience with Kadence was so good, that I migrated 2 online stores from customers who used Astra + Elementor and Flatsome, to Kadence + Kadence Blocks. Conversions increased and customer satisfaction even earned me other projects. As for "taking the Elementor direction", it's a relative point of view. If we think that people are looking for themes and page builders to create different types of websites and online stores with purposes that are never the same, it would be risky (from a business point of view) to focus on such a specific niche. Today, Kadence offers a versatile theme with a set of blocks as versatile as the theme. And there was no reduction in performance, but improvement. Anyone who says they lost performance probably didn't calculate what the client really needed in their project and used "the wrong theme", to the point of "clogging the backend with infinite plugins". Believe it! Many amateur developers are the people who complain the most about themes and plugins precisely because of the lack of knowledge in using them correctly.

[@wgm247]

Very timely - ive been thinking about a different tech stack other than elementor andhello themefor a while...nice to see this video giving opinions on whats out there. Will have to revisit generate press and generate blocks. On a slightly different tangent, would be good to see if/how wordpress built sites can go headless!

[@daneemax]

It would be nice to have a video on how to PROPERLY use the additional css options on Wordpress. This would be a handy skill to have so as to not be over-reliant on the page builders.

[@dimMx]

Actually you are right. For me it all started with an outdated theme forest theme. The developers made a transition from their own site builder to the Elementor builder support and, as a result, I was in the need of changing all the theme, the design and the changes I had made. I was thinking and I decided to build all of the site from scratch with elementor and hello theme. I optimized all of the images, delete all the unused plugins and keep only the essential ones and read some ways to optimize a wordpress site. As you say, it has to do with the kind of product or service a site promotes. For me is a listing website and when I was looking for alternatives options with kadence or generate press, there were not so many options to build and maintain my business listings. I hope this problem have been solved till now. The elementor page builder was my only option 2 years ago and I prefer to use only this and it's pro version and not the available 3rd party add-ons and related plugins. I think that the ele possibilities are really endless and in this case we have the chanxe to design everything we want with the result of the bloated code. Until now I did not regret it but I have some thoughts of using something different in the future.. We will see!

[@bene35954]

What is the best way to transform a website running with Elementor into a Gutenberg website? (including the functions)

[@the_faceless_hustle]

Hi, can you please tell me a plugin that I could use for woo commerce website that I can have shipping to show suburbs with pricing, ie Suburb name 1 $10.00, suburb name 2 $12.00 etc, so a customer chooses the suburb they want the item delivered to. Thanks

[@soylattegrl]

What is your opinion on The Gem Theme and The Gem Blocks by Codex?

[@WPTuts]

I'm afraid I've never used them. I don't tend to use Envato based themes.

[@shenae9080]

I would love to build on a new platform. Can we get something like WordPress but not? I'm open to suggestions lol

[@horyukinen]

this was what I needed to know, thank you so much!

[@duffhole6304]

By the time you learn something like this for wordpress etc., you can learn css grid and or flexbox and get the speeds you need.

[@RichardWadeUK]

Excellent discussion points here mate, eloquently delivered (as always). We've known for some time that GutenTerd (and ultimately, Google rankings) is going to force the hand of users to migrate away from the traditional page builder, and it's good to see a number of options becoming available to do that as Gutenterd itself misses the mark on a fundamental level. I'm surprised you didn't mention Blocksy though, is this no longer a Paul approved tool?

[@WPTuts]

Cheers matey and I did mention Blocksy (the real estate/property listing site mentioned was Blocksy). The main aim of this video though was less a specific block tool or theme and more about looking at same dev theme/blocks for the key reason of reducing compatibility stress when updates roll out. There are still tons of excellent tools, Blocksy and a stackable being 2. But the likes of GP/GB are tightly integrated and work incredibly well together. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait too long for the Blocksy blocks, but they aren’t here to compare or recommend right now.

[@RichardWadeUK]

You're spot on with the intention of the video mate. Must have not computed the Blocksy bit in my brain, but now you mention it, yes. Looking forward to seeing your vids about GeneratePress and other alternatives

[@kerawelt2008]

A zillion thanks for this excellent food fo thought !

[@DidierSajnoWebDesign]

How does Webflow sit in the page builder/Gutenberg arena?

[@WPTuts]

It doesn't really. Being more of a SaaS based product, it's a very different proposition to self hosted WordPress.

[@ron_wayne]

Now even more confused between kadence and generatepress, can anyone help me with this? for Blogging purpose

[@WPTuts]

It depends on what you want. Do you want quick and easy with pre-built blocks and theme? If so, Kadence is a great choice. If you want clean, simple and quick but require a little more effort, then I would go with GB/GP (in fact, I already have and love them). :)

[@ron_wayne]

@@WPTuts Which one would you prefer if you were today starting from scratch for Blogging purpose?

[@WPTuts]

@@ron_wayne if you’re choosing only between those 2 options and are new to WordPress, Kadence would probably be my choice. However, if that is the case, I would checkout the Blocksy theme. Great theme, great starter templates and works well with pretty much any block plugin, even Kadence Blocks.

[@angelo.mazzeo]

Hi, do you prefer Elementor or Gutenberg?

[@WPTuts]

It really depends on the particular job. If it's something simple that I don't really want to spend a lot of time optimising, then Gutenberg and some solid block tools and a clean theme are great. If it's a more complex project with a lot of moving parts, templates and dynamic content, I would generally go for Elementor Pro.

[@kristianadolfsson]

I'm trying to use Blocks for the first time since a few days. It's so far from Beaver Builder it's ludicrous. Toolset has some functionality that's only in their Blocks plugin.

[@WPTuts]

It certainly takes some getting used to and G alone is horrendously under-featured!

[@laurpixel]

What about Blocksy vs Generatepress?

[@WPTuts]

I think they are very different themes. GeneratePress is more stripped back and requires more effort to design (this is not a negative, but an important distinction), whereas Blocksy is more focused on being the complete tool to get you up and running very quickly and with pretty much everything you need being done for you or easily tweakable. I like both, but would pick either for very different reasons.

[@jbarson6671]

I've been using Astra with Gutenberg blocks. I have two hard coded HTML sites but I'm moving one over to WP.

[@MoscheBromet]

Great Video. Love it!

[@jim6477]

Working with Gutenberg blocks is still a nightmare.

[@WPTuts]

It's certainly not the smoothest or most intuitive way of working, that's for sure. I'll never understand why they opted for building in isolation as opposed to WYSIWYG with headers, footers, etc., visible.

[@emran310]

This is gonna be a game changer. Well thought video tite 😅 I had a panic attack

[@WPTuts]

Lol… sorry for the panic moment. 🤣

[@karenhanretty3280]

Glad I saw this video. I've had consistent problems lately with Elementor updates and am looking for different options. Great video.

[@WPTuts]

You and a lot of others since they released version 3 Karen.

[@digwillhachi]

if you can build properly and code then page builders dont slow down sites. Unfortunately most people just buy stuff like essential addons and chuck a load of blocks on their page.

[@jim6477]

The websites I built with Elementor are super fast, I do not see the issue. The problem is somewhere else.

[@josephlivengood4508]

I'm now building my own sites with php

[@jcarlin596]

Great insight.

[@susangemayel-tapper3794]

Thanks Paul!

[@JanWessels]

Gutenberg's UI and workflow is still very clunky in comparison with Oxygen or Elementor.

[@WPTuts]

I can't disagree with you there. The disconnect between the builder and the design is a bit of a PITA for sure.

[@JanWessels]

@@WPTuts maybe it will improve in time but it feels like WordPress is running a marathon to keep up with the pagebuilder innovations.

[@kylevandeusen]

GP/GB 4 LYFE!

[@tubeziv770]

I am using generatepress+their pro features since 2017, they are doing a good job, but it's not going to replace elementir, sorry. Elementor is too comfotrable to leave.

[@estaschoeman5256]

And Oxygen Builder is not event mentioned. I work on various builders, but for more complex projects and flexibility Oxygen is the clear winner for me. AND last but not least, it creates LEAN code and FAST websites.

[@kevinschmidt2210]

Page builders have been replaced by pattern, block, template and theme builders. They did not keep up with the changes, and are now a year behind Gutenberg plugins. Evolve or die.

[@pattyayers]

They haven't been replaced yet :-)

[@kevinschmidt2210]

@@pattyayers Actually, page builders have been dying a slow, painful death because they did not embrace Gutenberg.

[@page-builder-templates7684]

@@kevinschmidt2210 lol, what are you talking about? Page Builders are on the rise, like never before...

[@kevinschmidt2210]

@@page-builder-templates7684 The video is literally about saying goodbye to page builders. LOL! Gutenberg block builders, site builders and full site editing themes are on the rise. Not page builders, which are clearly in a downward trend, as evidenced by their 'Active Install Growth' charts. What are you talking about? LOL! Get with the times. Evolve or go extinct.

[@page-builder-templates7684]

@@kevinschmidt2210 Du bist halt n richtiger Kevin. Kein Plan aber labern. Überhaupt schon mal ne Seite gebaut? Widersprichst dir sogar selbst ^^... ein Site Builder ist kein Page Builder? LOOOOL

[@johnwellington269]

for generic site seems yes but for landing page thats for marketing purposes, optin arrangement etc. seems page builder is better

[@WPTuts]

I’m curious why you say that John. Personally, I would have thought that using a good quality set of blocks and lightweight them would whoop a page builder for creating fast landing pages. Care to share some more details on your thinking?

[@Waladhoolin]

🔥🔥🔥

[@MrMcGooGarage]

yep, I'm done with these page builders, the site becomes a hostage. I especially avoid wpbakery

[@SpiritTracker7]

I doubt I will ever use Gutenberg - I absolutely can't stand how it works. I have Oxygen builder and use that from time to time... I'd switch to that before using Gutenberg

[@WPTuts]

If it's not for you, taht's fine. It is a little on the Marmite side for sure.

[@SpiritTracker7]

@@WPTuts if "marmite" means an acquired taste, probably so. I just don't like anything about Gutenberg... it gives me a headache trying to understand its counter-intuitive dumbed-down way of doing things. Building blog posts with it I could probably tolerate but pages with headers, menus, hero images, footers, and themes with dynamic data etc... it's alien to me.

[@GeekBastion]

if you really really care about speed then you just gonna have to code it

[@chelofonte]

OXYGEN which is a theme builders wasn’t mention here and I suspect it was because doesn’t have an affiliate program.

[@WPTuts]

Seriously? 🤦‍♂️ Oxygen isn’t Gutenberg or a block based add on, that’s why it’s not mentioned here.

[@darvey1979]

I will continue using Elementor for projects that are accompanied by Google Ads campaigns. For other that the organic traffic is their way to go, I will avoid it at all costs, the same as with crocoblock. Don't get me wrong, they're great tools, but extremely slow and altogether even more.

[@PerryWebCreations]

not yet

[@BucurIonNiculae]

GOODBYE Builders and Wordpress, welcome Laravel. 😂😂

[@JamesWelbes]

I haven't watched this yet, but if it's going to suggest Gutenberg can replace page builders then the answer is no, we can't ditch page builders for doodooberg. It's just too limited.

[@AljaleyaTV]

I have been following you for a long time; I see you confusing your followers with many solutions. How about the tools that you recommend and people paid for? or have already built projects? you should continue to support all tools that you recommended before Poul as I start to feel an interest in following your video to me now is 0 as maybe I learned many things that you suggested before. (sample I love to be always your follower). bu you should also follow all the new updates for everything you supported before. I didn't see any competition between blog builder and Elementor; it is a nightmare. The user interface is still a disaster on the Blog editor, and even another pages builder you recommended, and non of the themes really can replace Elementor for now. I understand you have some problems with Elementor and respect that, but it should not confuse your followers who learned from your videos when you supported Elementor.🙂

[@DenisonCarlosMS]

Faris, I believe that Paul is just doing his job of showing us options that go beyond the "Elementor world". In fact, this is a wish of many who accompany him. It's not about disrespecting Elementor or because he (and everyone else) has problems with Elementor, but about evolution, being able to see that things are changing and that you need to be in connection with the news too.

[@carlx8409]

@@DenisonCarlosMS Generatepress is 2 years older than Elementor.

[@DenisonCarlosMS]

@@carlx8409, I know... Note that when I say "Elementor world", I mean options that (newer or older than it) do not effectively need Elementor so that we can create effective solutions for certain projects.

[@AljaleyaTV]

@@DenisonCarlosMS for sure, but we also should continue talk about everything

[@WPTuts]

Who said I’ve stopped supporting Elementor? I still release Elementor content along with other tools that I’ve recommended and still stand by. But, I have no intention if standing still and pigeon holing myself into one specific category. Web design and the tools available are always growing and changing and my interest is in keeping abreast of tools that I consider interesting to myself and my audience. I’ve released well over a 100 tutorials, deep dives and master classes for Elementor, but I can’t keep rehashing the same topics over and over.