Page speed affects user experience, search rankings, visitor engagement and conversion rates. Users expect pages to load within a couple seconds. Anything longer can cause higher bounce rates and frustrated users.
Performance is one factor to evaluate when selecting a page builder. Design flexibility and ease of use are important factors as well. There’s no benefit to creating a stunning website if visitors are waiting around for content to load.
Page Builders & Website Speed
Page builders allow users to create websites without writing code. Instead, the builder generates code, scripts and loads styling resources when using visual editors.
To better understand how different page builders impact site performance, here’s a comparison of their key characteristics.
| Page Builder | Code Structure | Performance Focus | Design Flexibility |
| Elementor | Moderate | Optimization Settings | High |
| Gutenberg | Lightweight | Minimal Resources | Basic |
| Beaver Builder | Clean | Reliability | Moderate |
| Divi | Bulky | Advanced Options | Very High |
With this high-level comparison, let’s explore more factors that influence the speed and performance of websites built with these tools.
How much code is generated? How are assets loaded? These factors vary from builder to builder. Optimization features can also vary which may impact speed and overall performance.
Elementor Speed
Elementor has improved over the years with performance in mind. The developers have implemented changes to help limit excess code and optimize how assets load.
In most situations, Elementor performs well and provides a good user experience. Coupled with solid hosting, optimized images and caching, most websites have no issues. Poor performance is typically due to setup.
Amount of Generated Code Compared
The difference between page builders often comes down to ease of use and design capabilities. There is a wide range of coding output seen when building pages with different editors.
Cleaner code allows browsers to load content faster which improves speed. Some builders opt for flexibility with additional layers of styling. Others prefer to keep output as lean as possible.
Elementor Vs Gutenberg
Gutenberg is a lightweight page builder since it comes standard with WordPress. For most websites, Gutenberg offers one of the lightest solutions available.
- Lightweight code structure
- Built into WordPress
- Limited additional resources
- Fast page loading times
- Simplified editing experience
While speed is often good, there are benefits to using Elementor. For those who need more design options, Elementor offers greater flexibility than Gutenberg.
Elementor Vs Beaver Builder
Elementor and Beaver Builder have both been around for several years. The developer of Beaver Builder has gained a reputation for reliable code and stability.
A common consensus is that Beaver Builder typically produces clean code. Elementor tends to provide more design options along with greater visual controls.
Typically, speed differences are minimal when each platform is used correctly. Website speed is often impacted more by image size and hosting than what editor is used.
Elementor Vs Divi
Divi offers many options when designing pages and enables lots of visual control. These capabilities often create bulky page code when compared to some alternatives.
Elementor and Divi can both be used to create complex websites with advanced designs. Speed usually varies by how many modules, animations and options are active.
Widgets and Elements
All page builders come with elements or widgets. These give pages nice features and visuals. The issue is when sites use too many of these additions.
Limiting the number of elements needed helps improve speed. Deactivating unused widgets and keeping pages simple can lead to big wins.
Hosting Can Make a Difference
When looking at page builders, we often forget about hosting. An optimized site can run slow if your server doesn’t have the tools or power to run it correctly.
- Powerful server setup
- Uptime
- Availability of resources
- Good caching capabilities
- Responsive support team
Investing in a solid hosting platform can greatly improve your site’s speed potential.
Image Optimization
Images are usually the culprit behind slow websites, not the page builder. Heavy media files take longer to load. They also require more processing power from browsers and servers.
Making sure images are optimized prior to uploading can help improve speed without sacrificing quality on your website.
Plugins and Scripts
When building websites, we add many scripts to help enhance the design. Pages can often make requests for resources that aren’t needed. Limiting resource bloat helps improve page speed.
Elementor offers optimization settings that limit unnecessary page resources. These settings can help improve page loading speed.
Mobile Performance
Mobile connections can be slower and come with limited resources. Websites should also be optimized with mobile users in mind.
Animations and complex layouts can quickly lead to slow performance on mobile devices. Limiting resources helps improve website speed for mobile traffic.
Improving caching will help improve website speed for mobile users as well.
Website Caching
Caching helps limit the resources needed to build pages for repeat visitors. There are several ways to cache your website which can also help improve performance.
- Page caching
- Browser caching
- Limiting unused resources
- Compression
- Using a CDN
Elementor works great with caching techniques to improve website speed.
Design Vs Performance
Website owners want pretty websites but also need to maintain speed. The more customized a site looks, the harder it can be to optimize. Pages can start to slow down if little attention is given to performance.
It doesn’t have to be one or the other. Websites can be beautifully designed and fast. Planning ahead can help determine what’s best for your site.
Real World Performance
We can sit here and guess who has the best speed. But it all comes down to real world testing. Page speed can be affected by hosting, page content, plugins and optimization.
Testing your website regularly is one of the best ways to gauge where improvements can be made.
Picking the Right Page Builder
Don’t pick a page builder based solely on speed. Elementor, Beaver Builder, Divi and Gutenberg were each built for different purposes.
Elementor is capable of providing fast page speeds and offers design flexibility. Pick a page builder that matches your project requirements and needs.