Hey everyone. I’m looking for some advice. I’ve been working with Elementor for the past year, mainly because one of my biggest clients provides a lot of WordPress work, and it’s essential that these pages can have small edits done without a developer.
Now, said client has offered me a 12-month contract with a very good pay package, which I’m probably going to accept. I’ve been given full responsibility over the dev side. I really want to escape Elementor as it slows me down; I can create a page in half the time with vanilla HTML/CSS than with Elementor.
I’m just looking for some advice on the approach I take with this. I’m aware of Headless WordPress, but I don’t see this fitting my case here, as the client still needs to be able to make edits to the pages and create new ones. I could consider using Gutenberg, but I feel like it’s pointless switching from Elementor since I would still be using a page builder.
If headless is done right, your client can create new pages and edit them. The main downside of headless is usually budget, which can be a significant concern.
However, I feel like headless might be a bit off-topic here. It’s hard to answer because there’s a lack of context. I use Gutenberg mostly with some custom blocks I build for clients; I never felt it was slowing me down.
With HTML/CSS work, if built correctly, Gutenberg should let you create pages way faster through drag and drop (assuming you have all your blocks set). You can create patterns to further speed up your process, easily copy/pasting blocks with their options/settings.
Another cool thing is the ability to copy entire pages along with their settings, even across different WordPress sites. This has saved me hours when migrating templates or content.
There are a lot of possibilities to save time. It may be tricky at first as you get used to the Gutenberg interface. I created a short intro video about it here if you’re interested.
Also, consider how your client feels about this change. If they love Elementor, convincing them might be an uphill battle. Personally, I’ve never had to persuade a client to switch; many reach out wanting to escape from Elementor or other builders.
@Sawyer
Thanks for your detailed response! I appreciate your insights. I want to avoid headless mainly because it involves hosting WordPress separately and then hosting a React app, along with client budget considerations.
Gutenberg is something I’m considering; I think I need to explore it more. My last experience with it felt a bit strange, but that was during its initial release. I’ve saved your video to watch later.
Things to consider: how much technical debt would switching the site to a new format incur? Will the client be able to make the necessary changes with the new format? Is the speed increase worth these potential issues?
I don’t think you should switch; it may cause more problems than just dealing with the slower process.
@Corin
It wouldn’t apply to currently deployed sites, just future builds. I can’t really answer your first question until I find a solution. I just know that if the clients didn’t need to edit the site, I’d be able to produce three times the work every month.
@Holt
If your client is okay with using Markdown, consider a static site generator, such as a Jamstack solution. I’m switching my project from plain Next.js to Docusaurus, which supports content through Markdown, MDX, and JSX (React).
This solution allows your client to edit the dev build, push to main, and automate compiling and deployment with GitHub Actions. Alternatively, Cloudflare pages can pull from repositories for deployment, eliminating the need for additional YAML configurations.
Denny said:
A good option you might consider is ACF (Advanced Custom Fields).
I use ACF quite a lot—I’ve just never thought about using it for whole builds primarily because clients typically want the ability to create new pages. If the blocks aren’t already created in ACF, they can’t do much.
@Holt
ACF’s flexible content block is like a page builder. It may not be drag & drop like Elementor, but it allows users with basic HTML knowledge to build pages without veering from your designs.
Ozzy said: @Holt
ACF’s flexible content block is like a page builder. It may not be drag & drop like Elementor, but it allows users with basic HTML knowledge to build pages without veering from your designs.
Thanks for the insight! I will explore this option and experiment with it.
@Holt
We utilize the flexible content field, which we attach to each page to build ‘modules’ with the field—like a module for text, an accordion, etc. Clients then choose the relevant module, drag it into place, and add their content without needing any programming knowledge.
@Holt
When I worked with WordPress, I did exactly what /u/Away-Opportunity5845 describes. The key question is whether you want them to make actual design changes or simply update content/images. If they just need to edit content, this approach works splendidly. However, if they want to reposition elements like a CTA button, it might not meet their needs.