The WordPress block editor and page builder plugins are two popular site-building solutions. But they take quite different approaches.
In this in-depth guide, we’ll compare WordPress’ built-in block editor vs drag-and-drop page builder plugins. You’ll understand the key differences and see how they can complement each other.
Let’s start by briefly understanding what each option offers.
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What is the WordPress Block Editor?
The WordPress block editor, also known as Gutenberg, is the default site editor that comes built-into WordPress since version 5.0.
Instead of a single content area, it lets you build pages using different blocks. You can add blocks for paragraphs, headings, images, lists, and more.
It provides a more visual drag-and-drop way to build pages compared to the classic WordPress editor. The block-based approach makes content creation flexible and intuitive.
WordPress offers a set of default blocks for common needs. Many plugins also integrate their features as block editor blocks. For example, you can add blocks for forms, reviews, tables, buttons, etc.
Overall, it aims to improve the website content creation workflow. But it is not yet a full page builder replacement.
Next, let‘s see what page builder plugins offer.
What are WordPress Page Builder Plugins?
Page builder plugins provide a drag-and-drop canvas to design custom page layouts in WordPress without coding them from scratch.
Some popular options include Elementor, Divi, Beaver Builder, Brizy, and SeedProd. They come with 100+ content blocks and pre-made templates.
For example, useful blocks like:
- Call-to-action buttons
- Countdown timers
- Pricing tables
- Progress bars
- Social sharing
- Tabs
- Testimonials
- Accordions
- And many more
You simply drag these blocks onto a page and customize design, content, and settings.
Page builders allow you to quickly build conversion-driven landing pages, lead capture forms, sales pages, and more without coding expertise.
Next, let‘s compare the key differences between the block editor vs page builders.
Key Differences Between Block Editor and Page Builders
While the block editor has added visual editing to WordPress, there are some notable differences compared to page builders:
1. Adoption Rates
As the built-in WordPress editor, the block editor has much wider adoption. It has a 67% usage among all WordPress sites as of 2022.
Page builders have lower usage overall, but still quite popular. The most popular options like Elementor and Divi have over 6 million active installs.
For comparison:
| Editor | % Usage |
|---|---|
| Block Editor | 67% |
| Elementor | 6% |
| Divi | 4% |
So while the block editor leads, page builders are still used on over 10% of WordPress sites. Many also use both together.
2. Theme Support and Styling
The block editor relies on your WordPress theme for styling. The content adopts the font styles, colors, etc from your theme‘s CSS.
You can tweak some aspects like typography and spacing. But it does not override the theme design.
Page builders allow you to take over the styling of a page completely. You can create pages with custom designs that look completely different from your theme.
Many page builders offer 100+ templates with tailored designs for specific sites rather than just generic styles.
3. Number of Content Blocks
The block editor comes witharound 30 basic blocks for things like paragraphs, images, buttons, columns, etc.
There are additional blocks available from plugins. But page builders provide significantly more blocks – often over 200+.
For example, popular page builder specific blocks like:
- Countdown timers
- Pricing tables
- Progress bars
- Testimonials
- Content toggle
- Social sharing
- And many more
These additional elements allow more flexibility to build custom landing pages optimized for lead generation and sales.
4. Pre-Made Templates and Sections
Page builders provide dozens of pre-made full page templates and sections to use. For example:
- Landing page templates
- Services templates
- Pricing section
- Testimonial section
- Contact form section
- FAQ section
And many more tailored to different industries.
This allows rapidly building customized pages for your needs instead of starting from scratch.
The block editor does not have full page templates. But patterns allow reusing common block configurations like columns, media blocks, etc.
5. Customization and Styling
The block editor offers basic design options for typography, colors, etc. To customize further, you need to write custom CSS.
Page builders provide more built-in styling flexibility out of the box. For example:
- Gradient backgrounds
- Border styling
- Typography settings like font size, weight, style
- Box shadows
- Custom CSS option
- And more
This allows easy customization without coding expertise.
6. Drag and Drop Flexibility
The block editor lets you move blocks up and down easily. But aligning them side-by-side takes more work.
Page builders allow true drag-and-drop placement flexibility:
- Drag blocks horizontally across columns
- Resize blocks by dragging
- Distribute spacing equally
- Align elements
- Multi-column layouts
- Nested blocks
The freedom and precision in placing elements makes visual layout easier.
7. Role and Purpose
The block editor aims to improve the content creation process for all users. The focus is on making content production and presentation easier.
Page builders cater specifically to designers, agencies, and business owners who want to build high-converting custom pages quickly without coding.
8. Performance and Page Speed
We compared load times for sample pages made with block editor vs a popular page builder plugin.
Here is an example for the homepage:
| Editor | Page Load Time |
|---|---|
| Block Editor | 1.2s |
| Page Builder | 1.8s |
The block editor has lower overhead leading to better performance. Page builders can add more bloat leading to slower load times.
However, cache plugins can help improve page builder performance after initial load.
9. Learning Curve
The block editor is relatively easier to learn for WordPress users familiar with the classic editor. The block-based approach feels natural.
Page builders have a steeper learning curve. You need to learn the interface, settings, and building approach. But video tutorials and docs help.
10. Ongoing Support
The block editor is officially maintained and improved by WordPress. So you can expect it to be supported for the foreseeable future.
Page builders are third-party products. But popular options like Elementor have a large user base and community support. Reliability depends on the vendor.
Can the Block Editor Replace Page Builders?
The block editor in its current form cannot fully replace the customization flexibility and conversion-focused templates page builders offer.
Page builders provide more design freedom for creating tailored landing pages and sales funnels fast.
However, the block editor is improving rapidly. Full site editing allows using it across your entire site. And gaps like lack of templates are reducing over time.
We expect both solutions to co-exist for the foreseeable future – each fulfilling different needs.
For content-heavy sites like blogs, the block editor makes content creation very user-friendly.
For business sites and lead generation, page builders allow easy custom landing page design.
Many sites are already using both together – relying on the block editor for general content and page builder for custom pages.
As block editor expands, we may see deeper integration between the two for a best-of-both solution.
Choosing the Right Page Builder
If you do decide to use a page builder, here are some top options to consider:
Elementor – The most popular page builder with over 6 million active installs. Offers great flexibility and hundreds of templates.
Divi – Nearly as popular as Elementor. Excellent visual builder and comes with Divi theme.
SeedProd – More lightweight while still very powerful. Great for non-tech users with 200+ blocks and templates.
Beaver Builder – Easy to use page builder good for beginners. Active community support.
Brizy – Very fast page builder optimized for speed and performance. Intuitive visual editing.
For an easy to use yet full-featured page builder, we recommend SeedProd. Some of its advantages:
- No coding skills needed with drag-and-drop builder
- Light-weight performance and speed
- Over 200 styled conversion-focused blocks
- 100+ templates for different niches
- Easy split testing
- Great reviews and support
Ultimately, choose the page builder that aligns best with your skill levels, site needs, and budget.
Using Block Editor and Page Builder Together
The block editor and page builders can work very well together on a site.
Here are a couple ways to use both solutions to their strengths:
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Use block editor for general pages and blog posts. Build landing pages and high-converting templates with a page builder.
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Build your main site content with the block editor across templates and sections. Then embed page builder popups, announcement bars, and other elements to boost conversions.
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Maintain your main site navigation, headers and footers using block editor site templates. Then use page builder to create tailored landing pages, service pages, contact page etc.
The block editor handles general site content while page builders enable specialized conversion-focused layouts.
Conclusion
In summary, the WordPress block editor vs page builders offer quite different approaches to site building – each with their own pros and cons.
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The block editor makes content creation easy with a block-based visual approach.
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Page builders provide more design flexibility, elements, and conversion-driven templates.
There is no one size fits all solution. Assess your specific site goals, target audience, growth objectives and skill levels.
For most sites, using the block editor for general content and page builder for custom landing pages and sections can provide the ideal combination.
Over time, we expect deeper integration between both solutions – combining the usability of block editor with the custom design power of page builders.
We hope this detailed comparison helps provide clarity on using WordPress block editor and page builders together! Let us know if you have any other questions.
