If you are researching WordPress Themes you have no doubt come across a Page Builder or two. They come with fun widgets and make your website fancy just by dragging and dropping. But Page Builders are expensive, are they even worth it? This blog explains what Page Builders are and why WordPress is better straight out of the box.
Note: This is not an affiliate blog, I am not paid for any of the links or companies mentioned. All opinions are my own.
Table of Contents
- What are Page Builders in WordPress?
- Why are Page Builders Bad for SEO?
- What is WordPress Gutenberg?
- What WordPress Themes Don’t Use Page Builders?
What are Page Builders in WordPress?
Page Builders are WordPress Plugins used to control the layout of landing pages and blogs without code. Many page builders come built-in with certain WordPress Themes. While they were very useful in the past for Marketers who couldn’t code, with WordPress Gutenburg this is no longer an issue. (More on Gutenburg below)
Page Builders do come with fun widgets like Carousels, Reviews, and Price Tables that are not in Gutenberg. But these things can easily be added as individual plugins or with a little creativity.
Some of the most well-known Page Builders include Elementor, Beaver Builder, Divi Builder, SiteOrigin Page Builder, and WP Bakery Page Builder.
Why are Page Builders Bad for SEO?
Page builders are not inherently bad for SEO. The ability to manipulate blogs and landing pages making them easier to read is great! What makes Page Builders bad for SEO is the fact that they can slow down your website significantly.
All of those fun extra bells and whistles you can add to your website add extra code, even if you don’t use them. More code on your website means longer loading times.
Since CMS like WordPress are already fairly code-heavy it’s important to keep your WordPress website as light as possible. This means choosing the right theme and minimizing the number of plugins on your website.
How Does Site Speed Effect SEO?
As mobile usage for internet browsing became more popular Google began to focus on Mobile First Optimization. Since websites with slower load times have higher bounce rates, it is natural to understand mobile networks may take even longer to load. Google aims to promote relevant AND high-quality websites. That means websites that load quickly on even the worst mobile connection.
Larger well-known businesses like Disney can afford to have a slow website that has all the bells and whistles. Since Google balances relevancy as well as quality, Disney will always rank well for Disney Keywords. Unfortunately smaller companies trying to get their website to rank organically don’t have that luxury.
How Slow do Page Builders Go?
In a study by Pagely.com, they compared the speeds of the top 5 Page Builders and the results were disappointing. Different Page Builders could add 2-4 seconds to page load time. While that doesn’t SOUND like a lot it is to Google. For comparison, Google Considers a “fast” website to load in under two seconds.
In the past people were willing to sacrifice some design choices for a speedier website, that is no longer an issue; because of WordPress Gutenburg.
What is WordPress Gutenberg?
November 2018 WordPress introduced its own lightweight page builder Gutenberg. Previously, the blogging interface was similar to Word and to get any fancy layout design, you could use the HTML coder. Gutenberg introduces a block system that made page design as easy as any other website builder like Wix.
Not only do blocks help with page layout and functionality, but it also comes with WordPress natively. If you have an up-to-date version of WordPress you already have Gutenberg installed.
Is Gutenburg Light Weight?
So how lightweight is it? This website (Munroh.com) was made with the Generate Press WordPress Theme and was built using Gutenburg and Generate Press Premium Blocks. I only use free WordPress Plugins to improve the site speed.
Below is a report I ran using Page Speed Insight, a free tool from Google that gives your website a ranking out of 100 based on technical SEO. Let me just say that I’m proud of websites that get a score of 80-90. This is the first score of 100 I have seen in my life.
What Themes Don’t use Page Builders?
Many WordPress Themes brag about being made with Page Builders. Unfortunately, if the theme comes with the Page Builder it’s usually near impossible to remove the Page Builder later. Whatever theme you choose check to see if it comes with a Page Builder. There are plenty of free and paid lightweight themes that don’t use them.
Even my personal favourite WordPress Theme Generate Press has some Pre-Made Themes that come with Page Builders. It’s important to keep Page Builders in mind while doing your research.
Keep Page Speed in Your Sights
One of the biggest technical SEO pitfalls is site speed and it’s really easy to fix. Unfortunately having a fast website needs to be at the forefront of all your decisions starting with your Themes and Plugins. Have you managed to create a speedy website using Page Builders? Let me know in the comments!