Are you looking for a WPBakery review to see if it can help simplify your website design?
WPBakery Page Builder is a popular tool that claims to help you build stunning, responsive WordPress sites without writing a line of code. But is it really worth the hype, and are there some other better WordPress page builders available?
In this WPBakery review, it’s my aim to put it to the test and find out.
What Is WPBakery Page Builder?
WPBakery, formerly Visual Composer, is a drag-and-drop page builder plugin for WordPress websites. It lets you create custom page layouts, content elements, and more without needing any programming knowledge.
This popular page builder rebranded to WPBakery in 2017, while Visual Composer is now a separate web design project called Visual Composer Website Builder. Essentially, WPBakery is now a page builder, and Visual Composer is a website builder.
It’s a widely adopted plugin and comes bundled with many Themeforest and Codecanyon themes to make customizing them easier.
Once activated on your website, WPBakery turns the WordPress page editor into a visual design tool. You can add, edit, and arrange various elements on your page using a drag-and-drop interface to customize everything without code.
How I Tested WPBakery for This Review
To give you a fair and honest WPBakery review, I installed the plugin on my own test site. I wanted to see how it performs in real-world situations, just like you might use it.
Here’s what I did to test WPBakery thoroughly:
- Setup: I installed it on a fresh WordPress test site to see how easy it is to get started.
- Ease of Use: I tried both the backend and frontend editors to see how user-friendly they are.
- Building Pages: I created pages from scratch using drag-and-drop, pre-made templates, and checked how they look on different devices.
- Elements: I played with various page elements to see what’s possible.
- Online Stores: I built product pages to test how well it works with WooCommerce.
- Speed: I kept an eye on how fast pages load.
- Extra Features: I tried out some add-ons to see what else you can do.
- Mobile-Friendly: I made sure pages look good on phones and tablets.
By testing all these things, I got a good idea of what WPBakery does well and where it falls short. This helps you decide if it’s right for your website.
WPBakery Features and Functionality
Now, WPBakery comes with many powerful features that make it popular among WordPress users. So, let’s kick off this WPBakery review by looking at these features in more detail.
The Drag-and-Drop Interface
WPBakery’s most notable feature is the drag-and-drop builder. It allows you to select any element, drag it to your preferred spot on the page, and drop it. This meant I was able to construct an entire webpage without touching a single line of code.
Once placed, I could resize, reposition, and customize elements with just a few clicks.
Furthermore, I was able to see a real-time preview, allowing me to see the changes I made instantly. This instant visual feedback allows for better design decisions and helps streamline the design process.
Pre-designed Layouts and Elements
For those who need inspiration or are in a hurry, WPBakery offers a library of pre-designed layouts and elements. From headers, footers, and sidebars, to sliders and galleries, I was able to find a design that fits almost every need.
I found the template library an ideal starting point for my page design. These pre-made designs cover various industries and purposes, including business, ecommerce, portfolio, blog, and more, using the latest design trends.
Each template is fully customizable using the drag-and-drop builder. I could even add my own custom CSS for more unique styling options.
WPBakery’s Element Library
In addition to templates, WPBakery also has plenty of elements to enhance your web page functionality. When I was building my page, I was able to include text blocks, buttons, icons, image galleries, progress bars, testimonials, parallax, counters, accordions, widgets, and more.
You can mix and match different modules and templates, customize colors and typography, and experiment with combinations to make a unique and personalized design. WPBakery’s drag-and-drop interface seamlessly integrates with the templates and elements, allowing you to customize them to suit your needs easily.
Advanced Features and Add-ons
WPBakery also boasts several advanced features and add-ons for more functionality.
What I particularly liked were the grid design options. Grid layouts are popular for organizing content, especially for portfolios, product showcases, or blog posts.
With Grid layouts, I was able to customize the number of columns, adjust the spacing between elements, make the grid full-width, and fine-tune the grid appearance.
WPBakery also offers seamless compatibility with WooCommerce, the leading eCommerce plugin for WordPress. This allows you to create online stores using its easy drag-and-drop interface.
For example, I could design product pages, show featured products, create custom layouts for shopping carts and checkout pages, and fully customize my test store’s overall look and feel.
Additionally, WPBakery supports various third-party extensions, plugins, and add-ons.
They provide additional design elements, integrations with popular WordPress plugins, and enhanced customization options, including:
- Template Manager
- Easy Tables
- Ultimate Add-ons
- Before After Slider
- Social Media Share
- Testimonials
- Contact Forms
- Post Types
- Animation Effects
- And more
WPBakery and Responsiveness
WPBakery understands the importance of mobile responsiveness and provides features to ensure your site is optimized for mobile devices.
With its responsive design settings, it was easy to change my site’s appearance on different screen sizes and devices, ensuring a consistent and user-friendly experience across desktops, tablets, and smartphones.
The design options also allowed me to control the behavior of elements on different devices. For instance, I could set custom breakpoints where layout or element appearance changes occur by screen size.
To further enhance mobile responsiveness, WPBakery lets you hide some aspects for specific mobile devices or modify their appearance.
Mobile responsiveness is crucial for search engine optimization (SEO). With these mobile responsive features, you can build websites that meet mobile optimization standards, improving your chances of higher search rankings.
WPBakery Page Builder in Action
Setting up WPBakery is a breeze. After installing and activating the plugin, I could start building my pages immediately. Let’s look at how to do this next.
Creating a Page from Scratch
To create a new page with WPBakery, go to Pages » Add New from your WordPress admin dashboard and click the WPBakery Page Builder button.
On the next screen, you’ll see 2 different options: Backend Editor and Frontend Editor.
With the backend editor, you can add the same elements to your page as the frontend editor. The only difference is you’re working in your website dashboard, which won’t show a live preview of your changes.
You can still open the elements library, customize sections, rows, and columns, and drag and drop elements to rearrange their position.
If at any time you want to switch to the frontend, simply click the Frontend Editor button. From there, you can customize your new page in real time.
Customizing Pre-designed Templates
If you prefer to start with a pre-designed template, you can do so easily. Simply create a new page using WPBakery, click the template library icon, and click a template to add it automatically to your design.
From there, you can edit the template colors, fonts, images, content, and elements, to make the design your own.
WPBakery Review: Pros and Cons
When it comes down to it, I found WPBakery to be a handy tool for users unfamiliar with the complexities of web design. However, as with any tool, it may not suit everyone.
With this in mind, here are some pros and cons of WPBakery to help you decide:
Pros
- Backend and frontend editor
- Compatible with most WordPress themes
- Large element and template library
- User role access control
- Mobile responsive
Cons
- Learning curve for beginners
- May conflict with other WordPress plugins
- After deactivation, it may leave shortcodes on pages
- Can impact page loading speed
- No free version
WPBakery Review: Pricing
WPBakery has 3 pricing plans available for different budgets and use cases.
The Regular license is a one-time payment of $69 for a single website with premium support and access to the template library. From there, the pricing scales to $256 for 5 websites and $499 for 10 websites.
The pricing for any WPBakery add-ons can vary and are separate from the primary plugin price.
WPBakery vs Other Page Builders
So how does WPBakery compare to other page builders like SeedProd, Elementor Pro, Divi Builder, and Beaver Builder? The truth is, it could be better.
WPBakery lacks features that its competitors do well.
For example, SeedProd has a built-in WordPress theme builder, allowing you to create custom WordPress themes alongside landing pages. It also has many of WPBakery’s add-on features built into the core plugin, including before and after sliders, testimonials, WooCommerce products, team members, animations, pricing tables, and more.
SeedProd works independently of your WordPress theme, ensuring it works seamlessly with any design. Plus, if you decide to use a different page builder, it won’t leave messy shortcodes behind to impact your page speed.
WPBakery Alternatives
To compare the alternatives, you may find the following WordPress page builder reviews helpful:
WPBakery Review: Final Verdict
In the end, WPBakery is a robust page builder with features that anyone can use. Whether you’re a novice looking to create your first website or a developer wanting to make your workflow more productive, WPBakery has something to offer.
However, if you need advanced features like popups, theme builders, and faster page speeds, it may be best to pick an alternative solution.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About WPBakery
WPBakery is designed with user-friendliness in mind. With its intuitive interface and extensive documentation, beginners can get the hang of it relatively quickly.
WPBakery works with most WordPress themes, allowing you to keep your favorite theme and still enjoy the benefits of its page builder.
WPBakery offers dedicated customer support via a ticket system. In addition, they have a comprehensive knowledge base and a community forum for additional assistance.
WPBakery Page Builder is a one-time purchase, meaning you pay once and can use it forever.
There you have it!
We hope you found this in-depth WPBakery review helpful.
You might also like our comparison of Leadpages vs Instapage vs SeedProd, 3 other popular page builders, to see how they stack up. Alternatively, you may find our guide on the best WordPress hosting solutions helpful.
Thanks for reading! We’d love to hear your thoughts, so please feel free to leave a comment with any questions and feedback.
You can also follow us on YouTube, X (formerly Twitter), and Facebook for more helpful content to grow your business.
