When I first started with WordPress, I bought a ThemeForest theme built with Elementor. The issue I had with Elementor wasn’t really about the platform itself, it was mainly how buggy it felt. The visual page builder demanded a lot of server resources, and with hosting already under pressure, the editor slowed down development. That was frustrating because the whole reason I chose Elementor in the first place was its promise of making web design easier.

Elementor does have a lot of advantages though. It’s one of the most popular visual page builders in the WordPress ecosystem, and that means plenty of templates, tutorials, and community support. For beginners or business owners who just want to quickly spin up a good-looking site without coding, it’s an excellent choice. But as I started to grow my technical skills, I found myself wanting more control over my builds.

Why I Moved to Oxygen

There was a moment where Elementor introduced a site breaking bug that clashed with JupiterX. By that stage I was already exploring alternative options, and that search is what ultimately led me to Oxygen.

I eventually moved over not because Elementor was unusable, but because Oxygen positioned itself as a developer-first visual page builder, and that instantly clicked with me. I loved that it let me work directly with HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and even PHP inside code blocks. That flexibility gave me full control to create custom functionality and dynamic features.

This shift was huge for me. It was the change that helped me grow from being mainly a designer into someone who could handle the full stack of a WordPress build. Once I started freelancing and building custom sites for clients, Oxygen became my go-to because it allowed me to implement exactly what I envisioned without hitting limitations.

Another big selling point for me was performance. Oxygen sites are generally lighter because the builder doesn’t load unnecessary bloat. That meant faster page speeds and better SEO out of the box, which was important for client work.

Elementor vs Oxygen: Ease of Use

From my experience, Elementor is definitely the easier visual page builder to learn. The drag-and-drop interface is intuitive, and there are thousands of pre-built templates available. Business owners or non-technical users tend to do much better with Elementor because they can manage updates and make changes without worrying about breaking the site.

Oxygen, on the other hand, comes with a steeper learning curve. It feels more like a development tool than a design tool. If you’re comfortable writing CSS, working with PHP functions, and adding JavaScript snippets, Oxygen unlocks incredible freedom. But if you’re new to web development, that freedom can be overwhelming at first.

Performance Considerations

One of the frustrations I had with Elementor was how heavy it could be on server resources. Sites built with Elementor often require stronger hosting just to keep up with all the assets being loaded. This can result in slower backend performance during development and slower load times on the front end if you’re not optimizing properly.

With Oxygen, I noticed an immediate improvement. The builder outputs cleaner code and doesn’t rely on as many background processes. The result is leaner, faster websites that perform better in Google PageSpeed Insights and other benchmarks. For freelance projects where SEO and performance are selling points, Oxygen gave me the edge I needed.

Who Should Use Which?

My honest take on whether someone should use Elementor or Oxygen really depends on their technical ability and the learning curve they’re willing to take on.

• Choose Elementor if:
  • You’re a beginner looking for speed and simplicity.
  • You’re a business owner who wants to manage the site yourself.
  • You value the huge template library and ecosystem of add-ons.
• Choose Oxygen if:
  • You’re a developer looking for full control but still want the speed of a visual page builder.
  • You care about clean code output and site performance.
  • You’re building custom websites for clients and don’t want to rely on pre-built limitations.

Personally, for custom projects where I need flexibility, I’ll always choose Oxygen. But if I’m building a site with the intention of handing it off to a client to manage, I’d 100% go with Elementor. It’s about matching the tool to the use case.

Final Thoughts

Both Elementor and Oxygen are powerful WordPress visual page builders. They just serve different audiences. Elementor is fantastic for accessibility and speed to market, while Oxygen shines when you need developer-grade control and performance.

For me, the move to Oxygen was about growth. It turned me from a designer into a full-stack WordPress developer and gave me the confidence to freelance and build custom solutions. But I still respect Elementor for what it does best: making WordPress more approachable for non-developers.

If you’re deciding between the two, ask yourself this: Do you want to get started fast with plenty of templates, or do you want ultimate control and flexibility even if it means a steeper learning curve? The answer to that question will usually point you in the right direction.

If you’re looking to begin developing strong custom websites, Oxygen is an excellent place to start. Click this link to get Oxygen today and take full control of your WordPress builds.