My Favorite Drag and Drop Website Builders – Part 2

What are drag and drop website builders?

There are a ton of drag and drop website builders, and I have used many of them. These builders are frameworks that are used to give your site structure underneath your theme.

For instance, if you use Elementor, you purchase a subscription to the Elementor platform and install it’s base theme, called a parent theme. This theme is independent, but often does not add much design to your site. You need to purchase an additional theme (called a child theme) that adds the design on top of the parent theme. This child theme is depenedent on the parent theme, and inherits the design from that parent theme, ie. the platform. This allows website theme designers to design innumerable themes without re-building the framework every time.

Make sense? Yeah it’s tricky.

So for each of these themes below, they require two installs – the parent theme that gives the structure, and the child theme that gives the design.

Sometimes, the child theme company will include the parent theme install as part of the purchase. But sometimes they do not. So if you fall in love with a beautiful theme (like this one) you need to check to see if the parent framework is included. (For this one, the design company says that the “Kadence Framework” is included.) Just something to look out for!

These drag and drop website builders are AWESOME and I highly recommend them. But, there are some pros and cons.

• PRO: Drag and drop frameworks make website customization options very easy. You can change almost always anything on the site – colors, size, fonts, location, etc.
• PRO: These frameworks work without HTML so you don’t need to have any coding skills.
• CONS: These frameworks sometimes require an additional purchase (most come with a free website builder and a Pro option). Some, like Elementor Pro require a yearly subscription.
• CONS: These frameworks can have a steep learning curve. Not only will you be learning how to use WordPress and your new design, but the framework that it is built on.

A NOTE ABOUT WORDPRESS GUTENBERG

I don’t know if you know this, but WordPress has it’s own drag and drop WordPress page builder for posts and pages called Gutenberg. This is default to EVERY WordPress site, and includes all the functionality you need for to create blog posts from scratch. Some of these editors below (Elementor for example) ADD their own editors to Gutenberg. So for your website design, you would use Elementor editor, and for your posts you would use Gutenberg. Don’t worry about this now. But just know that adding these frameworks may add new editors which would require you to learn two drag and drop editors.

Genesis

The Genesis framework is awesome and one of my favorites. It is open source code (which means the source code is available for use by any developers) and the base framework is free.

(Genesis Pro is not an option that I would recommend. It basically includes the framework + all paid-for themes that Genesis StudioPress [their Genesis developers] creates that one website would never need.)

Genesis has an awesome customization section in WordPress that gives you the option to a lot of customizations. (Just so you know, Genesis does NOT offer as many customizations as Elementor or Kadence.) Genesis also has an awesome repository of custom plugins and widgets- Genesis Simple Hooks, Genesis eNews Extended (for newsletters), Genesis Simple Share, Genesis Simple Sidebars, and Connect for WooCommerce.

THE EDITOR: Genesis enhances the WordPress Gutenberg framework. So you don’t need to learn two editors – just one.

Genesis Child Themes

Foodie Pro Theme (Feast Designs)

The Foodie Pro Theme is a really popular theme among food blogs, and is one of many themes that comes from Feast Design Company. They claim to be the “#1 selling Genesis child theme”. Foodie Pro is an iconic design – and I have used it and many other designs from their company. I recommend all of them!

Recently Feast Design Company rolled out a new subscription option through the Feast Plugin. This is a really all-inclusive plugin that lets you use any of their themes and all of their support for $249. If you are a newbie and have this money, this is a good deal. But, it is not necessary to use Feast designs!

Instead I recommend purchasing just the child theme you want (like this one) and use their support tutorials here to customize it. These older single-purchase themes work just fine! If you have any questions about their functionality, drop your questions below in the comments.

FRAMEWORK USED: Genesis and Kadence – Both frameworks are free. Read here to decide which one works best for you.

See their themes here!

Elementor

I remember the first time I bought a theme that used the Elementor framework. I felt like I had to learn a whole new language! Don’t get me wrong, I was up for the challenge. But compared to Genesis and the WordPress post builder Gutenberg, Elementor was tough for me. I’ve since mastered it and LOVE it. But it does take time learn the drag and drop features of Elementor and how it all works.

When you buy a theme that uses Elementor, make sure to see if it uses the free or pro version. I bought a theme that is based on Elementor Pro (one of these), so now every year I have to pay $59/year just to maintain my site for the advanced features. I’m only sharing themes below that use the free version. Just something to look out for!

THE EDITOR: Elementor has its own editor, interface, and settings. So for your website design, you would use Elementor editor, and for your posts you would use Gutenberg.

Elementor Child Themes

Bluchic Themes

I’ve used Bluchic themes before and they are GORGEOUS. They are built specifically for the female business owner. They also offer templates for funnels, Canva designs, and bundles which I love. They are built on Elementor and work with the free version of the Elementor plugin.

FRAMEWORK USED: The Elementor Framework – “Bluchic themes work with the free version of the Elementor page builder.” (here)

See their themes here!

Kadence

The Kadence framework is a new editor that is slowly becoming the most popular website editor! This is because Kadence extends Gutenberg’s editing capabilities and doesn’t have it’s own editor. But, this also limits the drag and drop flexibility and makes the backend more clunky, in my opinion.

But, the Kadence plugin is lightweight and won’t weigh down your site. So sites that run the Kadence plugin tend to be faster and have better performance.

Kadence does have a free plan and a premium plan, so make sure you find out which version is required for the theme you choose. I am only including themes here that use the free version, not the paid plans.

THE EDITOR: Kadence enhances the WordPress Gutenberg framework. So you don’t need to learn two editors – just one.

Kadence Child Themes

Hello You Designs

I used a theme from Hello You Designs on one of my first websites, and it still was one of my favorite web design experiences. Hello You Designs are pretty, and feminine, and super functional. Their templates come with easy instructions, detailed designs, and really gorgeous layouts.

FRAMEWORK USED: The Kadence Framework – which is FREE and will automatically download when you install your theme. (here)

See their showcase here!

Divi, ShowIt, and My Recommendation…

I personally don’t have experience with Divi and ShowIt, so I’m not going to give a summary here. Just know that every website framework can be magical – but also add a lot of additional steps to learn the new drag and drop website builder.

Do you want my recommendation?

I would either stick with Astra (as I explained here), or Genesis (above). These two are the easiest in my opinion and are strong, user-friendly, lightweight, and excellent website drag and drop builders.

Have fun and drop any additional questions below in the comments!