If you use Elementor, you have probably faced the situation that the editor loads extremely slowly, taking several minutes to allow editing. Or even worse, that it crashes constantly.
This problem not only wastes valuable time, but can also turn simple tasks into extremely frustrating and time-consuming experiences.
But don't worry, you're in the right place! In this ultimate guide, we'll explore in depth why your Elementor editor may be crashing and, most importantly, give you practical solutions to get you back to enjoying a smooth and efficient editing experience.
The Big Culprit: Nested Containers and their Impact on Elementor Editor Slowdowns
One of the most common and often the most difficult to diagnose causes of slow Elementor editor is the excessive or inefficient use of nested containers (nested containers). While containers are a powerful tool for creating complex, responsive layouts, nesting them deeply-that is, placing containers inside other containers, repeatedly-can overload the editor.
Also widgets that use this functionality, such as tabs, carousel, among others, influence this problem.
When Elementor loads a page for editing, it has to process each of these containers, their styles, and their child widgets. The more nesting levels there are, the more resources the editor consumes, leading to long load times, slow responses to your actions (dragging, dropping, editing text) and, in extreme cases, to the editor freezing or crashing.
A problem recognized by the community: You are not alone in this. The slowness associated with nested containers is a recurring theme in the Elementor community. Numerous users have reported this behavior on various platforms:
- On GitHub, the thread #24076 details how "Flexbox Containers" can cause slow loading of the editor, especially with multiple levels of nesting.
- Another relevant thread on GitHub is #30304where performance issues with containers are discussed.
- On Reddit, the discussion "Elementor is super slow, tried everything and cant fix it" shows the frustration of users who have tried multiple solutions without success, often pointing to the complexity of their containerized designs.
These examples show that the internal structure of your pages, especially the abuse of nested containers, is a critical factor in the performance of the Elementor editor.
The problem is compounded on long pages or pages with many elements. Every click, every change, forces the editor to recalculate and render a potentially massive and complex DOM (Document Object Model) structure, resulting in the dreaded slowness.
Practical Solution: How to Fix a Slow Elementor Editor by Converting Complex Sections into Templates
If you have identified that nested containers are the root of your Elementor editor slowness problems, there is an effective solution! It consists of simplifying your page structure using Elementor templates. This method allows you to maintain your complex layouts without sacrificing editor performance.
Steps to convert sections with nested containers into templates:
- Identify the problem section: Locate the section or set of nested containers that you suspect is causing the slowness. Generally, these are the most visually complex sections with the most internal elements.
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Save the section as a template:
- Right-click on the main section handle (the six dots icon) or the parent container you want to convert.
- In the context menu, select "Save as Template".
- Give your template a descriptive name (for example, "Section Hero Services Nested") so that you can easily identify it later.
- Click on "Save".
- Deletes the original section: Once the template is safely saved, delete the original section of your page. This is crucial to reduce the load on the editor.
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Prepare the new container:
- Add a new container to your page where the deleted section was.
- Select this new container. In the "Advanced" tab, make sure that all "Padding" values are set to 0.
- On the "Layout" tab, set the "Content Width" to "Full Width". If your original layout was "Boxed", don't worry, you will manage this within the template itself later if necessary. The goal here is to keep the main container as simple as possible and simply display the template content without resizing it.
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Insert the template using a shortcode:
- Inside the new container you just configured, drag and drop the "Shortcode" widget from Elementor.
- Now you need the shortcode of the template you saved. To find it:
- Go to your WordPress Dashboard.
- Navigate to "Templates" > "Saved Templates".
- Find the template you saved. You will see a column called "Shortcode" with the corresponding code.
- Copy this shortcode.
- Go back to the Elementor editor, paste the copied shortcode into the "Shortcode" widget field.
- Save and test! Save the changes to your page. Now, the editor only has to load a simple shortcode instead of a complex structure of nested containers. This should result in a significant improvement in the speed and responsiveness of the editor when working on that page.
This method is especially useful for sections that you don't need to edit frequently, although I use it in all cases, to avoid performance issues and frustration when editing. For the frontend, Elementor will render the template content as if it were directly on the page, so your visitors won't notice any difference, but your editing experience will be drastically improved.
Repeat this process for all complex and heavy sections of your website. Although it may seem like tedious work at first, the long-term benefits in terms of productivity and reduced frustration are immense.
To edit the template you have created in the future, you can again go to "Templates" > "Saved Templates" and choose the "Edit with Elementor" option.
Other Possible Solutions for a Slow Elementor Editor
While the nested container problem is a major culprit, there are other factors that may contribute to you wondering "how to fix the slow Elementor editor?". Fortunately, there are more adjustments you can make.
Enable the "Switch Front End Editor Loader".
Elementor includes an experimental option that can help improve the loading times of the editor. This option changes the way the editor loads its components.
Steps to enable the "Switch Editor Loader Method":
- Log in to your WP Admin: Log in to the WordPress administration panel.
- Go to Elementor > Settings: In the side menu, find the "Elementor" option and click on "Settings".
- Click on the "Advanced" tab: Within the Elementor settings, you will find several tabs. Select "Advanced".
- Enables "Switch Editor Loader Method": Look for the "Switch Editor Loader Method" option. By default, it is usually set to "Disabled". Change it to "Enable".
- Click on "Save Changes": Do not forget to save for the configuration to take effect.
After enabling this option, try loading the Elementor editor again. In some cases, this may solve problems with slow loading or "timeout" errors when trying to open the editor.
Updating PHP Version and Increasing PHP Memory Limit
Another common reason behind a Elementor editor loading slowly is either an outdated PHP version or an insufficient PHP memory limit on your server. Elementor, like many complex WordPress plugins, requires an adequate amount of memory to function properly, especially during editing.
Importance of PHP Version and Memory Limit:
PHP version: WordPress and its plugins work better and more securely with recent versions of PHP. An old version can not only slow down Elementor, but also your entire website and expose it to security vulnerabilities. Elementor officially recommends using PHP 7.4 or higher (ideally PHP 8.0 or newer).
PHP Memory Limit: This is the maximum amount of server memory that a PHP script (such as those used by Elementor) can consume. If this limit is too low, Elementor may run out of "space" to operate, especially when loading the widget panel or processing complex pages. This commonly manifests itself as a widget panel that takes forever to load or the editor that is simply not responsive.
How to Check and Increase the Memory Limit:
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Check your current environment:
- In your WordPress dashboard, go to Elementor → System information.
- Look for the "WordPress Environment" section.
- There you can see your "PHP Version" and the "WP Memory Limit". Elementor recommends a memory limit of at least 128MB, although I recommend at least 512MB or even 768MB or more on larger sites or sites with many plugins.
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Increase the PHP memory limit (if necessary):
If your memory limit is low, you will need to increase it. The most common way is to edit the
wp-config.php. Caution! Making incorrect changes to this file can break your site. If you are not comfortable, contact your hosting provider.To edit
wp-config.php:- Access your website files through a file manager in your cPanel/hosting panel, or by using an FTP client.
- The file
wp-config.phpis located in the root directory of your WordPress installation. - Download a backup copy of the file before making changes.
- Open the file and look for the line that says:
/* That's it, stop editing! Happy blogging. */(or in English:/* That's all, stop editing! Happy publishing. */). - Just before of that line, add the following code:You can change
define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '512M');512Mby768Mif necessary. - Save the changes and upload the file back to your server if you edited it locally.
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Upgrade your PHP version:
Updating the PHP version is usually done through your hosting provider's control panel (cPanel, Plesk, etc.). Look for options like "PHP Version Manager", "Select PHP Version" or similar. Choose a recent and stable version (PHP 7.4, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2 are good options). If you don't find this option, contact your hosting support.
Important: Before changing the PHP version, it is highly recommended to make a complete backup of your website, as some older plugins or themes may not be compatible with newer versions of PHP.
After making these changes, clear any cache (from your site, server or browser) and test the Elementor editor again. Often, these settings make a big difference in how Elementor responds and loads.
Beyond the Editor: A Brief Note on General Web Performance
It is essential to understand that the solutions discussed so far focus mainly on improve Elementor editor performancethat is, your experience while building or modifying your pages. However, the performance of your public-facing website (the speed at which it loads for your visitors) is another, albeit related, beast.
Best Practices for a Fast Web Site with Elementor:
To ensure that your published website is fast and efficient, consider these essential practices:
- Limit the number of plugins: Each active plugin adds load to your site. Use only the essential ones and deactivate and delete the ones you don't need. Prioritize well-coded and lightweight plugins.
- Optimize your images: Large, uncompressed images are one of the main causes of slow websites. Use modern image formats (like WebP), compress your images without losing too much quality (with plugins like Smush, Imagify, or online tools) and make sure they have the right dimensions.
- Use a good caching plugin: Caching stores static versions of your pages, reducing the load on the server and delivering content faster to visitors. Plugins like WP Rocket (premium), LiteSpeed Cache (if your server uses LiteSpeed), or W3 Total Cache / WP Super Cache (free) are excellent options.
- Choose a quality hosting: Your hosting provider plays a crucial role. Cheap, overloaded hosting will never deliver the performance you need, no matter how much you optimize.
- Minimizes CSS and JavaScript: Elementor and other plugins/themes can generate a lot of code. Caching tools or specific optimization plugins can help minify and combine CSS and JS files to reduce HTTP requests.
- Consider a CDN (Content Delivery Network): A CDN distributes copies of your site's static files (images, CSS, JS) to servers around the world, to be served from the location closest to your visitor, speeding up load times.
While a fast Elementor editor makes you more productive, a fast website improves user experience, SEO and conversion rates.
Conclusion: Recover the Speed of your Elementor Editor and Work Without Frustration
Dealing with a slow Elementor editor can be incredibly daunting, transforming the pleasure of web design into a tedious task. However, as we have seen, there are multiple effective strategies for diagnosing and fixing these performance issues.
From the intelligent restructuring of your pages by converting complex sections with nested containers From template templates, to technical tweaks such as enabling the "Switch Editor Loader Method", updating your PHP version and increasing the memory limit, you have an arsenal of tools at your disposal to combat slowness.
Remember that the key is patience and systematically testing each solution. What works for one site may not be a panacea for another, as each WordPress installation and Elementor configuration is unique. Start by identifying the heaviest sections and apply the template technique; this is often the most impactful change to the editor's performance.
Don't forget general best practices for web performance as well, as a healthy site as a whole contributes to a better experience with all your tools, including Elementor.
We hope that this guide has provided you with the knowledge you need to fix your slow Elementor editor and let you get back to creating stunning websites with the fluidity and efficiency you deserve!
