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Page builders: what Elementor, Divi and WPBakery cost a page

Best practices1 min readFixes check builder-weight

A builder ships its framework on every page and wraps every element in extra markup. Measure its share of the code and the DOM, then turn on its performance settings.

Step by step, with screenshots: Divi performance: the settings that actually cut page weight →

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What a passing site looks like

  • Page builder weight: passeswarning · −1.5 ptseffort M

Page builder weight

Why it matters. A page builder ships its whole framework on every page, whatever the page uses, and wraps every element in extra containers. When it becomes most of the code and most of the markup the visitor downloads and the browser lays out, every other speed fix has less to work with.

How to fix it.
  1. Switch on the builder's own performance settings first: see the report for the exact setting
  2. Remove widgets, animations and add-on packs the page does not use; each one adds its own CSS and JavaScript.
  3. For the pages that matter most (home, key landing pages) consider building them with core blocks and the theme alone, and keep the builder for the rest.

Filed under WordPress & WooCommerce. Copy is generated from the same catalogue that scores every report, so what you read here is what the report says.