The Easy Way to Migrate From WPBakery to Elementor in 2026

Switching from WPBakery to Elementor is one of the fastest ways to improve your site’s speed, flexibility, and ease of use. WPBakery relies on shortcodes and an outdated structure, while Elementor gives you clean design control with real-time editing.

The challenge is migration. It’s not automatic, and doing it wrong can break layouts and affect performance. This guide shows you the exact steps to safely migrate from the WPBakery site to Elementor, without losing content or control.

TL;DR: A Quick Overview

• Elementor is faster, cleaner, and easier to use than WPBakery.

• WPBakery relies on shortcodes, which create long-term issues.

• Migration requires rebuilding pages, but content remains safe.

• Always use a staging site before making changes.

• Clean shortcodes and test responsiveness during migration.

• Use tools to speed up the process and reduce manual work.

WPBakery vs Elementor: Key Features Comparison

If you’re choosing between WPBakery and Elementor, you’re really deciding how your website will behave in the long run. Both can build pages. But the experience, performance, and flexibility are very different.

Feature	WPBakery	Elementor
Editing Experience	Backend + limited front-end editing	True live front-end editing
Structure	Based on shortcodes	Clean HTML-based structure
Performance	Heavier and slower on modern setups	Faster with optimized hosting
Code After Removal	Leaves broken shortcode clutter	Clean removal with minimal leftovers
Design Flexibility	Limited without extra CSS	Full control with drag-and-drop
Ease of Use	Takes time to learn	Beginner-friendly and intuitive

Pre-Migration Checklist (Do This First)

Before you switch from WPBakery to Elementor, take a step back and prepare properly. This step saves you from broken layouts and unnecessary stress later.

• Backup Your Full Website: Create a complete backup of your site, including files and database, so you can restore everything if something goes wrong.

• Update WordPress and Plugins: Ensure your core, theme, and plugins are fully up to date to avoid compatibility issues during migration.

• Audit All WPBakery Pages: Review every page built with WPBakery and identify which need to be rebuilt.

• Note Key Layouts and Sections: Document important designs, sections, and elements so you can recreate them accurately in Elementor.

• Set Up a Staging Site: Always test the migration in a staging environment rather than your live site to avoid downtime or errors.

Skipping this step almost always leads to broken pages and extra work later.

Step-by-Step WPBakery to Elementor Migration

Switching to Elementor isn’t a one-click process, but it’s manageable when done step by step.

If you follow the right order, you can avoid broken layouts, lost designs, and unnecessary stress.

Step 1: Install Elementor (Free or Pro)

Start with a clean setup. Install Elementor from the WordPress plugin directory and activate it. If you plan to use advanced features like theme building or custom widgets, you can go with Elementor Pro, but the free version is enough to get started with the migration.

Once installed, spend a few minutes exploring the interface. Open a test page and understand how sections, containers, and widgets work. This small step makes the rebuilding process much faster and smoother later.

Step 2: Disable WPBakery Gradually

Do not rush to remove WPBakery. Keep it active while you rebuild your pages in Elementor. If you deactivate it too early, your pages will break and show raw shortcodes, making it harder to track your original layout.

Work page by page instead. Rebuild a page in Elementor, publish it, and only then move to the next one. This approach keeps your site stable and avoids sudden design issues.

Step 3: Clean WPBakery Shortcodes

WPBakery heavily relies on shortcodes, and once you stop using it, those codes remain in your content. This creates clutter and affects both readability and SEO.

You can use tools like shortcode cleaner plugins to speed up the process. For important pages, manual cleanup works better because you can control exactly what stays and what gets removed, ensuring a cleaner final result.

Step 4: Rebuild Pages in Elementor

This is where the real work happens. Start with your most important pages, like the homepage, landing pages, and high-traffic blog posts. These pages have the biggest impact on user experience and rankings.

Use Elementor’s structure properly. Build layouts using sections, containers, and widgets instead of trying to copy WPBakery designs exactly. Focus on improving the layout, not just recreating it.

Step 5: Match Design and Spacing

Consistency matters more than perfection. As you rebuild, make sure your fonts, colors, and spacing stay aligned with your brand. Small inconsistencies can make your site look unprofessional.

Take this as a chance to refine your design. Clean spacing, better typography, and consistent styling can make your site feel more modern without extra effort.

Step 6: Test Responsiveness

Do not assume your design works everywhere. Always check how your pages look on mobile and tablet. Elementor makes this easy, but you still need to adjust spacing and alignment manually.

Also, test performance. Check loading speed and make sure nothing feels heavy or broken. A good-looking page that loads slowly will hurt your rankings.

Step 7: Remove WPBakery Completely

Once all your important pages are rebuilt and tested, you can safely remove WPBakery. Deactivate the plugin first and check your site again to ensure nothing breaks.

After that, delete the plugin and clean any leftover code. This final step gives you a cleaner backend, better performance, and a site that is no longer dependent on shortcodes.

Best Tools to Make WPBakery Site to Elementor Migration Faster

Migrating to Elementor can feel time-consuming, but the right tools can cut your workload in half. Instead of rebuilding everything manually, these tools help you clean, transfer, and optimize your site more efficiently.

• Elementor Template Kits: Speed up your rebuild with ready-made layouts you can customize. This saves hours, especially for landing pages and service pages.

• WP All Export / Import: Move large amounts of content like posts, pages, and custom data without errors. This is useful when handling bigger websites.

• Shortcode Cleaner Plugins: Remove leftover WPBakery shortcodes in bulk, so your content looks clean and readable inside Elementor.

• Asset Cleanup Plugin: Disable unused CSS and JavaScript files left behind by WPBakery, which improves loading speed and overall performance.

• WP Rocket (For Speed Optimization): Boost site speed with caching, lazy loading, and file optimization after your migration is complete.

Using these tools reduces manual work, improves performance, and helps you migrate without breaking your site.

Common Elementor Migration Mistakes That Break Your Site

Most migration failures don’t stem from complexity. They happen because of small mistakes that are easy to avoid if you know them in advance.

• Deleting WPBakery too Early: If you remove the plugin before rebuilding pages, your site will display broken shortcodes and messy layouts.

• Ignoring Shortcode Cleanup: Leftover shortcodes make your content unreadable and hurt your SEO performance.

• Not Using a Staging Environment: Working directly on a live site can lead to downtime, errors, and poor user experience.

• Forgetting Mobile Optimization: A page that looks perfect on a desktop can break completely on mobile if not tested properly.

• Rebuilding Everything at Once: Migrating all pages together increases confusion and errors, slowing down your workflow.

The smarter approach is simple. Rebuild one page at a time, test it properly, and then move forward. That’s how you protect both your design and your rankings.

SEO Risks During Elementor Migration (And How to Avoid Them)

Migration is not just a design change. If handled carelessly, it can directly impact your rankings, traffic, and indexing.

To protect your SEO during the transition, focus on these critical steps:

• Keep the Same URLs: Do not change page URLs unless absolutely necessary. Changing URLs without proper redirects can lead to broken links and ranking loss.

• Maintain Heading Structure: Preserve your H1, H2, and H3 hierarchy. Search engines rely on this structure to understand your content.

• Reuse Existing Content: Avoid rewriting everything during migration. Keep your original content intact to maintain keyword relevance and rankings.

• Optimize Images Again: Recompress and rename images if needed. Also, ensure alt text is properly added for better SEO and accessibility.

• Recheck Internal Links: Ensure all internal links remain working and point to the correct pages after rebuilding.

• Run a Post-Migration Audit: Use tools such as Google Search Console or an SEO audit tool to quickly identify broken links, missing tags, and indexing issues.

Even small mistakes during migration can cause traffic drops. A careful approach helps you maintain and even improve your rankings.

How Long Does WPBakery to Elementor Migration Take?

The time required depends on your site size, page complexity, and how well you plan the process.

Here’s a quick breakdown:

• Small Site (5-15 pages): 1 to 3 days if layouts are simple and content is clean.

• Medium Site (15-50 pages): 3 to 7 days with moderate design complexity and multiple sections.

• Large Site (50+ pages): 1 to 3 weeks, depending on custom layouts, features, and cleanup work.

Migration speed is not just about page count. Complex designs, animations, and custom elements can increase the time required.

The fastest way to complete migration without errors is to work page by page, test each one, and avoid rushing the process.

Conclusion

If you’re still using WPBakery, you’re working with a system that slows you down over time. It gets harder to manage, harder to scale, and harder to clean up.

Elementor gives you a cleaner setup, faster workflow, and full control over your design without relying on shortcodes. Yes, migration takes effort. But once you rebuild your core pages, everything becomes easier to manage and optimize.

If you care about performance, flexibility, and long-term growth, switching to Elementor is not just a good move. It’s the right one.

FAQs About WPBakery to Elementor