How to Migrate WPBakery to Elementor in Simple 7 Steps

Migrating your WordPress website from one page builder to another is a significant undertaking, but it is often necessary to align your site’s editing capabilities with your current needs. Moving from WPBakery to Elementor is a popular choice for site owners looking for a different design experience.

While WPBakery has been a staple in the WordPress ecosystem for years, Elementor offers a distinct visual interface and feature set that many users find appealing for modern web development.

This guide provides a comprehensive, step-by-step walkthrough of the WPBakery to Elementor migration process.

TL;DR: WPBakery to Elementor Migration at a Glance

• Migrating from WPBakery to Elementor is a manual process that requires rebuilding pages because of differences in shortcodes.

• Always start with full backups and use a staging site to avoid downtime or data loss.

• Recreate layouts, widgets, and global templates in Elementor while carefully handling custom CSS and dynamic content.

• Test responsiveness, clean up leftover shortcodes, and optimize performance before going live.

Why Migrate From WPBakery to Elementor?

The decision to change your primary page builder usually stems from a desire for a different workflow or specific design capabilities.

While WPBakery is a powerful, reliable tool used by millions, Elementor offers a live, drag-and-drop interface that appeals to designers who prefer seeing changes in real time.

• Live Visual Editing: Elementor lets you see exactly how your content looks as you edit, reducing the need to switch between the backend and the frontend preview.

• Modern Design Ecosystem: The Elementor ecosystem is vast, with thousands of third-party add-ons and templates that can speed up development.

• Container-Based Layouts: Recent updates have introduced Flexbox containers, offering granular control over rows and columns for responsive design.

• Theme Builder: In the Pro version, the theme builder lets you customize headers, footers, and archive pages without code.

Migrating is about choosing the right tool for your specific development style and long-term site goals.

Pre-Requisites Before Migrating WPBakery to Elementor

Before you begin moving elements and layouts, you must prepare your site to prevent data loss or downtime. This preparation phase is critical for a risk-free migration.

Backup Your WordPress Website and Create a Staging Environment

Never perform a major migration on a live production site. If errors occur, they could disrupt your visitors’ experience.

• Backup Files and Database: Use a reliable plugin like UpdraftPlus or your hosting provider’s tools to create a full backup of your files and database.

• Create a Staging Environment: Most hosting providers offer a one-click staging environment. This clones your site to a private URL where you can safely test the transition. All work should happen here first.

Audit Existing WPBakery Pages, Layouts, and Shortcodes

You need a clear inventory of what needs to be moved.

• Audit Pages: List all pages and posts built with WPBakery. Identify which ones are high-priority (e.g., Homepage, Services, Contact).

• Check Custom Shortcodes: WPBakery relies heavily on shortcodes. Identify any custom shortcodes provided by your theme or third-party add-ons that may stop working once WPBakery is deactivated.

• Global Templates: Note any global rows or templates you have saved, as these will need to be recreated as Elementor templates.

Install Elementor and Check Theme Compatibility

Ensure your current theme is compatible with Elementor. Most modern themes work with both, but some are exclusively built for WPBakery.

• Install the Plugin: Go to Plugins → Add New and install Elementor.

• Theme Check: If your theme is tightly coupled with WPBakery (e.g., it requires WPBakery to function), you might need to switch to a more flexible theme like Hello Elementor or Astra.

Understand WPBakery to Elementor Migration Limitations

It is important to manage expectations. There is no magic button that perfectly converts a WPBakery page to an Elementor page with 100% accuracy.

• Manual Process: Because the underlying code structure differs (shortcodes vs. JSON data), the most reliable method is manually rebuilding pages.

• Shortcode Residue: When you deactivate WPBakery, existing content will display raw shortcodes (e.g., [vc_row]...) instead of the formatted layout.

• Add-On Incompatibility: Specific elements, such as “WPBakery Recent Posts,” must be replaced with Elementor’s “Posts” widget.

Step-by-Step Migration Process from WPBakery to Elementor

Once your staging environment is ready, follow these steps to migrate your content effectively.

Step 1: Create a New Elementor Page for Each WPBakery Layout

To avoid breaking your live content, do not edit the existing WPBakery page directly yet.

• Open your existing WPBakery page in a separate tab for visual reference.

• Create a new page in WordPress, then click “Edit with Elementor.”

• This approach allows you to copy text and images from the old page to the new one without causing conflicts with functionality.

Step 2: Rebuild Page Structure Using Elementor Sections and Containers

WPBakery uses a row-and-column system. In Elementor, you will replicate this using Sections (or Containers in newer versions).

• Analyze the Layout: Look at your WPBakery page. Is it a two-column layout? A full-width banner?

• Recreate Structure: Drag an Elementor container into the canvas. Set up the column structure to match the original design.

• Adjust Spacing: Use the “Advanced” tab in Elementor to adjust padding and margins to replicate the spacing from your original design.

Step 3: Replace WPBakery Shortcodes with Elementor Widgets

You must find the equivalent Elementor widgets for your WPBakery elements.

• Text Blocks: Copy the text from the WPBakery text block and paste it into the Elementor “Text Editor” widget.

• Images: Download images from your media library or the old page, then upload them to the “Image” widget in Elementor.

• Buttons: Replace WPBakery buttons with Elementor’s “Button” widget. You will need to manually style them (color, border, radius) to match your brand styles.

• Complex Elements: For elements like accordions, tabs, or sliders, drag the corresponding Elementor widget onto the page and copy the content over manually.

Step 4: Migrate Custom Elements, CSS, and Dynamic Content

If your site uses custom CSS or dynamic content, this step requires careful attention.

• Custom CSS: If you had custom CSS classes on your WPBakery rows, add those same class names to your Elementor sections under Advanced → CSS Classes.

• Dynamic Content: If you used dynamic text (like post titles), use Elementor’s “Dynamic Tags” feature to pull this data automatically.

• Forms: If you used a WPBakery-specific form add-on, you may need to recreate your forms using Elementor Pro’s Form widget or a plugin like WPForms or Contact Form 7.

Step 5: Recreate Headers, Footers, and Global Templates in Elementor

If you are moving away from a theme that controlled your header and footer via WPBakery, you need to rebuild these.

• Go to Templates → Theme Builder in Elementor (requires Pro).
• Create a new “Header” template.
• Rebuild your navigation menu and logo placement.
• Set the Display Conditions to “Entire Site.”
• Repeat this process for footers and for any single-post templates.

Step 6: Optimize Responsive Design for Mobile and Tablet Views

One of the major benefits of Elementor is its mobile editing mode.

• Switch to “Mobile” view in the Elementor bottom panel.
• Check if columns are stacking correctly.
• Adjust font sizes and padding specifically for mobile devices.
• Ensure images are not too large for smaller screens.

Step 7: Test Pages, Fix Styling Issues, and Validate Functionality

Before going live, you must validate your work.

• Visual Check: Compare the new Elementor page side-by-side with the old WPBakery page.

• Functional Check: Click all buttons, links, and interactive elements to ensure they work.

• Console Check: Open your browser’s developer tools (F12) to check for any JavaScript errors that might indicate a conflict.

Best Practices for WPBakery to Elementor Migration

To ensure a high-quality result, follow these industry standards during your work.

• Gradual Rollout: If you have a large site, you don’t have to switch everything at once. You can keep WPBakery active while you rebuild pages one by one, though this is not ideal for long-term performance.

• Clean Up Assets: As you migrate, optimize your images. It is the perfect time to convert generic JPEGs to WebP format for better speed.

• Regenerate CSS: After migration, go to Elementor → Tools → Regenerate CSS & Data to flush the cache and ensure styles load correctly.

• Database Cleanup: Once you have fully transitioned and deactivated WPBakery, use a database cleaner to remove orphaned metadata.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Migrating from WPBakery to Elementor

Even experienced developers can make mistakes during this process. Avoid these common pitfalls.

• Leaving Residual Shortcodes: The biggest mistake is deactivating WPBakery before cleaning up the content. This leaves visible [vc_column] tags on your live site. Always check every page to ensure no shortcodes are visible to the public.

• Ignoring Mobile Responsiveness: Do not assume that because it looks good on a desktop, it looks good on mobile. WPBakery and Elementor handle responsiveness differently. You must manually check tablet and mobile views.

• Overloading with Add-ons: When moving to Elementor, avoid installing too many third-party add-ons. While they offer cool features, too many plugins can cause bloat and performance issues, negating the benefits of the switch.

• Failing to Update URL Slugs: If you created new pages to rebuild the content, remember to swap the URL slugs. The new Elementor page should eventually take the URL of the old WPBakery page to preserve SEO rankings.

Conclusion and Next Steps After Migrating to Elementor

Migrating from WPBakery to Elementor is a strategic move that can empower your team with better design flexibility and a more visual user experience. While the process requires manual effort and careful planning, the result is a website that is easier to manage and scale. By following this guide, you have successfully moved your content, recreated your layouts, and ensured your site remains functional and fast.

WPBakery to Elementor Migration FAQs