A page builder is a WordPress plugin that replaces code-based page creation with a visual, drag-and-drop interface. You assemble layouts from pre-built elements (sections, columns, headings, images, buttons, forms) and style them with controls instead of CSS. The major players are Elementor, Divi, Beaver Builder, Bricks, and WPBakery, alongside WordPress’s own block editor, Gutenberg.
Builders differ in three ways that matter: output weight (how much extra code they add to pages, which affects speed), editing model (front-end visual editing vs back-end), and data format (what happens to your content if you ever switch builders, Divi and WPBakery store content as shortcodes that turn to junk without the plugin, while Gutenberg stores clean markup).
The choice is consequential because builder migrations are rebuilds: there is no clean converter between builders’ formats. That’s why agencies see a steady stream of Divi-to-Elementor and WPBakery-to-Elementor projects, teams choosing a builder ecosystem they can hire for and grow with.
