The default WordPress editor is great for writing blog posts, but it was never designed to build high-converting landing pages. If you want a page with a focused layout, a bold hero section, and a single clear call to action, you need something more flexible.
That’s where Elementor comes in. Elementor is the most popular drag-and-drop page builder for WordPress, with over 12 million active installs. It replaces the standard block editor with a live visual interface: you drag elements onto the page, customize them in a sidebar panel, and what you see is exactly what your visitors will see.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through how to create a landing page in Elementor from scratch. Whether you’re collecting email signups, promoting a product, or building a webinar registration page, you’ll have a polished, conversion-ready page live in under an hour. No coding required.
What Is Elementor and Why Use It for Landing Pages?
Elementor is a WordPress plugin that replaces the default editor with a drag-and-drop visual builder. Instead of writing content in text blocks and guessing what the final page will look like, you design it directly on a live preview. Every margin, color, font size, and layout choice is made visually.
Landing pages have a specific job: get one visitor to take one action. Subscribe. Buy. Register. They are not blog posts. They don’t need your navigation menu, your sidebar, or your footer links. Those elements distract visitors and give them an easy exit before they convert.
Elementor makes landing pages work well because:
- It includes a “Canvas” template that removes the header, footer, and sidebar entirely
- You control every layout detail without touching code
- It includes built-in section, column, and widget tools specifically suited to landing page structures
- Dozens of pre-built landing page templates are available to import and customize
- It’s responsive, so your page looks good on phones and tablets without extra work
The free version of Elementor, available in the WordPress plugin directory, covers everything you need for a solid landing page. Elementor Pro adds advanced features like popup builder, custom form integrations, and theme building. It’s worth upgrading eventually, but you don’t need it to get started.
If you’re still deciding which page builder fits your site best, check out our Elementor vs Gutenberg comparison for a side-by-side breakdown.
Step 1: Install and Activate Elementor
Before you can build anything, you need Elementor installed on your WordPress site.
- Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
- In the left sidebar, go to Plugins > Add New Plugin.
- Search for “Elementor Website Builder.”
- Click Install Now, then click Activate once it appears.
After activation, Elementor adds a new item called “Elementor” to your dashboard sidebar. You’ll also see a new option on any page or post: a blue button that says Edit with Elementor.
One thing to check before building: your theme. Elementor works with most WordPress themes, but a lightweight, well-coded theme gives you better performance and fewer conflicts. If you’re not sure whether your current theme is a good fit, take a look at our best WordPress themes for beginners guide.
Also worth noting: Elementor’s performance depends in part on your hosting. If the editor feels slow to load or laggy while you’re designing, that’s usually a server speed issue rather than an Elementor problem. Faster hosting makes the editor feel snappier and your published pages load faster for visitors.
Step 2: Create a New Page and Open Elementor Editor
Now you’ll create the page that will become your landing page.
- In your WordPress dashboard, go to Pages > Add New Page.
- Enter a title for the page. This is mainly for your own reference in the dashboard.
- On the right-hand sidebar, find the Page Attributes section. Click the Template dropdown and select Elementor Canvas. This removes the header, footer, and sidebar, giving you a completely blank canvas to build on.
- Click Save Draft to save the page.
- Click the Edit with Elementor button at the top of the screen.
The Elementor editor will load. You’ll see a blank white canvas on the right side and a panel on the left with a search bar and widget categories. The canvas has a large blue plus (+) icon in the center. That’s your starting point.
Before you start adding sections, take a moment to get familiar with the interface. The left panel contains all your widgets organized by category. The canvas is where you build. When you click any element on the canvas, its settings appear in the left panel. The right-click context menu on any element gives you options to copy, paste, duplicate, and delete.
Step 3: Design Your Landing Page Layout
A well-structured landing page follows a proven format. Here’s what to build, section by section, inside the Elementor canvas.
Hero Section
Click the plus icon to add your first section. Choose a single-column layout. Click the six-dot handle on the section to open its settings in the left panel. Under Style, set a background color or gradient. Set the minimum height to 100vh to make it fill the entire screen. Inside the section, drag in a Heading widget. Write your main value proposition in one clear sentence. Below the heading, add a Text Editor widget with a short supporting sentence. Then drag in a Button widget and write your CTA text (like “Get Started Free” or “Download the Guide”).
Benefits or Features Section
Below the hero, add a section that explains why visitors should take your offer seriously. A three-column layout works well here. In each column, add an Icon Box widget with a relevant icon, a short headline, and one or two sentences. Keep each benefit short and focused.
Details Section
Use this section to explain what the visitor actually gets. A two-column layout works well: text on the left with bullet points, an image on the right. The Image widget lets you add a visual that supports your message. Keep the copy concise. Visitors scan landing pages, they don’t read them like articles.
Second CTA Section
Near the bottom of the page, repeat your call to action. Visitors who scrolled this far are interested. Make this section visually distinct from your hero: try a dark background with a bright button. This redundancy lifts conversions without adding friction.
For visitors who want to learn more before deciding, you can also add a short testimonials section or a simple FAQ block between the details section and the final CTA.
Step 4: Configure Settings and Publish
Before you publish, check a few important settings.
Set a Clean URL Slug
In the right sidebar of the WordPress page editor (not in Elementor, go back to the WordPress editor), find the Permalink section. Set a clean, descriptive URL for your landing page. Something like /free-guide or /join-the-list is better than /landing-page-3. A clean URL is easier to remember and looks more credible when you share it.
Connect a Form
If you added a form widget to your landing page, you’ll need to connect it to your email service provider. In the form widget settings inside Elementor, go to Actions After Submit and select your email integration. Elementor has native integrations with Mailchimp, ConvertKit, and ActiveCampaign. For other providers, you can use a form plugin like WPForms and embed it as a shortcode on your Elementor page.
Check Mobile View
In Elementor, click the responsive preview icons at the bottom of the left panel to switch between desktop, tablet, and mobile views. Many elements need small adjustments for mobile: font sizes, padding, button widths. Make these fixes before publishing rather than after. Then open the live page on an actual phone to confirm everything looks right.
Publish the Page
When you’re ready, click Update in Elementor to save your changes, then go back to the WordPress editor and set the page status to Published. Open the live URL in a new tab. View it as a visitor, not as an editor.
Common Mistakes When Building Landing Pages in Elementor
A few things trip people up the first time around.
Not using the Canvas template. If you skip the Canvas template, your landing page will show your site’s header and footer. That gives visitors multiple exit points before they can convert. Always set the template to Elementor Canvas for dedicated landing pages.
Too many goals on one page. Landing pages work because they have one clear focus. If you have three different calls to action for three different offers, visitors don’t know what to do and leave without doing anything. Pick one goal per page.
Skipping mobile testing. Elementor’s desktop editor makes it easy to forget about smaller screens. Section padding that looks balanced on a desktop can feel cramped on a phone. Always check mobile view in the editor and then view the live page on a real device.
Using uncompressed images. Large image files slow down your landing page, and page speed directly affects conversions. Compress every image before uploading it to WordPress. Tools like TinyPNG or ShortPixel reduce file sizes significantly without visible quality loss.
Not tracking results. If you don’t measure conversions, you can’t improve them. Make sure Google Analytics is installed on your site and set up a goal for the conversion action on your landing page, whether that’s a form submission, a button click, or a page visit to a thank-you page.
Check out our Elementor vs. Divi comparison, where we break down which page builder is easier for beginners and which gives you more long-term value for your site.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need Elementor Pro to build a landing page?
No. The free version of Elementor includes everything you need to build a functional landing page, including sections, columns, headings, text blocks, images, buttons, and spacers. Elementor Pro adds features like a popup builder, advanced form integrations, and WooCommerce design tools, but it’s not required to get started.
What is the difference between Elementor Canvas and the Full Width template?
Canvas removes everything: the header, footer, and sidebar. Full Width removes only the sidebar but keeps your header and footer. For landing pages, Canvas is almost always the right choice. You want complete control over the page with no distractions pulling visitors away.
Can I use a pre-built landing page template in Elementor?
Yes. In the Elementor editor, click the folder icon at the top of the left panel to open the Template Library. You’ll find dozens of pre-built landing page designs organized by category. Import any template with one click and then customize it to match your brand. Using a template is often faster than building from scratch for your first page.
How do I make my Elementor landing page load faster?
Start with compressed images, since oversized files are the most common cause of slow Elementor pages. Use a caching plugin like WP Rocket or LiteSpeed Cache to serve static versions of your page. Choose a lightweight theme as your base. And host on a fast server, since hosting quality has a direct impact on load times regardless of how well-optimized your page is.
Can I A/B test my landing page built with Elementor?
Not natively, but Elementor works with A/B testing tools. Duplicate the page, make one change, and run a split test using a tool like Nelio A/B Testing or Google Tag Manager experiments. Even informal testing, like running version A for one week and version B for the next, can tell you a lot about what’s working and what isn’t.
Final Thoughts
Building a landing page in Elementor is one of the most practical WordPress skills you can pick up. Once you understand the structure: hero, benefits, details, and a clear call to action, you can build and iterate quickly without relying on a developer.
The most important thing to remember is focus. One page, one goal, one path for the visitor to follow. Elementor gives you the design flexibility to execute that cleanly and make it look professional from the start.
Start with the free version, get your first page live, and watch how visitors interact with it. Once you see real conversions coming in, that’s when it makes sense to explore what Elementor Pro can add to the mix.
For managed WordPress hosting that keeps your site fast and secure, consider Kinsta.
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About The Author
This is super helpful. One question though, if I’m using a theme that already has a header and footer, does choosing Elementor Canvas completely override that? Or does the theme’s header still show up sometimes?
Great question, Tomas. Yes, Elementor Canvas completely overrides the theme’s header and footer for that specific page. It doesn’t affect your theme globally, just the page using the Canvas template. So your homepage, blog, and other pages stay exactly as they are. Only the page you set to Canvas template gets the blank-slate treatment. Works reliably across most well-coded themes.
Just followed this to build my first landing page for a free checklist offer. Went live in about 45 minutes. The Canvas template tip saved me so much confusion.
Good point. I would weigh the tradeoffs and pick the option that is easier to maintain while still giving you room to grow.