Elementor is a popular tool that makes it easy for you to create a website with WordPress. As a page builder plugin, it offers a drag and drop website creation experience. Meaning that you don't need to deal with code. Even so, Elementor also facilitate it in case you want to add custom code for certain functionalities that are not offered by Elementor by default. You can read my previous covering how to use CSS selector in Elementor.
Before you can create a WordPress-based website with Elementor, you definitely need to have a web hosting service in advance. Basically, you can use any hosting service that supports WordPress, including cPanel-based traditional shared hosting services. However, for a smoother experience, I don't recommend this type of hosting service (cPanel-based). Especially if you plan to use the Form widget available on the Elementor Pro.
For the sake of resource usage saving, most traditional web hosting services disable the send_mail function of PHP, which is required by Elementor Form widget. Also, most cPanel-based web hosting services usually have lower PHP memory limit than managed WordPress hosting services. This can lead to Elementor editor failed to load.
Learn the Technical Specs Before You Subscribe to a Hosting Plan
If you ever noticed, most WordPress hosting services don't disclose the technical specs of their hosting service such as PHP memory limit, PHP version, and so on. They mostly only disclose the surface features like cache, SSL, and FTP, which are basically very basic features.
If you can't scrap the technical specs offered by the hosting service you plan to subscribe to, you can read reviews written by users.
Here are the minimum system requirements demanded by Elementor:
- PHP version: 7.4 or higher
- PHP memory limit: 256 MB
- WordPress version: 5.9 higher
- Database: MySQL 5.6 or higher / MariaDB 10.0 or higher
Recommended Hosting Services for Elementor
- Elementor Hosting
In case you haven't known yet, Elementor offers a managed hosting service to run your website. Previously, the service was called Elementor Cloud but it has been rebranded to Elementor Hosting
Elementor Hosting is technically a Google Cloud-powered WordPress hosting with Elementor (Free and Pro) pre-installed. In other words, you don't need to install Elementor yourself if you use the service. The main benefit if you use Elementor Hosting is that you can enjoy the newest Elementor features as Elementor usually provides its newest features to Elementor Hosting before they are released on plugin version.
The hosting service from Elementor comes with features like built-in CDN (powered by Cloudflare), cache, schedule backups, file access (via FTP), and database access.
- Kinsta
Kinsta has several things in common as Elementor Hosting. First, it uses Google Cloud as the main hosting infrastructure. Second, it relies on Cloudflare for the CDN feature. Speaking of CDN, Kinsta could be the best option if you have a big concern on this feature. Kinsta is a managed WordPress service that is transparent the most regarding its CDN feature.
You can monitor the CDN usage via its sophisticated built-in analytics feature. You can also disable CDN for troubleshooting need (some hosting services don't allow you to disable CDN). The CDN space itself varied, depending on the plan. The cheapest plan offers the CDN space of 100GB.
The PHP configuration of Kinsta is more than enough to run Elementor. It offers the memory limit of 256MB.
- WP Engine
WP Engine is one of the most popular WordPress hosting services with over 600,000 live websites according to BuiltWith. It is also a recommended hosting to run Elementor. Mainly because it offers great PHP configuration. WP Engine offers PHP memory limit of 512MB. You can use all the Elementor features, including form builder. WP Engine also uses Google Cloud -- and other cloud services -- for its hosting infrastructure.
The key feature offered by WP Engine includes built-in CDN -- powered by Cloudflare. Unlike Kinsta, WP Engine offers no option to disable the CDN. Also, it offers no analytics feature to monitor the CDN usage.
- Pressidium
Pressidium is an underrated WordPress hosting service. But it is definitely recommended to run Elementor and other page builder plugins. Pressidium is a managed WordPress hosting service that has a great PHP configuration. Instead of using third-party services, Pressidium built its own hosting infrastructure from the ground. There are four main data centers offered by Pressidium, spreading in the US, Europe, North America, and Asia. Pressidium also comes with built-in CDN feature (powered by StackPath).
- Pressable
If you are looking for a managed WordPress hosting service that is powered by Jetpack, Pressable is a great option. All Pressable plans come with Jetpack pre-installed. However, the features you can unlock depend on the plan you subscribed to.
Pressable itself is a web hosting service from Automattic. As you know, Automattic is the company behind WordPress.com. So, if you want to use the same hosting technology as the one powering WordPress.com, you can try Pressable. The PHP configuration offered by Pressable is more than enough to run Elementor and all the features. The memory limit offered by Pressable is 256 MB.
- SiteGround
If you are looking for a managed WordPress hosting service to run multiple Elementor-powered WordPress websites, SiteGround can be considered. The hosting service offers hosting plans that allow you to install unlimited websites, with more affordable prices. SiteGround also uses the cloud technology from Google Cloud for its hosting infrastructure. In addition, it also adopts Cloudflare for CDN (need to be enabled manually). The PHP configuration of SiteGround is also more than enough to run Elementor smoothly whereby its offers 768MB.
You can easily switch between PHP versions for troubleshooting need. SiteGround offers 5 different PHP versions as follows:
- PHP 7.3
- PHP 7.4
- PHP 8.0
- PHP 8.1
- PHP 8.2
Other features offered by SiteGround include built-in file manager and email hosting.
Conclusion
Elementor is a WordPress-based website building tool. You can use it to create WordPress-based website that focus on the frontend. Elementor comes with some handy features, including form builder which you can connect with services like ConverKit and MailerLite. In order to make the website creating run smoothly without any issue, you need to use an appropriate hosting service. Elementor itself offers an official managed hosting service you can try. Alternatively, you can use the hosting services mentioned above.
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