If you’re looking to design your website visually, you might have come across Divi and Elementor. These are two of the most popular WordPress page builders offering a drag-and-drop interface.
While both let you design visually, how you interact with them is different. One uses a fixed sidebar, and the other has popup windows. This interface difference affects your building speed, learning curve, and overall experience.
In this article, we'll take a detailed look at the interfaces of both Divi and Elementor and cover the following:
......and more.
Let’s start by looking at a basic overview of both page builder interfaces.
Divi vs Elementor: Basic Interface Overview
When you're just starting out with a new page builder, the very first steps and the layout you see can make a big difference in how quickly you feel comfortable. Let's explore what it's like to begin building with Divi and Elementor and get familiar with their main working areas.
Divi Basic Interface
After you've installed the Divi Builder plugin, you can launch the visual builder on a new page by clicking the Use Divi Builder button.
Once inside, Divi will present you with three options: you can Build From Scratch on a blank canvas, Choose A Premade Layout from Divi's extensive library, or Build With AI by describing your page.
Instead of a fixed sidebar, Divi Builder works in full screen with icons and popups appearing on top of your page.
When you select any module, its settings appear in three tabs: Content, Design, and Advanced.
You also get inline editing for text content.
Another key part of the Divi visual builder interface is the Bottom Toolbar, which opens when you click the purple three-dot icon. This toolbar provides access to various page-level features like the Wireframe view, responsive preview, loading layouts from the library, page settings, revision history, the crucial Save button, and more.
Divi also lets you use the drag-and-drop feature to resize columns directly on the canvas.
It also has a right-click window which offers quick actions, such as Undo, Redo, Split Test, Lock, and more.
Elementor Basic User Interface
After installing the Elementor plugin, you can launch the editor on any page by clicking the Edit with Elementor button.
Once inside, you'll see a large Canvas area on the right side and a Sidebar on the left. You'll also find a toolbar at the top.
The Canvas gives you a live preview of your page, showing exactly how your design will look to visitors. When you first start, it'll be blank, and you start by adding a container, importing a pre-made template, or using AI to design your section based on a text prompt.
The Sidebar, on the other hand, is where you find all the widgets you can drag onto your page. Once added, you can select any widget, and its settings will appear in the sidebar, organized into tabs like Content, Style, and Advanced.
At the top of this panel, there's a search bar to quickly locate specific widgets.
As you start making changes to the widgets in the sidebar, you'll notice changes being automatically reflected in the Canvas area. It also supports inline editing for text content.
The toolbar at the top includes options for adding new widgets, site settings, the Structure panel, page settings, responsive preview, Finder, and the Preview and Publish button.
Like Divi, Elementor also has a right-click window, which gives quick access to common actions. These include Edit, Duplicate, Copy, Paste, Reset, Delete, Save as Global, and more.
Divi vs Elementor: Editing Panels
After you've added widgets and modules to your page, you'll want to change its content and appearance. Both builders provide a similar three tabs interface for this, but use different interfaces.
Let’s look at the editing options available.
Divi's Settings Window
In Divi's Visual Builder, clicking on a module’s gear icon brings up a settings window with three tabs. This is a movable window that appears directly on the canvas, allowing you to position it where it's most convenient.
The Content tab lets you manage the actual content of the module. For a text module, this is where you type your text; for an image module, you upload or select the image source.
Next, the Design tab contains all the styling options. You'll find controls for typography, colors, sizing, spacing, borders, shadows, filters, and many other options.
Finally, the Advanced tab includes more technical and structural options, such as custom CSS, visibility controls, scroll effects, position, and attributes.
Within the Divi settings window, you can also create and apply Global Presets. They allow you to save a specific set of design settings for an element type and apply it globally across your site.
Elementor's Settings Panel
In Elementor, when you select any widget on your canvas, its specific settings automatically appear in the three tabs sidebar panel. Unlike Divi, Elementor’s sidebar is fixed to the left.
The Content tab is usually where you add and edit the actual content of the widget, like the text for a heading or paragraph, the source for an image, or the options for a form.
Next is the Style tab, where you control the visual appearance. You'll find options for typography, colors, borders, and more, specific to the element you've selected.
Lastly, the Advanced tab contains settings for more technical configurations, such as spacing, custom CSS classes or IDs, motion effects, attributes, and layout options like z-index.
While you're editing widgets here, you can also easily apply Global Colors and Fonts if you've set them up in your Site Settings. Elementor also gives you responsive controls for most settings, letting you control how widgets appear based on screen sizes.
Divi vs Elementor: Upcoming Interface Changes
Both Divi and Elementor are working on a major update that promises to change how you interact with their builders.
In this section, we'll look at some of the specific interface changes announced for Divi 5 and Elementor 4, giving you a glimpse into how designing might feel in the future.
Divi 5 Upcoming Interface Changes
Divi is working on version 5, which is a complete rewrite of the Visual Builder, aiming to improve speed and ease of use. This rewrite brings several major interface changes.
One of the most significant changes with Divi 5 is going to be the introduction of an Elementor-style fixed sidebar. It'll have a fixed left sidebar that'll present you with different module settings, neatly organized into tabs.
Additionally, the bottom bar is moving to the right side as a fixed bar with similar options to the current one. There's also a dedicated top bar added with responsive preview options and the Page Preview and Publish button.
Elementor 4 Upcoming Interface Changes
Elementor recently announced its upcoming version 4, which is planned to introduce a major shift, moving towards a more CSS-first, class-based styling approach.
This version will introduce "Atomic Elements," which aim to shift from styling individual elements to defining styles on reusable classes and applying those classes.
While the early alpha previews show updated control layouts and a new two-tab sidebar interface, the biggest change affecting the interface is the underlying workflow itself. You'll be working directly with a CSS class interface to create reusable blocks, fundamentally changing how you approach styling.
Summary: Choose Your Interface
We've taken a detailed look at the user interfaces of Divi and Elementor. The core difference often boils down to how you access controls and settings.
Elementor uses a predictable workflow where widgets and settings are arranged in a fixed area. This consistent layout makes it easier for beginners to quickly grasp where everything is and get used to the workflow.
Divi, on the other hand, uses movable popup windows for adding modules and editing settings. This gives you flexibility in how you interact with the builder.
Here's a quick summary of the key interface differences:
| Feature | Divi Interface | Elementor Interface |
| Canvas View | Live Preview (Full screen) | Live Preview (Right side) |
| Building Blocks | Sections, Rows, Columns, Modules | Containers, Grids, Widgets |
| Element Settings | Movable Popup Window (Content, Design, Advanced tabs) | Fixed Sidebar Panel (Content, Style, Advanced tabs) |
| Structure View | Layers Panel (Tree view), Wireframe View | Navigator Panel (Tree view) |
| Upcoming Interface Changes | Full rewrite, Fixed sidebar workflow (v5) | CSS-first, Class-based styling workflow (v4) |
Not Completely Happy with Either Interface?
When they first launched, Elementor and Divi offered groundbreaking user interfaces, but that was over a decade ago. Today, modern page builders like Breakdance provide interface features that go well beyond what either Elementor or Divi offer.
Here are some of the features we like to highlight:
- Themeless Mode: Breakdance doesn't require a WordPress theme. This allows it to provide a consistent editing experience throughout.
- Streamlined Design: A modern, intuitive interface with less clutter than either Elementor or Divi.
- Element Studio: The world's first element development IDE, letting you visually create and modify custom elements within the builder itself.
- Searchable UI Panels: Search property panels to quickly locate specific settings or options by typing keywords. This improves efficiency—especially for complex projects—and sets a modern standard absent in legacy builders like Elementor or Divi.
- Global Styling Efficiency: Breakdance’s global styling controls let you make site-wide updates (e.g., typography, WooCommerce, forms) with just a few clicks—a huge time-saver.
- Inline Global Blocks and Scroll Animations: Breakdance 2.5 introduces inline editing of global blocks and scroll-based color animations, further enhancing dynamic design.
- Speed: Breakdance avoids the laggy UI reported with Divi and the slowdowns that can result from Elementor’s extensive widget use, allowing it to load and respond much faster.
Frequently Asked Questions
Many web design professionals use Elementor. Its ability to create custom designs without code makes it a popular choice for building client websites efficiently. However, recently, many professionals and agencies are considering newer page builders like Breakdance for a more feature-rich and faster website.
To change the Elementor canvas, go to Page Settings from the top toolbar and change the page layout to your choice. You’ll see options to set the canvas to full width, full canvas, page with no title, and more.
Flexbox is used to arrange items neatly in a single direction, either a row or a column. Grid, on the other hand, is used for arranging items in two dimensions, letting you easily create layouts with both rows and columns at the same time.
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