How can I migrate away from page builders like Elementor without breaking content?

Migrating away from page builders like Elementor without breaking your content requires careful planning and a strategic approach. The key is understanding that page builder content is often tightly coupled with proprietary code, so a clean transition involves rebuilding pages rather than simply converting them.

Understanding the Challenge

Page builders like Elementor store content in a way that’s dependent on their specific plugins and shortcodes. When you deactivate the page builder, this content doesn’t automatically transfer to a new system—it typically breaks or displays as raw code. That’s why the migration process requires more than just flipping a switch.

A Strategic Migration Approach

The most reliable path forward involves rebuilding your site with a custom WordPress theme or moving to a more performance-focused solution. Here’s how to approach it:

Start with strategy first. Before making any technical decisions, clarify your priorities—whether that’s improved performance, easier content management, better security, or reduced maintenance costs. Your strategy should determine the technology, not the other way around. One real-world example showed how shifting priorities mid-project (from developer speed to ease-of-use to performance) led to multiple costly rebuilds.

Conduct a thorough content audit. Identify which pages and content need to migrate to your new site. Some outdated content may not be worth migrating, which can actually streamline your workload and reduce costs. Understanding what content serves your business goals helps you make informed decisions about what to keep, update, or remove.

Plan for manual rebuilding. Unlike standard WordPress content that can often be exported and imported, page builder content typically needs to be recreated in your new system. This involves using custom themes with tools like Advanced Custom Fields Pro, which provides flexible content blocks (often called “blades”) that maintain design consistency while giving content editors freedom.

Use a staging environment for testing. Work with a hosting platform like Pantheon or WP Engine that provides multi-dev environments (dev, stage, live), allowing you to rebuild and test without affecting your live site.

Implement a content freeze before launch. About two weeks before going live with your new site, stop making changes to your old site’s content to prevent inconsistencies between the two versions.

The Benefits of Moving Away from Page Builders

While the migration process requires investment, the long-term benefits are significant: improved site performance and load times, reduced technical debt, better security, easier ongoing maintenance, and a more streamlined backend experience for your content team.

If you’re considering this transition, partnering with an experienced agency can help you avoid costly pitfalls and ensure your content remains intact throughout the process. At Clear Digital, we’ve helped numerous clients successfully migrate from page builders to custom WordPress solutions that better serve their long-term goals.