Mastering Elementor: Create Custom Grids with Free Widgets

Preface

Are you looking to take your Elementor skills to the next level? Creating custom grids can transform your website’s design, making it more engaging and visually appealing. With Elementor’s flexibility and a bit of creativity, you can achieve stunning layouts using only the free widgets. This guide will walk you through the process, providing you with the knowledge and techniques to create unique and responsive grids for your WordPress website.

Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced designer, mastering custom grids in Elementor opens up a world of possibilities. Let’s dive in and start building!

Why Use Custom Grids in Elementor?

Before we get into the how-to, let’s explore why you might want to use custom grids in the first place:

• Improved Visual Appeal: Custom grids allow you to break away from the standard layouts, creating a more dynamic and visually interesting design.
• Enhanced User Experience: A well-designed grid can improve the user experience by making content easier to scan and navigate.
• Greater Design Flexibility: Custom grids offer endless possibilities for arranging content, giving you complete control over your website’s look and feel.
• Responsive Design: When implemented correctly, custom grids ensure your website looks great on any device.

Getting Started with Elementor

If you’re new to Elementor, don’t worry! It’s a user-friendly page builder that simplifies website design. First, make sure you have Elementor installed and activated on your WordPress site. If you don’t have Elementor installed, check out this helpful resource on how to install WordPress plugins.

Hint: Make sure you have a basic understanding of Elementor’s interface before diving into custom grids. A good starting point is to read ‘Getting Started with Elementor: The Complete Guide’, here.

Understanding Elementor’s Basic Structure

Elementor’s structure consists of three main elements:

• Sections: These are the largest building blocks and act as containers for your content. Think of them as rows in a traditional grid system.
• Columns: Columns reside within sections and divide the content horizontally. You can adjust the width of columns to create various layouts.
• Widgets: These are the elements you drag and drop into columns, such as headings, text, images, and buttons.

Creating a Basic Grid

Let’s start with a simple two-column grid. Follow these steps:

1. Add a New Section: In Elementor, click the plus icon to add a new section. Choose the structure that suits your needs. For a two-column grid, select the two-column layout.
2. Adjust Column Widths: Hover over the column divider and drag it to adjust the widths. You can also set specific widths in the column settings under the ‘Layout’ tab.
3. Add Widgets: Drag and drop widgets into each column. For example, you could add a heading and a paragraph of text to one column and an image to the other.

<section class='elementor-section'>
  <div class='elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default'>
    <div class='elementor-column elementor-col-50'>
      <!-- Widgets go here -->
    </div>
    <div class='elementor-column elementor-col-50'>
      <!-- Widgets go here -->
    </div>
  </div>
</section>

Advanced Grid Techniques Using Free Widgets

Now, let’s explore some advanced techniques to create more complex custom grids using only Elementor’s free widgets.

1. The Inner Section Widget

The Inner Section widget is a game-changer for creating nested grids. It allows you to add a section within a column, giving you more flexibility in arranging content.

1. Drag and Drop: Drag the Inner Section widget into a column.
2. Customize: Adjust the number of columns within the inner section and their widths.
3. Add Content: Populate the inner section columns with widgets.

<section class='elementor-section'>
  <div class='elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default'>
    <div class='elementor-column elementor-col-100'>
      <div class='elementor-inner-section'>
        <div class='elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default'>
          <div class='elementor-column elementor-col-50'>
            <!-- Widgets go here -->
          </div>
          <div class='elementor-column elementor-col-50'>
            <!-- Widgets go here -->
          </div>
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </div</section>

2. Using Multiple Sections for Complex Layouts

You can create intricate grids by stacking multiple sections and adjusting their column structures. This technique is useful for creating unique content layouts.

1. Add Multiple Sections: Add several sections to your page.
2. Vary Column Structures: In each section, choose a different column structure (e.g., one column, two columns, three columns).
3. Align Content: Use Elementor’s alignment options to ensure your content is visually cohesive across sections.

3. Utilizing Spacers and Dividers

Spacers and Dividers are simple but effective widgets for creating visual separation and structure within your grid.

• Spacers: Use the Spacer widget to add vertical space between elements, creating a cleaner and more organized layout.
• Dividers: The Divider widget adds a horizontal line, helping to visually separate different sections of content.

4. Absolute Positioning

Info: Absolute positioning can be used to move widgets outside their normal flow.

Absolute positioning offers a way to precisely place elements within your grid, allowing for creative overlaps and unique designs. To use absolute positioning:

1. Select Widget: Choose the widget you want to position.
2. Go to Advanced Tab: In the Elementor editor, navigate to the ‘Advanced’ tab of the widget settings.
3. Set Positioning: Under the ‘Positioning’ section, set the ‘Position’ to ‘Absolute.’
4. Adjust Coordinates: Use the ‘Horizontal Orientation’ and ‘Vertical Orientation’ settings to move the widget to your desired location.

Keep in mind that absolute positioning can sometimes cause responsiveness issues, so be sure to test your layout on different devices.

5. Negative Margins

Negative margins allow you to pull elements outside of their containers, creating interesting visual effects and overlapping designs. Here’s how to use them:

1. Select Widget: Choose the widget you want to adjust.
2. Go to Advanced Tab: In the Elementor editor, navigate to the ‘Advanced’ tab of the widget settings.
3. Adjust Margins: Under the ‘Margins’ section, enter negative values for the top, bottom, left, or right margins.

   Info: Be careful when using negative margins across all devices because this can cause display issues on smaller screens. To avoid this, set the values on specific screen sizes

Hint: Another approach to use negative margins is by creating “cut-out effects”. This can be done by overlapping a section/column with another element!

Making Your Grids Responsive

Responsiveness is crucial for ensuring your website looks great on all devices. Elementor provides several tools to make your custom grids responsive.

1. Using Elementor’s Responsive Mode

Elementor’s responsive mode allows you to preview and adjust your layout for different screen sizes.

1. Activate Responsive Mode: Click the responsive mode icon at the bottom of the Elementor editor.
2. Select Device: Choose the device you want to preview (desktop, tablet, or mobile).
3. Adjust Settings: Make adjustments to column widths, font sizes, and widget visibility to optimize the layout for each device.

2. Hiding Elements on Specific Devices

Sometimes, you may want to hide certain elements on specific devices to improve the layout. You can do this in the ‘Advanced’ tab of the widget settings under the ‘Responsive’ section.

3. Adjusting Column Widths for Different Devices

Adjusting column widths is essential for responsiveness. For example, you might want to stack columns on mobile devices to ensure content is easily readable. The column settings allow you to set different widths for desktop, tablet, and mobile.

Examples of Custom Grids You Can Create

Here are a few examples of custom grids you can create with Elementor’s free widgets:

• Magazine Layout: Use multiple sections with varying column structures to create a dynamic magazine-style layout. Feature a large hero image at the top, followed by sections with articles and sidebars.
• Portfolio Grid: Showcase your work with a grid of images, using the Inner Section widget to create columns within columns. Add titles and descriptions below each image.
• Team Member Section: Create a section to introduce your team members using a grid layout. Include photos, names, and brief bios for each person.

Best Practices for Custom Grids

• Plan Your Layout: Before you start building, sketch out your desired grid layout to ensure a cohesive design.
• Use a Consistent Style: Maintain a consistent style throughout your grid to create a professional look.
• Optimize for Mobile: Always check your grid on different devices to ensure it is responsive and user-friendly.
• Keep it Simple: Avoid overcomplicating your grid with too many elements or complex structures. Simplicity often leads to better design.

Conclusion

Creating custom grids with Elementor’s free widgets is a powerful way to enhance your website’s design and user experience. By understanding Elementor’s basic structure and utilizing advanced techniques like the Inner Section widget, spacers, dividers, absolute positioning, and negative margins, you can create stunning layouts without writing a single line of code. Remember to focus on responsiveness to ensure your grids look great on all devices.

Now that you’ve learned the techniques, it’s time to start experimenting and creating your own custom grids. Visit Elementor and begin your journey to design mastery.

Keep exploring and refining your skills, and you’ll be amazed at what you can achieve with Elementor. Happy designing!