The editor takes forever to load, the preview stays gray, or the finished page builds up sluggishly? That’s not unusual with Elementor – and it’s almost never Elementor alone. Usually it’s a mix of server settings, plugins and content. Here are the seven most common causes and how to fix them.
Is it not the website but the editor itself that hangs? Then read our guide Elementor stuck loading? How to fix the loading screen problem in 9 steps.
1. Not enough memory (PHP memory limit)
Elementor is a large plugin: the editor loads lots of widgets, settings and templates at once. By default, WordPress itself only sets a memory limit of 40 MB for the frontend. That’s enough for a simple blog, but not for a page builder. For Elementor Pro, you should plan for at least 512 MB.
Typical signs: The editor doesn’t load completely, you see a white page, or you get the error message “Allowed memory size exhausted”.
Solution: Increase the memory limit – we explain how step by step in our article How to increase the Elementor memory limit.
2. Outdated PHP version
Newer PHP versions run the same code much faster than old ones. If your site is still on PHP 7.x, you’re leaving noticeable performance on the table – and you no longer get security updates.
Solution: Switch to PHP 8.1 or newer. In Plesk, you’ll find this under “PHP Settings” for your domain. Make a backup first and afterwards check that all plugins still work.
3. Too many plugins and add-ons
Every plugin loads its own code, often in the editor too. Elementor add-on packs with dozens of widgets are especially heavy, even if you only use two of them.
Solution: Deactivate plugins you don’t need and turn off unused widgets in add-on packs. Rule of thumb: one good plugin for a task beats three that overlap.
4. Large, uncompressed images
A photo straight from the camera can easily be 5 MB or more. On a page with ten images like that, the visitor waits – and so does the editor.
Solution: Resize images to the width you actually need before uploading (1,600 to 2,000 pixels is enough for most layouts) and save them as WebP. An image optimization plugin can also do this automatically.
5. No caching
Without caching, WordPress rebuilds every page on every request: run PHP, query the database, generate HTML. With Elementor pages, this takes especially long.
Solution: OPcache on the server keeps compiled PHP code in memory, and a page cache serves ready-made pages. At servflix.com, OPcache is enabled in every plan.
6. Overly nested layouts and too many fonts
Containers in containers in containers – every level adds extra HTML that the browser has to process. On top of that, there are often several Google Fonts in many weights.
Solution: Keep layouts flat, handle recurring styles with global classes and colors, and limit yourself to two fonts with just a few weights. In the Elementor settings under “Features”, you’ll also find performance options such as optimized asset loading.
7. Slow storage at your web host
Elementor pages access many files and database entries on every request. If these sit on slow disks or overloaded servers, even the best optimization can only help so much.
Solution: When choosing hosting, look for NVMe storage, a fast web server like NGINX and plenty of RAM. We explain the difference between NVMe and classic SSDs in our article NVMe vs. SSD for WordPress.
Checklist: speed up Elementor
- Set the PHP memory limit to at least 512 MB
- Use PHP 8.1 or newer
- Deactivate unused plugins and add-on widgets
- Resize images and save them as WebP
- Use OPcache and a page cache
- Keep layouts flat, use few fonts
- Choose hosting with NVMe storage
Conclusion
A slow Elementor almost always has several causes. The biggest levers are enough memory, a current PHP version and fast storage on the server. That’s exactly what our plans are built for: Elementor hosting with 1 GB RAM, PHP 8.1+, NVMe and OPcache – from €10 per month and cancel monthly.