Switching from WPBakery to Elementor means rebuilding your pages in a different page builder while keeping your content and design intact. The short answer to whether it is worth it in 2026 is yes, almost always. WPBakery leaves shortcode dependencies scattered throughout your database, slows down performance, and makes the editing experience frustrating for clients. Elementor is cleaner, faster, and much easier for non-developers to use day to day.
But a migration is still real work. This guide explains what is involved, how to approach it without breaking your site, and when the benefits justify the effort.
Why WPBakery Has Become a Problem for Many Sites
WPBakery was once the dominant WordPress page builder. It shipped bundled with many premium themes and became the default tool for thousands of WordPress sites. The problem is that WPBakery works by injecting shortcodes into your content. Every column, row, and element gets wrapped in tags like vc_row and vc_column that are stored directly in your WordPress database.
If you ever switch away from WPBakery, those shortcodes display as raw text on the page. Your content is essentially held hostage by the plugin. This vendor lock-in is the single biggest complaint about WPBakery in 2026.
The interface is also dated. WPBakery's backend editor looks and feels like something built in 2014, because it largely was. Clients struggle with it. Developers find it limiting. Compared to Elementor's live drag-and-drop experience, WPBakery feels like a step backward.
What WPBakery to Elementor Migration Actually Involves
There is no automatic converter that perfectly translates WPBakery layouts into Elementor pages. The migration is a rebuild. A developer looks at each page in its current WPBakery form, notes the layout, spacing, typography, and content, and then recreates it in Elementor.
On a simple site with ten pages, this might take one to two days. On a large site with fifty or more pages, complex layouts, and custom WPBakery elements, it can take one to three weeks. The complexity of the design determines the timeline more than the page count.
Step 1: Audit Pages Before Starting
Before touching the migration, list every page on the site and note which ones use WPBakery layouts. Identify which pages are most important, highest traffic, and most visible. These get migrated first and tested most carefully.
Also note any WPBakery elements that have no direct Elementor equivalent. Things like custom WPBakery add-ons or premium elements from third-party extensions may need to be replaced with a different Elementor widget or a custom solution.
Step 2: Set Up Elementor Before Touching Existing Pages
Install Elementor and Elementor Pro on the site. Go into Elementor's Site Settings and define your global colors and typography based on the existing site design. This saves enormous time during the rebuild because you can apply consistent styling with one click instead of entering values manually on every element.
Do not deactivate WPBakery yet. Both builders can coexist on a site. Keep WPBakery active so the existing pages continue to render correctly while you rebuild them in Elementor one at a time.
Step 3: Rebuild Pages One at a Time on Staging
Do this work on a staging copy of the site, not on the live server. Rebuild each page in Elementor by creating a new page template, recreating the layout from scratch using the existing WPBakery page as a visual reference, and then replacing the WPBakery page with the Elementor version once it is confirmed to look correct.
Work through the highest-priority pages first. Get client or stakeholder sign-off on the first few pages before rebuilding the rest. This catches any design direction issues early rather than after you have rebuilt forty pages.
Step 4: Clean Up Shortcodes from the Database
After all pages have been rebuilt in Elementor, you need to clean the WPBakery shortcodes out of the database. Even after you stop using WPBakery, its shortcodes remain stored in the database for any posts or pages that were not manually rebuilt. The Better Search Replace plugin can find and remove these shortcodes in bulk.
Be careful with this step. Run a full database backup before doing any bulk replacement. Test the results on staging before running it on the live site.
Step 5: Deactivate and Remove WPBakery
Once all pages are running on Elementor and the database is clean, deactivate WPBakery. Check every page one more time to confirm nothing broke. Then delete the WPBakery plugin entirely.
Your site is now running on Elementor with no shortcode dependencies. Anyone can edit any page without needing to understand WPBakery's structure.
Performance Improvements After Migration
One of the most noticeable benefits of moving from WPBakery to Elementor is the performance improvement. WPBakery loads a significant amount of JavaScript and CSS that is not always necessary for every page. Elementor also loads scripts, but its modern architecture and improved asset handling in recent versions typically results in faster page loads and better Core Web Vitals scores.
After completing the migration, run Google PageSpeed Insights on your key pages and compare the scores to your pre-migration benchmarks. Most sites see an improvement.
Is Every Site Worth Migrating?
Not always. If a site was built with a heavily customized WPBakery setup, including bespoke extensions and complex functionality tied directly to WPBakery's API, the rebuild cost can be significant. For a simple brochure site, the migration usually pays for itself quickly through reduced maintenance headaches and a better client editing experience.
The clearest cases for migration are sites where clients constantly struggle with the editing interface, sites where performance is a problem, and sites that will be actively developed and updated for years to come.
Agencies doing this at scale save significant time by outsourcing to a WPBakery to Elementor migration specialist who rebuilds every page in Elementor, removes all shortcode dependencies, and delivers a faster, easier-to-maintain site. It removes the rebuild work from your internal team and ensures the result is tested and production-ready.
Final Thoughts
WPBakery to Elementor migration in 2026 is almost always worth it for sites that will be actively maintained. The shortcode lock-in problem alone is reason enough to make the switch. Combine that with a better editing experience, improved performance, and access to Elementor's full ecosystem of tools, and the case is straightforward.
Plan the migration carefully, do the work on staging, and clean up the database properly. Done right, the finished site will be faster, easier to edit, and ready for whatever comes next.