The Client That Made Me Question Everything I Knew
It was 2 AM on a Tuesday when I got the email. “Chad, our site is loading so slow. Our bounce rate is through the roof. Can you help?” This was from a BPO company in Ortigas that I had built using Elementor six months ago. They were paying premium for hosting, but their site felt like it was running on dial-up.
I spent the entire night debugging. Turns out, the beautiful page builder I had used was loading 1.2MB of CSS and JavaScript on every single page. That is when I knew something had to change. That client became my turning point – the moment I seriously questioned whether page builders were worth it.
Fast forward to today, and I have completed over 50 WordPress projects using both approaches. Let me share what I have learned – the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Block Editor: The Underdog That Won Me Over
I will be honest – when Gutenberg first came out, I hated it. It felt clunky, limited, and honestly? It was frustrating. But here is the thing: WordPress did not give up on it. They kept improving, and now? The block editor has become my go-to for most projects.
Why I Switched (Mostly)
The performance difference is night and day. A typical block editor site loads in 1.2 seconds. The same site built with Elementor? Usually 2.5-3 seconds. For Filipino businesses targeting both local and international markets, that speed difference matters.
Take my client in Cebu who sells dried mangoes online. Their old Elementor site was loading in 3.8 seconds. After I rebuilt it using the block editor, they dropped to 1.4 seconds. Their conversion rate increased by 27% in the first month. That is real money on the table.
The Learning Curve Was Real Though
But it is not all perfect. The first few block editor projects were painful. I spent hours figuring out how to create complex layouts that would take me minutes in Elementor. There were moments I almost gave up and went back to my comfort zone.
What saved me? Block patterns and reusable blocks. Once I understood these concepts, everything clicked. Now I can build complex sites faster than ever, and they are so much cleaner under the hood.
Page Builders: When They Still Make Sense
Look, I am not going to tell you to abandon page builders completely. That would be irresponsible. There are still situations where I use them, and you should too.
When I Still Choose Page Builders
Last month, a startup in BGC needed a landing page for their product launch – and they needed it yesterday. They had very specific design requirements that would have taken me days to replicate in the block editor. With Elementor, I had it done in 4 hours.
Sometimes, speed of development trumps everything else. When a client has a tight deadline and a complex design vision, page builders still win.
The Non-Technical Client Factor
I have a client who runs a small resort in Palawan. She is amazing at hospitality but terrified of technology. With Elementor, she can make simple text changes herself. With the block editor? She would need to call me for every tiny update.
For businesses that need to make frequent content changes and lack technical staff, page builders provide value that goes beyond just the initial build.
Performance: The Numbers Do not Lie
I have been tracking performance metrics across all my projects. Here is what the data shows after 50+ sites:
Load Time Comparison
- Block Editor Sites: Average 1.3 seconds (mobile), 0.8 seconds (desktop)
- Page Builder Sites: Average 2.7 seconds (mobile), 1.9 seconds (desktop)
Core Web Vitals Impact
- Block Editor: 85% of sites pass all Core Web Vitals
- Page Builders: Only 32% pass all Core Web Vitals
SEO Performance
The sites I built with the block editor consistently rank better. I am talking 40-60% higher organic traffic after 6 months compared to similar page builder sites.
The Cost Factor Nobody Talks About
Here is something that surprised me: page builder sites often cost more in the long run.
That BPO client from Ortigas? They ended up paying me PHP 15,000 monthly for optimization work because their Elementor site kept getting slower with each update. The block editor rebuild cost them PHP 50,000 once, and they have not needed optimization since.
Plus, consider the renewal costs. Premium page builder plugins cost $50-100 per year per site. Multiply that by 20 clients, and you are looking at significant overhead.
My Decision Framework
After all these projects, I have developed a simple framework for choosing between block editor and page builders:
Choose Block Editor When:
- Performance is critical (e-commerce, lead generation)
- Client has long-term vision for the site
- Budget allows for custom development
- SEO is a primary goal
- Site needs to scale
Choose Page Builders When:
- Deadline is extremely tight
- Client needs to make frequent content changes
- Budget is very limited
- Design requirements are highly complex
- Client is non-technical and prefers visual editing
The Hybrid Approach That Works
Sometimes, the best solution is both. I have been experimenting with using the block editor for core pages (home, about, services) and page builders for specific landing pages or complex sections.
This gives you the best of both worlds – performance where it matters most, and flexibility where you need it. Just be careful about plugin conflicts and make sure you test thoroughly.
Looking Ahead: The Future is Block-First
WordPress is clearly going all-in on the block editor. Full site editing, block themes, theme.json – these are not experiments anymore. They are the future.
Page builders are adapting too. Elementor now has a “native blocks” mode. Divi is working on better block compatibility. But honestly? The native WordPress block editor is catching up fast, and in many cases, it has already surpassed the page builders in terms of performance and flexibility.
My Honest Recommendation
If you are starting new projects in 2025, I would strongly recommend going block-first. The learning curve is worth it, and your clients will thank you when their sites load faster and rank better.
But do not throw away your page builder skills completely. There will always be edge cases where they make sense. The key is knowing when to use which tool.
That BPO client in Ortigas? Their site is now blazing fast, their bounce rate dropped by 40%, and they are getting more leads than ever. More importantly, they stopped calling me at 2 AM with performance issues. For me, that is worth everything.
Not sure which approach is right for your project? Let is analyze your specific needs and recommend the best solution. Check out my previous post on AI tools that can help with both approaches.