What’s new in Elementor 3.1 update
The latest version of the Elementor free plugin has been released and in this article we will be discussing all about what’s new in Elementor 3.1.
Elementor 3.1 was available for download from the WordPress plugin repository on 24th January 2021 and it includes performance improvements, a new area for landing pages and more.
These new features can be used by anyone as this update is for the Elementor base / free plugin.
It case you give Elementor 3.1 a try then you can do so by clicking our SPECIAL LINK or the button below
What’s included in Elementor 3.1 update – Latest Release
As mentioned above, in Elementor’s version 3.1 a few new features have been introduced such as the new experiments tab, a new dedicated area and workflow for landing pages, compatibility tags and more.
Below we have listed all the topics we have covered in this article and you can visit your favorite section by clicking the links.
New Experiments Tab in Elementor 3.1 update
After the release of Elementor 3.0, consistent efforts have been made to improve and scale the process of testing and releasing new features.
As a result of this, a new Experiments tab has been introduced in Elementor 3.1.
And this tab will allow you to access up and coming features and provide a feedback on the same.
Before we move forward, it is important to know that the features in this tab are experimental and have not been fully released.
It is advised that you only try these features on your staging sites and not on the live.
Also, these experiments may change in future or be removed completely depending on the future plans.
Hence, use it only on your test / staging environments.
Having said that,
In case you are wondering where is the Experiments tab located in Elementor then the answer is Settings.
To visit the Experiments tab you need to head over to Settings under Elementor and it will show you the tab.
Enable or disable Experiments in Elementor 3.1
As discussed above, some of the features listed in the Experiments are still under works.
And this means to avoid any compatibility / potential issues, you need an option to opt out. Elementor gives you the power to enable or disable any of these features with just a click of a button.
And to enable or disable a feature you will have to just select an option in the drop down.
It is important to know by default all of the experiments are set to Default.
And the color Green in front of the feature indicates that it is active and Grey suggests otherwise.
Experiments in Elementor 3.1
Now that you know about the Experiments in Elementor some of you might be thinking what do these features do.
In this section we have briefly shared the working of each of these.
Improved Asset Loading
Page speed is one the most important factor that impacts user experience, conversion rates and rankings and the Improved Asset Loading experiment is focused on just that.
This feature will improve the performance of a site by loading parts of the infrastructure JS code only when needed leading to reduced JS file size and improved performance.
For those using HTTP/2 protocols will benefit from this due to Multiplexing which allows browsers to request the assets in parallel resulting in significant performance improvements.
Accessibility Improvements
Over the time Elementor has received quite a lot of feedback on the much needed accessibility improvements.
And in version 3.1, Elementor has decided to focus on this starting with the Tabs widget.
To fix this, Elementor has removed empty tags and added a selected tab state and improved keyboard navigation.
DOM Improvements
In Elementor 3.0, some DOM related improvements were introduced that focused on the removal and reduction of certain elements impacting it.
To release this improvement in a controlled way and avoid any conflicts with Addons, Elementor has decided to include the option in Experiments.
And based on your requirements you can enable or disable it.
New landing Page Builder in Elementor 3.1 update
If you have been reading our blog then you must have seen we often refer to Elementor as a page builder, landing page builder and site builder.
It is important to know that although you can create landing pages using Elementor. However, the workflow is exactly the same as that of create a page using this plugin.
Keeping this in mind, Elementor has introduced a new landing page builder to differentiate its workflow from that of a landing page.
Making it more organized.
Before we dive into this, it is important to know that landing page builder is a feature that is in Beta at the moment.
Hence, the option to enable / disable can be found under the newly introduced Experiments.
Also, this feature is Active in its Default state and according to us it will not be impacting your site dramatically in case of potential issues.
Thus is pretty safe to use.
Keeping this in mind, to visit the new landing page builder in Elementor you need to navigate to Templates in your WordPress dashboard and then click Landing pages.
Doing this will show you the option to add a new landing page.
When you select this option, it will take you to the Elementor editor where you will be able to create a landing page just like any other page easily.
It is important to note that when you will publish your landing page created in Elementor, it will create a new post type (e-landing-pages) in your site.
New Dedicated Landing Page Library in Elementor 3.1 update
In the above section, I intentionally skipped a part which is the new landing page directory in Elementor version 3.1.
If you have been using Elementor to create pages or a specific sections on your site then I’m sure you are familiar with the fact that it takes you to the template library first.
And that is exactly what it’ll do when you create landing pages with Elementor.
It is important to know that Elementor is a beginner friendly plugin and comes with plenty of pre-built templates to speed up and ease the process.
And continuing on this tradition, Elementor has introduced a new dedicated template library for landing pages.
Using it you can insert the design that you like with a few clicks saving you a lot time.
Currently this library has around 50+ templates and Elementor is planning to continuously grow it in the future.
Introduction of Compatibility Tags in Elementor 3.1 update
In WordPress, Elementor has its own ecosystem of addons where developers / companies use its API to create 3rd party plugins that extends it functionality.
At the moment there are over 500 addons and not every developer updates their extension on a regular basis.
And as of result of this, Elementor users can experience problems.
Keeping this in mind, Elementor has released compatibility tags that will let the you know if the addons you are using are compatible with the currently installed version of Elementor or not.
This step is taken by Elementor to provide you that extra bit of safety from compatibility issues.
Having said that,
This concludes all the improvements, changes and new features that have been introduced in Elementor 3.1 update.
If you have liked what you have read and want to get Elementor Pro license then you can do so by clicking our SPECIAL LINK or the button below.
Get Started with Elementor 3.1
Now that you are familiar with Elementor’s version 3.1 and want to give it a try then this section is for you.
To get started with Elementor 3.1, the first step is to visit Elementor and click Get Started on the main navigation.
On doing this it will ask you to create an account on Elementor and after this it will start the onboarding process.
In the onboarding process, you are required to answer to answer a few basic questions and once done it will show you 2 options
- Start on Cloud– For if you are about to start your blog or any other type of website and want it to be hosted on Elementor Cloud
- Download and install– If you have an existing site and just want to use Elementor
In case you decide to select Start on Cloud then it will take you to the checkout page where you will have to pay for the service and its very inexpensive.
See- How to sign up for Elementor Cloud Website
If you decide to select Download and Install then it will show you all the plans including the Free one.
Here you will have to select one as per your requirement and Buy Elementor Pro plugin.
Once you are done till here, the next step is to
And that’s it you have successfully started using the best page builder plugin in the WordPress ecosystem and its time now to create beautiful pages.
Having said that
I hope you will find this article helpful and now know what’s new in Elementor 3.1 update.
In case you have any queries feel free to get in touch and we will be happy to help.
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