It’s VERY easy to get “shiny thing syndrome” when considering adding a page builder to your development stack – and I’ll be the first to admit that as someone coming from a development background, I prefer the days of having no page builder at all… But that doesn’t work for everyone, so if you are to choose one, will it affect the SEO of the sites you build with it?
The main issue (for SEO at least) with using any page builder isn’t really anything to do with which page builder you use, but rather the lack of control you have over the output code (and the processes used to generate that output). But, thankfully, as time has passed, it has become more and more possible to achieve performance scores of 100% using page builders.
This now means that, from an SEO perspective at least, it’s rarely the builder that is the problem. It’s how it is implemented that matters.
Here’s what actually impacts SEO from your page builder:
✅ Page Speed & Performance
Every builder adds weight – that’s unavoidable. BUT, a well-optimized page builder site can outperform a poorly optimized “clean code” site. Why? Because a good host and proper optimization impact speed and performance way more than your page builder choice.
✅ Core Web Vitals
- Unoptimized images
- Missing caching
- Unused CSS/JS loading
- Too many plugins. Pro tip: Run your top-performing competitor sites through GTmetrix – I bet they’re using builders too!
Your page builder may not be brilliant at these jobs out of the box, but with services like CDNs and Perfmatters, you can improve the output and overwrite the delivery from the page builder.
✅ Mobile Experience
Most builders are actually pretty good here, but watch for:
- Responsive breakpoints
- Font scaling
- Button/CTA placement. Quick win: Test your most profitable pages in mobile view first!
So, should you switch page builders? 🤨 My advice is probably not.
Instead, it is far better to master your current builder’s optimization settings, learn its performance tweaks, use a reliable host, keep plugins minimal and configure a development stack that works for you. Doing this will allow you to deliver optimized websites EVERY TIME, rather than having to start from scratch with a new builder each time.
This is the reason that I still pay my Beaver Builder licence (and am happy to every year!).
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Pete Everitt
Pete is a digital agency owner, SEO expert, and Co-Founder of SEOHive – a white-label SEO service helping agencies scale their recurring revenue. Through fractional consultancy, Pete works directly with agencies to develop recurring services and helps businesses enhance their digital presence. He has also created courses like Demystifying SEO and WordPress SEO Fundamentals, and hosts The WP SEO Show, all aimed at equipping agencies with the tools they need to better serve their clients.
