After building websites with Elementor for years, I made the decision to switch my entire agency to Breakdance in 2023. It wasn’t a decision I took lightly – I had dozens of client sites running on Elementor, and changing your core toolset is a big deal. But the frustrations had been building up for too long, and when I discovered Breakdance, I knew it was time to make the change. Here’s why.
Look, Elementor isn’t a bad tool. It’s popular for a reason, and I built some great websites with it. But after working with it for several years, the cracks really started to show.
Every Elementor site I built would load masses of CSS and JavaScript, whether the page needed it or not. I’d open Chrome DevTools and see dozens of files being loaded just to display a simple page. For you as a client, this means slower websites. And slow websites mean frustrated visitors who leave before seeing what you offer.
I’d spend hours trying to clean up the code, installing performance plugins, removing unused widgets, and generally fighting against the builder just to get decent loading speeds. That’s time I should have been spending on making your website better, not fixing problems the tool created.
Related to the code bloat, but worth mentioning separately: Elementor websites are just slow. I’d build a beautiful site, launch it, then have to explain to clients why their page speed scores were mediocre. No web designer wants to have that conversation.
I tried everything – expensive hosting, caching plugins, image optimisation, lazy loading, the works. But I was constantly battling against Elementor’s inefficiencies. The tool itself was the bottleneck. There are countless guides out there on “how to speed up Elementor” precisely because this is such a common problem.
This was the one that really got to me. I’d see an Elementor update notification, apply it across my client sites, and hold my breath. More often than not, something would break.
In September 2024, version 3.24.1 broke CSS on single post pages across multiple sites. In late 2024, version 3.26 caused fatal errors because they removed an old feature called “Schemes” without enough warning. In March 2025, version 3.28.0 caused subtle design shifts – buttons moving, fonts changing, icons shifting slightly.
Each time, I’d spend hours going through client websites, regenerating CSS, clearing caches, fixing things that shouldn’t have broken in the first place. Some updates I’d delay entirely because I knew they’d cause problems.
That’s no way to run a professional web design business. I can’t tell a restaurant owner “sorry, Elementor broke your menu page again, I’ll fix it for free… again.”
Want a proper mega menu? Install a plugin. Need better form options? Another plugin. Want more advanced animations? Yet another plugin. Fancy some custom post type layouts? You guessed it, plugin time.
I found myself installing 5, 6, sometimes more different Elementor addon plugins just to build the websites my clients needed. Each plugin is another potential point of failure, another thing to update, another thing to break. And more plugins means slower websites.
It felt ridiculous. Why was I paying for a “Pro” tool that needed so many extras to do professional work?
I’d been keeping an eye on Breakdance since it launched in 2022. It was created by the same team who built Oxygen Builder, which had a reputation for clean code and performance. But I was hesitant – switching tools is a massive undertaking.
In early 2023, I finally took the plunge and built a test site with Breakdance. Within a few hours, I knew this was the tool I should have been using all along.
Breakdance’s interface feels natural to me. Everything is where I expect it to be. The workflow matches how I think about building websites. I know this sounds subjective, but when you’re building websites day in and day out, working with a tool that feels intuitive rather than fighting you makes a huge difference.
For you as a client, this means I can build your website faster and with fewer mistakes. When your web designer isn’t wrestling with their tools, they can focus on making your site better.
The first Breakdance site I built loaded in under a second on a modest hosting plan. No performance plugins. No hours of optimisation. It just worked.
I opened DevTools and couldn’t believe how clean the code was. Only the CSS and JavaScript that the page actually needed. No bloat. No waste.
Your website visitors don’t wait around. If your site takes three or four seconds to load, they’re gone. With Breakdance, I can confidently deliver websites that load quickly, which means better experiences for your customers.
This was a revelation. Mega menus? Built in. Advanced form builder? Built in. Popups? Built in. WooCommerce layouts? Built in. Custom post displays? Built in. Motion effects? Built in.
I went from needing multiple addon plugins to needing just the odd one here and there. The majority of everything I need to build professional client websites is included in Breakdance itself. One tool, one licence, everything works together perfectly.
Fewer plugins means faster websites, fewer things to update, and fewer things to break. It’s just simpler all round.
Breakdance takes accessibility seriously. The team has built in proper ARIA labels, keyboard navigation, focus states, and semantic HTML from the ground up. This matters because it means your website works properly for everyone, including people using screen readers or keyboard navigation.
I never have to worry about whether I’m accidentally building a website that excludes people. Breakdance does the right thing by default, which is how it should be.
I’d be lying if I said the switch was all sunshine and roses. There are trade-offs.
The ecosystem of third-party addons for Breakdance is smaller (though honestly, I don’t miss needing them). And there are fewer YouTube tutorials if your new web designer needs to learn it.
But here’s the thing: I’d rather build on solid foundations than have access to thousands of templates built on shaky ground. The benefits far outweigh these minor inconveniences.
If you’re getting a new website built with me, you’re getting it built with Breakdance. That means:
Most importantly, there are no ongoing licence fees that affect you. I pay once for Breakdance and include that cost in my project pricing. Your website keeps working forever, regardless of whether licences get renewed or not. You’re never held to ransom.
I get it – you’ve got a website that works, and the idea of rebuilding it sounds expensive and disruptive.
But if you’re experiencing slow loading times, you’re frustrated with ongoing licence fees, or you’re tired of things breaking when your designer updates plugins, it might be worth considering a switch.
I’ve migrated several client sites from Elementor to Breakdance, and the difference in performance alone makes it worthwhile. Find out more about our Elementor to Breakdance migration service.
I switched from Elementor to Breakdance because I was tired of fighting my tools. I was tired of slow websites. I was tired of things breaking. I was tired of installing plugin after plugin just to do basic professional work.
Breakdance lets me build better websites, faster, with cleaner code and fewer headaches. For my clients, that means faster loading websites, lower maintenance costs, and no ongoing licence fees to worry about.
Could I have stuck with Elementor? Sure. But I’m not in the business of “good enough.” I’m in the business of building websites that work properly, load quickly, and don’t cause problems down the line.
That’s why I switched, and I haven’t looked back.
