Our Elementor results
"Elementor slow" is a common search. We wanted real numbers, so we tested it. Elementor's own template library blocked our test with a firewall, so we used 8 published demos of Elementor template kits sold on Envato Elements. They cover roofing, plumbing, HVAC, landscaping, cleaning, and remodeling. We checked each page's code to confirm it was built with Elementor, then ran it through Google PageSpeed Insights on mobile.
Here is what we found (ClickMend scans, October 2026, 8 pages):
| Measure | Median | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Performance score (0 to 100) | 59 | 58 to 64 |
| Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) | 10.3 seconds | 7.7 to 18.8 seconds |
| Total Blocking Time (TBT) | 36 ms | 0 to 168 ms |
| Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) | 0 | 0 to 0.013 |
| Page weight | 2,467 KB | 1,054 to 6,190 KB |
| Images | 1,100 KB | 378 to 4,996 KB |
| Fonts | 617 KB | 361 to 955 KB |
Google's Lighthouse scoring calls 50 to 89 needs improvement. All 8 pages landed there, in a very tight band. Blocking time was the lowest of any builder we tested, and layout shift was near zero. Those are good signs.
The weak spot was LCP, the time until the biggest thing on screen shows up. Google rates 4 seconds and up as poor. Every page was over 7 seconds in the lab.
The tight score range is worth a note. These 8 demos sat on 8 different web hosts and came from different kit makers, yet all scored between 58 and 64. The common pattern was the same on each: a stack of style sheets loaded before anything drew, plus large images and fonts. That tells you where to look first on your own Elementor page.
Why care for Google Ads? Google's own Quality Score help page says the speed your page loads can be the difference between someone bouncing or buying. ClickMend does not read your Quality Score, but it checks the page speed parts that feed into it. Read more in our guide to the landing page part of Quality Score.
What slowed the pages
- Files that block the first paint. Lighthouse flagged render-blocking files on all 8 pages. It estimated 2.3 to 7.8 seconds of savings per page. These were mostly style sheets from the theme, Elementor, and add-on plugins, loaded before anything could draw.
- Big images. Lighthouse flagged image savings on all 8 pages. One page could have saved 930 KB. Two pages loaded over 3 MB of images.
- Heavy fonts. A median 617 KB of fonts per page. That is more than the median script weight. Six of 8 pages pulled fonts from Google Fonts, and all 8 also loaded icon font files. Lighthouse flagged font loading on 6 of 8.
- The main item found late. On 5 of 8 pages, Lighthouse flagged that the main image was not found early. The browser waited a median of about 3.6 seconds before it started loading that item.
Script was not the problem here. The median page had only 352 KB of script, and blocking time stayed low.
Fixes for Elementor pages
On WordPress you own the whole stack. That means more work, but also more control.
- Compress and resize every image before upload. Use a modern format like WebP where your setup supports it.
- Don't lazy load the hero image at the top of the page. Let it load right away, and lazy load the images below it.
- Cut fonts. Pick one or two families and only the weights you use. Drop icon font packs you don't need.
- Turn off add-on plugins that load files on every page, even pages that don't use them.
- Use a caching or performance plugin to combine and delay CSS and JavaScript. Test the page after, because these settings can break a layout.
- Build the ad page as a simple, single page. Skip sliders, background video, and entrance animations on the first screen.
- Pick decent hosting. A slow server adds delay before any of this starts.
After any plugin change, make sure your Google Ads conversion tag still fires. Our conversion tracking guide shows how. Then run a free ClickMend scan to confirm the page got faster.
Limits of this test
- We tested 8 pages. A small sample.
- These were third-party template kit demos on different web hosts, not Elementor's own demos and not real ad pages. Hosting, theme, and plugins all change Elementor results.
- Lab data from one run per page on a simulated mid-tier phone. Scores move a little each run.
- None of the 8 demos had their own real-user data in Google's Chrome UX Report.
See how Elementor compares with Wix, Webflow, and 5 more in our landing page builder speed test. If Google shows a landing page warning in your account, read landing page experience below average.
Frequently asked questions
Is Elementor slow?
In our small test, Elementor pages scored a tight 58 to 64 out of 100 on mobile. Blocking time was low, but every page had files that held up the first paint, and images and fonts were large. Most of that is in your control on a WordPress site.
Is Elementor good for Google Ads landing pages?
It can be. You control the hosting, the plugins, the images, and the fonts, which gives you more room to fix speed than a closed builder. The trade off is that you have to do that work. Test your page on mobile before you spend.
What is the fastest fix for a slow Elementor page?
In our data, start with images and fonts. The median page loaded 1,100 KB of images and 617 KB of fonts. Compress the hero image and cut the number of font families and weights.
How do I test my Elementor landing page?
Paste the final URL from your Google Ad into the free ClickMend scan. You get 2 scans a week, no card, a 0 to 100 score, and a check of your conversion tracking.