How to Set the Elementor Accordion Widget Closed by Default

Elementor comes with an Accordion widget. Along with the Toggle widget, the Accordion widget is great to create sections like FAQ or the similar ones. When working with the Accordion widget, you can add as many items as you want. By default, the first item of the accordion is set to open and Elementor offers no default setting to make it closed. For some users, it is a bit annoying as the main purpose of adding accordion is to hide information and requires user interaction (clicking an accordion item) to display the information.

So, how to set all accordion items closed by default? You can use the following JavaScript to do so.

<script>
jQuery(document).ready(function($) {
var delay = 100; setTimeout(function() {
$('.elementor-tab-title').removeClass('elementor-active');
 $('.elementor-tab-content').css('display', 'none'); }, delay);
});
</script>

You can use HTML widget to use the code above. Simply drag the HTML widget and place it right above the Accordion widget. Paste the code to the HTML Code field on the settings panel once the HTML widget is added

That’s it. You can update your page once you are done editing other elements.

If you have multiple accordions on your website and want to make them all closed by default, you can use a custom code instead. To do so, go to Elementor -> Custom Code on your WordPress dashboard. Click the Add new button to add a new custom code.

Give your custom code a name and paste the code. On the Location section, you can choose whether header, footer, or body. Your code will work at any location. Click the Publish button to apply the code.

Try to reload one of the pages on your website that contains an accordion to check the result.

While the Accordion is useful to create an FAQ section, you can only add the text content. Plus, there is no option to add the content from a template. You can only add the content manually using the offered classic editor. If you need to add an image accordion section to your page, you can use Elementor add-ons like JetElements and JetTabs.

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51 thoughts on “How to Set the Elementor Accordion Widget Closed by Default”

  1. Add a default first accordion item and then hide it (for example, in an HTML element):

    .elementor-accordion .elementor-accordion-item:first-child {
    display: none;
    }

    Reply
  2. If this isn’t working, try this. Change:

    var delay = 100;

    to

    var delay = 1000;

    My theory: On slower websites the CSS takes extra time to render and the delay isn’t long enough, thus the JS fires too soon. I’m not a professional coder but it worked for me 🙂

    Reply
  3. This is no longer working for me. I did this on a couple of sites but now it doesn’t work anymore. I tried on a new site, in Elementor’s custom code, but also on the page, and nothing. Anybody got a fix? Thank you!

    Reply
  4. Hi,
    I did it site wide by using the Custom Code method, and it works great on desktop but I also found that the 1st accordion is still open on the phone.
    Do you have a correction for that?
    STeve

    Reply
  5. I’d use this code:
    setTimeout(_ => {
    const first = document.querySelector(‘.elementor-accordion-item:first-child’);
    const itemTitle = first.querySelector(‘.elementor-tab-title’);
    const itemContent = first.querySelector(‘.elementor-tab-content’);
    itemTitle.classList.remove(‘elementor-active’);
    itemContent.classList.remove(‘elementor-active’);

    itemContent.style.display = ‘none’
    }, 200);

    Cause: who uses jQuery in 202x?

    Reply
    • Elementor Pro opens the first one by default. The code samples given here are to close that first item (overriding Elementor).

      Reply
  6. For anyone not having luck with the code in this article (like I was), it’s likely because the accordion has not been rendered yet when the code fires. Use the below script instead which doesn’t fire until the page is fully loaded.

    jQuery(window).on(‘load’,function() {
    jQuery(‘.elementor-tab-title’).removeClass(‘elementor-active’);
    jQuery(‘.elementor-tab-content’).css(‘display’, ‘none’);
    });

    Reply
  7. Can I do this on only 1 accordion on my page?
    I have a page with 4 separate accordion widgets, and I want to apply this to only 1 of them

    Reply
  8. Thanks for this!
    With the Accordion, is it possible to set an item as open by default other than the first item? For example, on a particular page I would like the second Accordion item to be open by default.

    Reply
  9. for all tabs to be closed on the entire page, you can simply implement it in the “functions.php”:

    function jquerytools_scripts() {
    wp_register_script(‘jquerytools’, get_template_directory_uri().’/js/start_closed_tab.js’, array(),”, false);
    wp_enqueue_script(‘jquerytools’);
    }
    add_action( ‘wp_enqueue_scripts’, ‘jquerytools_scripts’ );

    and in “start_closed_tab.js”:

    jQuery(document).ready(function($) {
    var delay = 100; setTimeout(function() {
    $(‘.elementor-tab-title’).removeClass(‘elementor-active’);
    $(‘.elementor-tab-content’).css(‘display’, ‘none’);}, delay);
    });

    of course, you can adapt your names…copy “/js/start_closed_tab.js” and update functions.php on the server.

    Reply
  10. Hi,
    The solution is here:
    You should change “” to ” – End” while creating the code, in select field.
    Then it is working 🙂
    Also “Always load jQuery” – you can leave unchecked.
    PS. This is the only method. A trick with widget does not work.

    Reply
  11. How do you make the second accordian item only show?
    BTW for the people having issues with this blog’s code, here’s a code that works:

    Here’s the correct code: /* Hides the first accordion item */
    .elementor-accordion .elementor-accordion-item:first-child {
    display: none;
    }

    Reply
  12. I have used this code for some time now and it has worked flawlessly! I just upgraded to Elementor v3.5.6 and Pro v3.6.3 and for some reason it doesn’t seem to be working anymore. Is there something in this update that is causing the issue? Maybe it’s just my site…

    Reply
  13. @Jason,

    yep, no effect at all! May be with elemtor pro it works but not with free version and not on of course not on mobile devices.
    sad

    Reply

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