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5 Best WordPress Theme Builder Plugins (Unbiased)

Looking to create a custom WordPress theme but have no coding skills? With a theme builder plugin, you can create your own WordPress theme without touching a single line of code.

Theme is one of the required components of WordPress. It is what makes each WordPress-based site unique in terms of appearance. A WordPress theme controls the appearance and display of a site via templates (PHP files) and stylesheets (CSS files). In other words, you need to master both PHP and CSS to be able to create a WordPress theme. Today, most modern WordPress themes also use JavaScript.

It was then. You can now create your own WordPress theme without coding using a WordPress theme builder.

What is a theme builder?

In the context of WordPress, theme builder is a plugin that allows you to create custom templates to replace the default templates of your theme. You don’t need to have programming skills as the emphasis of theme builder is no-code approach. You can create a custom template the visual way using the editor offered by theme builder plugin.

Understanding the Parts of a WordPress Theme

Before getting started to use a WordPress theme builder to create your own theme, it’s crucial to understand the parts of a WordPress theme. In general, here are the parts of a WordPress theme:

  • Header
  • Footer
  • Single post layout
  • Single page layout
  • Archive page
  • Search results page
  • 404 page

The appearance of those parts is defined using templates and stylesheets on the theme you use. A theme builder allows you to create custom templates to replace the default templates of your theme.

How a Theme Builder Works

You have just read it. A theme builder allows you to create custom templates to replace the default templates of your theme. You can create the custom template in a visual way using the editor of the theme builder you use. One of the advantages of using a theme builder is that you can assign a certain custom template to certain pages or posts on your WordPress site thanks to the display condition feature.

For instance, you can create a custom single post template and assign it to posts under a certain category so that the template will only be applied to posts under the category you assigned the custom template to. This is great as you can create different templates for different post types.

The ability to set display conditions also allows you to have multiple header/footer templates on a single website, which is great as it offers flexibility for you to run different campaigns on different pages using different header/footer.

To give you a more obvious illustration, let’s take a look at the following image.

The image above is the default header of a WordPress theme called Agency Plus. With a WordPress theme builder, you can replace the default header above by creating a custom header template. Here is an example:

The image above is an example of a custom header template created with Elementor. In addition to custom design, you can also apply more compelling header behavior such as sticky effect, hide on scroll, and so on.

Best Theme Builder Plugins for WordPress

1. Elementor Pro

Elementor is the main reference when it comes to theme builder plugin. It is by far the most popular theme builder plugin for WordPress with over 13 million active users. Elementor is released as a freemium plugin, but you need to use Elementor Pro to be able to use its theme builder feature. The theme builder feature of Elementor allows you to create the custom templates for the following site parts:

If you use WooCommerce, Elementor also allows you to create a custom single product page and other pages on WooCoomerce.

2. Brizy Pro

Brizy is a lightweight page builder that comes with a very intuitive interface. You will easily fall in love with Brizy after trying it due to its simplicity. Same as Elementor, Brizy is also released as a freemium plugin, but you need to use the pro version to use its theme builder. The theme builder feature of Brizy allows you to create custom templates to replace the following theme parts:

If you love mega menu then Brizy is a perfect option as it comes with a built-in feature to create a mega menu. Brizy can also be used to create custom pages for WooCommerce.

3. Divi Builder

Divi Builder is a premium page builder plugin developed by Elegant Themes. There is no option to use it for free. Elegant Themes itself is the developer of two popular premium WordPress themes: Divi and Extra. Even so, Divi Builder can be installed on any WordPress theme, not limited to Divi theme and Extra theme.

If you prefer to use Divi Builder on Divi theme or Extra theme, you don’t need to install the Divi Builder plugin as it is available as an integral part of those themes. Divi Builder also comes with a theme builder feature that allows you to create custom templates for the following theme parts:

If you have WooCommece installed and activated, you can also create a custom single product page and other pages for your WooCommerce.

4. Breakdance

Breakdance is a feature-rich page builder for WordPress that comes with an intuitive editor. One of the features offered by the plugin is theme builder which you can use to create custom templates for your WordPress website. You can use Breakdance to create custom templates for site parts like header, footer, archive pages, and single post pages. Its display condition feature allows you to assign a certain template to specific page(s) or post(s) on your website.

You can also step further with Breakdance to create a more complex dynamic website with WordPress by utilizing its built-in loop builder.

Here are the custom templates you can create with Breakdance theme builder:

  • Header
  • Footer
  • Archive pages (categories, tags, and author page)
  • 404 page
  • Search results page

5. Beaver Themer

As you can guess, Beaver Themer is an add-on for Beaver Builder. In other words, you need to have Beaver Builder installed on your WordPress website before you can use it. Beaver Builder itself is a page builder plugin that has a simple interface. It is especially a great plugin if you have an agency business. Beaver Builder offers a white-label feature to allow you remove its attributes and replace them with your brand.

Just like other plugins above, the Beaver Themer add-on for Beaver Builder also allows you to create custom templates to replace the default templates of your theme. You can create custom templates for the following parts:

  • Header
  • Footer
  • Archive pages (categories, tags, and author page)
  • Single post
  • 404
  • Search results page

The Bottom Line

You used to need to master PHP, CSS, JavaScript, and HTML to create a WordPress theme. Again, it was an old story. The theme builder era has made it possible for you to create a fully customized WordPress-based website, no matter the theme you use.

Some page builder plugins — including Elementor, Brizy, and Divi Builder — come with a theme builder that allows you to create custom templates to replace the default templates of your active theme. In a visual way. Without coding.

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Aliko Sunawang

Aliko Sunawang

Aliko is a WordPress expert and lead blogger at WPPagebuilders. He has been blogging with WordPress since 2012. He is responsible of all content published on this website.
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