For a new business website, I usually recommend Bricks Builder: it outputs lean markup, keeps pages fast without a caching arms race and makes reusable templates easy. I pick Elementor when the client's team will edit layouts themselves and already knows it, and Oxygen when a developer is building pixel-exact, data-driven templates from a Figma file. I have live client sites on all three, so this comes from real builds rather than feature lists.
How do Bricks, Elementor and Oxygen compare?
| Factor | Bricks Builder | Elementor (and Pro) | Oxygen Builder |
|---|---|---|---|
| Markup and speed | Lean, class-based output | Heavier by default, needs tuning | Clean, developer-controlled output |
| Editing for non-developers | Good once templates exist | Easiest of the three | Best kept to custom fields |
| Templates and dynamic data | Strong, with a conditions system | Theme builder in Pro | Strong, especially with ACF |
| People who know it | Growing | Largest pool by far | Smaller |
| My live builds | Ravens Ait, Aura Clips, Taxocity, Whitfield Service Station | Crowne Plaza London Kingston, Warren House, Samko Holdings, Cyprianis | Nortek LED, Orilite, IPL Biologicals |
| Best for | Services firms, venues, many similar pages | Teams who edit layouts visually | Catalogues and strict Figma builds |
When should you choose Bricks Builder?
Choose Bricks when you need many similar pages that load fast on mobile, and a developer will set up the structure first.
- Ravens Ait, a Thames island venue, has nine event pages and eleven seasonal pages, all from one Bricks template with one SEO heading structure. A new occasion is a content task. With WP Rocket for caching, the site has a reported PageSpeed score of 94 or higher, on pages full of video and photography.
- Aura Clips moved from Framer to WordPress. I made the case for Bricks over Elementor for a cleaner, faster build. Five service pages come from one template, so a sixth is a content entry.
- Taxocity, a tax and compliance firm running paid ads, needed one fast page per service. Bricks produced each from the same template.
- Whitfield Service Station runs WooCommerce on Bricks, which keeps the theme light under a busy shop.
I know the Bricks conditions system well enough to have published a plugin for it: Geo Targeting for Bricks Builder adds a visitor-country condition to any element.
The trade-off: Bricks is more structured. Clients edit content inside templates rather than freely rearranging layouts, which most businesses are happy with once it is explained.
When is Elementor the better choice?
Choose Elementor when the people running the site after launch want to change layouts themselves, or the site is already on it.
- Crowne Plaza London Kingston stayed on Elementor because the hotel team edits content. The speed gains came from removing the loader and smooth-scroll scripts, not from changing builder.
- Samko Holdings was an unfinished Elementor Pro build. I made its 12 pages responsive and launched it, and PageSpeed Insights scored 96 on desktop and 90 on mobile after launch.
- Warren House got its new homepage in Elementor Pro, so the hotel's team could keep editing with the tools they knew.
- My own freelance site, Inspired Monks, runs on Elementor. Custom caching, lazy loading and image optimisation at upload get it top Lighthouse performance scores despite the builder.
The trade-off: Elementor is convenient for content but not naturally fast. Every add-on and animation library costs something, so it needs a disciplined plugin list.
When does Oxygen make sense?
Choose Oxygen when the design is fixed, the content is structured and a developer builds the templates.
- Nortek LED needed a WooCommerce store that matched its Figma file exactly, with product pages driven by data. I built a custom theme in Oxygen with ACF and custom post type templates. Post-launch analytics reported 35 percent faster load times and a 20 percent uplift in conversion rate.
- Orilite got bespoke PHP templates on Oxygen with ACF for products, projects and events. The client reported 40 percent less time spent on content updates.
- IPL Biologicals runs its store and corporate site on a custom Oxygen theme, which I have maintained on a retainer since 2025.
The trade-off: editors fill in fields rather than touch layouts. That is a feature for catalogues and a frustration for marketing teams who want to experiment.
Which builder is fastest?
In my builds, Bricks gives the best starting point because it outputs the least markup. But I have also shipped fast Elementor sites, and slow sites are slow because of what they load: preloaders, sliders, animation libraries, chat widgets, oversized images and a long plugin list. A lean Elementor build beats a bloated Bricks build every time.
If your site is already slow, read how to fix Core Web Vitals on a WordPress site before you consider changing builder.
Should you switch builders on an existing site?
Usually not. Switching means rebuilding every page, and the client team has to learn a new editor.
- For Cyprianis, I delivered a new homepage, events listing and private dining template inside the existing Elementor site, which kept plugins, settings and URLs intact.
- For Magpie Retreat, I fixed layouts, images and the mobile header inside Elementor rather than replacing it.
Switch when the site is being rebuilt anyway, or when the builder is the bottleneck. Aura Clips left Framer for Bricks because the agency could not edit or rank its own site.
How do I decide for a new client?
I ask one question first: after launch, who changes what? If the answer is "our marketer rearranges sections every week", it is Elementor. If it is "we add services, events and posts", it is Bricks. If it is "we add products with specifications", it is Oxygen or Bricks with ACF.
I build on all three as part of my WordPress websites service. Tell me what your team edits most and I will tell you which builder I would use.
