A long-time user growing frustrated

I’ve been using Elementor for years and it’s genuinely been a valuable tool — so it’s with some disappointment that I find myself leaving a 2-star review.

Two things have pushed me over the edge recently.

First, the Hello Elementor theme. When you install the plugin, it simply installs its own theme without asking. No prompt, no opt-in — it just takes over. For a plugin that lives inside someone else’s CMS, that’s a remarkable level of presumption. My WordPress installation is mine to configure, and I didn’t invite Elementor to make decisions about my theme.

Second, performance has noticeably degraded with recent updates. Pages that used to load without issue now feel heavier. I haven’t changed anything on my end — the bloat is coming from the plugin side.

What’s frustrating is that the core product is good, and years of muscle memory make it hard to just walk away. But trust is eroded when a plugin starts behaving like it owns the place. I hope the team course-corrects, because this is not the direction long-time users want to see.