Every few months, WordPress releases an update. And every few months, someone updates their live business website without thinking twice, and spends the next two hours wondering why their homepage looks like it’s been through a blender.
If your site is built with Elementor, WordPress updates carry a few extra considerations that don’t apply to the average blog or portfolio site. Not because Elementor is fragile (it isn’t), but because you’re running a more complex stack. And complex stacks require a little more care.
Here are the most common mistakes people make when updating a WordPress site built with Elementor, and what to do instead.
Mistake #1: Treating “WordPress is updated” and “my site is updated” as the same thing
This is the big one.
When WordPress releases a new version, it updates the core software your site runs on. That’s important. But your website isn’t just WordPress core. It’s WordPress core plus your theme, plus Elementor, plus Elementor Pro, plus whatever add-ons and plugins you’ve added on top.
All of those pieces have their own version cycles, their own compatibility timelines, and their own update dependencies.
So when you click “Update” on WordPress core, you haven’t updated your site, you’ve updated one layer of it. The risk is that the layer you just updated doesn’t yet play nicely with the layers that haven’t been updated yet, or the ones that can’t be updated without breaking something else.
What to do instead: Think about updates in terms of your full stack, not individual components. WordPress core, your theme, Elementor, Elementor Pro, and your key plugins should all be checked together. Ideally, you should checked them in sequence, and ideally somewhere other than your live site (such as a staging site).
Mistake #2: Assuming Elementor compatibility means all of Elementor is compatible
You’ve probably seen something like this in the WordPress plugin notes after a major update: “Compatible with Elementor.”
That sounds reassuring. But “Elementor” and “everything built with Elementor” are two different things.
Elementor core, the main plugin, may well be compatible with a new version of WordPress. But if you’re running Elementor Pro, third-party Elementor add-ons (like Essential Addons, JetElements, or any number of custom widget libraries), or any plugins that extend Elementor’s functionality, those need to be checked separately.
The plugin authors of those add-ons have their own update schedules. Some will have tested against a new WordPress version before it ships. Others will test after it ships. A small number may not test quickly at all.
If a page on your site uses a widget from a third-party Elementor add-on that hasn’t been updated for compatibility, that page can break even if Elementor core is fine.
What to do instead: Before any major WordPress update, make a quick list of the Elementor-related plugins your site uses, not just Elementor and Elementor Pro, but everything that plugs into Elementor. Check the update logs and compatibility notes for each one, not just the main plugin.
Mistake #3: Updating directly on the live site
This one is hard to overstate, and yet it’s the most common shortcut people take.
Updating WordPress core (and especially a major version update) on a live, customer-facing website without testing it first is a risk that’s completely avoidable. A two-minute shortcut can create a two-hour fix, or worse, a broken website that customers see before you do.
The right move is to test the update on a staging environment first: a private copy of your site where you can apply updates, check everything thoroughly, and confirm nothing broke before the change goes live.
This matters even more with Elementor because Elementor pages can be sensitive to theme changes, database updates, and plugin version conflicts in ways that a simple page or blog post isn’t. An Elementor-built page stores its layout data in a specific way, and certain updates can affect how that data is rendered.
What to do instead: If your host offers staging environments (many do, for example, Kinsta, WP Engine, SiteGround, and others include this), use one. Apply the updates there, click through your key pages, test your forms, test your header and footer, and check the site on mobile. Then roll to live.
If you don’t have a staging environment, it’s worth having one. Most quality WordPress hosts include it, and the time it saves the first time something breaks will more than justify it.
Mistake #4: Only testing the homepage
After an update, most people check the homepage, decide it looks fine, and move on.
The homepage is usually the safest page on an Elementor site. It tends to use more standard elements, gets checked frequently, and is often the page that’s been touched most recently.
The pages that actually break are often the ones nobody checked: a landing page built six months ago with a custom Elementor template, a service page that uses a third-party widget for a pricing table or accordion, a blog post template with a specific layout, or a form page that connects to a CRM or email tool.
What to do instead: Build a short test checklist and run through it after every major update:
- Homepage and main navigation
- Service/product pages (especially any built with custom Elementor templates)
- Contact forms (do they submit correctly and send notifications?)
- Any pages using third-party Elementor widgets
- The site header and footer (these often use Elementor templates and can break silently)
- Mobile layout on a real device, not just the browser preview
- Any pages connected to conversion tracking or analytics
Five minutes of checking can catch a broken form before a customer does.
Mistake #5: Waiting too long or updating too fast
There’s a version of this mistake on both ends.
Some site owners ignore updates for months. Security patches, bug fixes, compatibility improvements, all sitting there, uncollected. Running a significantly outdated version of WordPress is a real security risk, not just a performance issue. Hackers actively target known vulnerabilities in old versions.
But on the other side, updating within hours of a major release, before plugin developers have had time to push compatibility updates, is also risky. On launch day of a major WordPress version, some Elementor add-ons may not have published their compatibility patches yet.
What to do instead: For minor WordPress updates (the ones that fix bugs and security issues), update promptly. These are lower-risk and the security benefit outweighs most compatibility concerns.
For major version updates, give it a week or two. Let the broader community test it, let plugin developers push their compatibility updates, and let any urgent bug patches roll in. Then test on staging and update your live site with confidence.
Mistake #6: Not knowing who manages the updates
This one is less technical and more organizational, but it’s responsible for a surprising number of broken sites.
On small business websites, updates often fall into a grey area. The business owner thinks their web developer handles it. The web developer thinks the business owner handles it. Nobody handles it. And then one day WordPress shows a critical security notice that’s six versions behind.
Or the opposite happens: two people both update the site at once, at different times, without coordinating.
What to do instead: Decide clearly who is responsible for WordPress updates and make sure they have the process to do it correctly, not just the access. If you’re using managed WordPress maintenance services like Pronto, this responsibility belongs to our support team. If you’re self-managing, assign it explicitly and make sure that person knows about staging, testing, and the plugin compatibility issue outlined above.
Key Takeaways When Updating Your WordPress & Elementor Website
If your site uses Elementor, here’s the mental model that will save you headaches:
You’re not updating one thing. You’re managing a stack.
WordPress core, your theme, Elementor, Elementor Pro, your add-ons, and your other plugins all need to work together. A major WordPress update is a signal to check the whole stack, not just click a button and hope for the best.
Test on staging. Check compatibility for third-party Elementor plugins specifically. Run through your key pages, forms, and templates. Then push to live.
It’s not complicated. It’s just a process. And having that process in place is the difference between a smooth update and an afternoon of damage control.
Pronto manages WordPress updates for over 1,000 client websites, handling compatibility checks, staging tests, and rollouts so your site stays current without the risk. Learn more about our WordPress support plans.
