Sage + Page Builder

Hi all,
We have been using Sage for the past 5 years where we have leveraged the ‘flexible content’ ACF field type in order to accommodate modular page layouts.

Whilst sometimes we go to the effort of exposing some fields which allow our clients to tweak the basic styling of each content block (eg. background colour, top and bottom padding), we’re finding that we’re starting to lose work due to not being able to support the client’s request of a more comprehensive page builder such as Elementor or Visual Composer.

My understanding is that these plugins can add unnecessary bloat and be somewhat limiting in terms of the layouts which can be achieved since we like to use create interesting site designs using GSAP, ScrollMagic etc (opposed to standardisesd ‘templatey’ looking sites). Since Google PageSpeed performance is also an important factor for us, this is another reason why we’ve immediately drawn a line through utilising these type of plugins. I also hate the idea of markup being autogenerated by a plugin since I much prefer our FE devs to build out each section using efficient coding standards.

I would love to hear from anyone who is successfully using Sage + a Page Builder whilst…
a) is able to build highly custom layouts
b) maintaining performance integrity (eg. decent Google PageSpeed results)

I don’t use gutenberg, elementor or other page builder. I still prefer to use pure ACF Field or metaboxes for my clients. It’s so easy to customize the layout from scratch using pure ACF rather than a page builder. But I’m planning to use gutenberg since this is part of the core :confused:

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We went full into Gutenberg. But only our own custom ACF based blocks. That way we can give our clients the flexibility we are comfortable with and makes the client happy.

We have a library of blocks and can build pretty much every site with it while fully controlling the code output and keep it performant. For complex things we just build a client specific block (or an old fashioned non-gutenberg page if it makes sense). Pretty comparable to a flexible content field approach, but a step up in flexibility.

I’ve used Elementor and I just don’t buy the ‘easy’ part. Well it’s easy to mess up a consistent design, but that’s about it :sweat_smile: It feels like a CSS UI; way too many options. Our blocks just have the options that makes sense and nothing more. Let the client focus on the content, us on the design/branding.

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