Elementor Content

Directly read, create, modify, and restructure Elementor page builder content by working with the underlying JSON data — either in exported .json template files or in the WordPress database via WP-CLI.

When to Use

• Creating or editing Elementor page/template content
• Modifying widget settings (text, images, styles, links)
• Restructuring page layouts (moving sections, adding containers)
• Bulk-updating content across multiple Elementor pages
• Importing/exporting Elementor templates
• Building new Elementor pages from scratch
• Creating Theme Builder templates (header, footer, single, archive) programmatically

Operational Modes

Mode 1: JSON Template Files

Work directly with .json files exported from Elementor (Library → Export Template). Read, edit, and write the file. Import back via Elementor UI or WP-CLI.

Mode 2: WP-CLI Database Operations

Read/write the _elementor_data post meta key in WordPress. Requires WP-CLI access and a running WordPress installation. See references/wp-cli-operations.md.

Core Workflow

1. Identify mode — JSON file on disk, or live WordPress database?
2. Read the content — parse the JSON file or fetch via wp post meta get
3. Understand the tree — Elementor content is a nested array of elements (see references/element-structure.md)
4. Locate target — find the element to modify by walking the tree; match on widgetType, settings content, or id
5. Modify — change settings, add/remove/reorder elements
6. Validate — run the validation checklist below before writing
7. Write — save the JSON file or update via wp post meta update
8. Flush cache — if using WP-CLI, run wp elementor flush-css to regenerate stylesheets

Reference Guides

Topic	File	Load when...
JSON structure & hierarchy	references/element-structure.md	You need to understand the data format, nesting rules, or settings patterns
Widget types & settings	references/widget-catalog.md	You need to create a widget or modify widget-specific settings
WP-CLI operations	references/wp-cli-operations.md	You're working with a live WordPress database (not a JSON file)
Theme Builder templates	references/theme-builder-templates.md	You're creating header, footer, single, or archive templates programmatically

Quick Reference: Common Operations

Change a heading: Find the element with "widgetType": "heading", update settings.title.

Add a button to a container: Create a new element with "elType": "widget", "widgetType": "button", generate a unique id, set settings.text and settings.link, and append to the parent container's elements array.

Restructure layout: Move elements between parent containers by cutting from one elements array and pasting into another. Ensure no element appears in two places.

Create a new page: Build the full JSON tree: outer container(s) → inner containers/widgets. Wrap in template format if exporting, or write directly to _elementor_data via WP-CLI.

Create a Theme Builder template: Requires post meta (_elementor_template_type, _elementor_conditions), taxonomy term (elementor_library_type), AND registration in the elementor_pro_theme_builder_conditions option. See references/theme-builder-templates.md for the full checklist — missing any step will silently fail.

Change styling: Modify the relevant settings key on the element. Responsive variants use _tablet and _mobile suffixes. Dimensions use {top, right, bottom, left, unit, isLinked} objects.

Element ID Generation

Every element requires a unique id — an 8-character lowercase hexadecimal string (e.g., "3f2a1b7c"). Generate randomly; ensure no duplicates within the document.

Constraints

• MUST preserve valid JSON at all times
• MUST keep every element's id unique within the document
• MUST maintain correct nesting: containers hold containers or widgets; widgets have "elements": [] (empty)
• MUST include elType on every element
• MUST include widgetType on every widget element
• MUST NOT place widgets directly inside the root array — they must be inside a container (or legacy section → column)
• MUST NOT leave orphaned references (e.g., removing a container but leaving its children elsewhere)
• MUST flush CSS cache after database writes (wp elementor flush-css)

Validation Checklist

Before writing the modified content:

• Valid JSON (parseable without errors)
• All id values are unique 8-char hex strings
• Every element has elType set ("container", "widget", "section", or "column")
• Every widget has widgetType set to a valid type
• Widgets have "elements": [] (empty array, never omitted)
• No widgets at root level — all wrapped in containers
• Settings values use correct format (dimensions, URLs, media objects)
• Template wrapper (if applicable) has type, version, title, content