Visual Composer Website Builder and WPBakery Page Builder are two completely separate plugins.
The WPBakery Page Builder plugin relies on shortcodes to render its content while the new Visual Composer Website Builder relies on react-based output. Both are independent plugins and hence one cannot be replaced by another.
It is important to mention that old versions of WPBakery Page Builder were called WPBakery Visual Composer before a complete rebranding and development of the new Visual Composer Website Builder. To understand which plugin you are using, follow these steps:
- Navigate to Plugins -> All plugins.
- Check the plugin name.
- If it is “WPBakery Visual Composer” then the plugin used is WPBakery Page Builder.
A major difference between the two is that WPBakery Page Builder only works within the content area and hence areas such as header, footer, and sidebar cannot be edited using it. The Visual Composer Website Builder on the other hand allows editing the complete website.
The following video explains detailed differences between the two:
Here is a comparison between the features of the two:
| Features | WPBakery Page Builder | Visual Composer Website Builder |
|---|---|---|
| Free version |
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| Drag and Drop editor |
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| Frontend editor |
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| Tree view mode |
|
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| Insights (Content Analysis) |
|
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| Backend editor |
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| Mobile editing |
|
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| Inline text editor |
|
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| Instant save |
|
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| Header editor |
|
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| Footer editor |
|
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| Sidebar editor |
|
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| Popup builder |
|
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| Page layouts |
|
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| Global header and footer |
|
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| Dynamic content |
|
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| Maintenance mode |
|
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| Archive page editor (archive, category, tags, authors, search) |
|
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| Works with any WordPress theme |
|
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| Custom Post Type support |
|
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| Multisite support |
|
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| Multilanguage ready |
|
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| RTL compatible |
|
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| Template management |
|
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| Blocks templates |
|
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| Element presets |
|
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| Element lock |
|
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| Templatera/Global Templates (Reusable templates) |
|
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| Template Export/Import |
|
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| Design Options |
|
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| Copy/Paste |
|
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| Element clone |
|
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| Element custom name |
|
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| Grid Builder |
|
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| Hide element |
|
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| Keyboard shortcuts |
|
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| Recent colors |
|
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| Undo/Redo |
|
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| Blank Page Wizard |
|
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| Custom CSS |
|
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| Custom JavaScript |
|
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| Element replace |
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| Role manager |
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| Icon libraries |
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| Google fonts |
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| Instagram-like filters |
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| Parallax effects |
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| Gradient background |
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| Slideshow background |
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| Carousel background |
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| Zoom In/Out background |
|
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| Video background |
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| Element animations |
|
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| Background image position |
|
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| Shape divider |
|
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| Box Shadow |
|
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| Instant column resize |
|
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| Column stacking |
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| Reverse column stacking |
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| Row full width/height |
|
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| Responsive preview mode |
|
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| Automatic responsiveness |
|
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| Custom row responsiveness |
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| Yoast SEO support |
|
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| Shortcode support |
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| WordPress widget support |
|
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| Gutenberg element |
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| Block for Gutenberg |
|
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| Custom widget support |
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| Giphy integration |
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| Unsplash Stock Images |
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| API |
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| Staging activation |
|
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| 3rd party Add-ons |
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| WooCommerce Support |
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| Cloud library |
|
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| Menu elements |
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| Online customer support |
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| Theme integration |
|
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| Developers License |
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