Which WordPress Export Format is Best?

Elementor vs Gutenberg vs Classic

PressMeGPT is an AI-powered WordPress website builder that allows you to design WordPress themes and sites using chat prompts. Tell it what to build, give it context, and it will design it for you.

As of late 2026, we support the three most popular WordPress export formats: Classic, Gutenberg, and Elementor.

But this also creates support for many other builders because both Gutenberg and Elementor have a large list of plugins that give users more design options.

So which format is best for you? It depends on your WordPress stack.

Elementor Exports

If you are using Elementor then this export format is probably best for you. PressMeGPT is even compatible with the free version of Elementor. So you can build sites quickly with AI, then export an Elementor Template, import into Elementor and then further customize using familiar controls.

As an added benefit, your Elementor Template export is also compatible with many other plugins listed below:

Pros of Elementor

Design Match

Elementor uses a mix of drag-and-drop and HTML, which is why pros love it. You have an easy to learn interface with the ability to add custom HTML in a single place. PressMeGPT exports in this format look nearly 1-to-1 as a result.

Flexibility

As a result of the mix of visual editor and HTML, it makes this format really flexible if you want to add additional sections or modify the templates that PressMeGPT exports.

Cons of Elementor

Learning Curve

Since Elementor is a dedicated builder within WordPress and doesn’t use much of the build-in features, there is a higher learning curve, even if you are a WordPress pro.

Installation

Also, Elementor uses a template system, not traditional themes so the installation is a bit different than you might be used to. Instead of installing a theme, you have to open Elementor, find Templates and import there.

Cost

Although Elementor does offer a free plugin, the paid plugin is much better. With the free plugin you lose animations and advanced controls, although PressMeGPT exports are still compatible with the free version.

Plugins Required

Another down side of Elementor is that it does require plugins including the Elementor builder itself and our header and footer plugin if you use PressMeGPT to create your site. This sets global headers and footers so every page has consistency.

Gutenberg Exports

If you prefer less plugins or the built-in WordPress builder, then Gutenberg is probably the best export option. With PressMeGPT you can build your site faster, export to Gutenberg, install the theme as you traditionally do on WordPress, and drag-and-drop the rest of the website with the built-in editor.

As an added benefit, your Gutenberg export is also compatible with many other plugins listed below:

Pros of Gutenberg

Free & No Plugins

Gutenberg is completely free and is built-in to all current versions of WordPress. No additional plugins to install.

Easy & Familiar Installation

Installation is simple and familiar if you’ve ever installed a WordPress Theme.

Cons of Gutenberg

Less Flexible

Gutenberg has a much more limited number of block styles and a proprietary format, so it isn’t as easy to modify a block as HTML or Elementor.

Design Match

Since Gutenberg uses a proprietary format for blocks, sometimes the exports lose structure or style once converted or exported. The good news is, most of the time you can fix simple issues like alignment or colors in Gutenberg but it is worth noting.

Classic WordPress Exports

If your website doesn’t change often then you might consider the classic WordPress format. It has several benefits like design match but is the older format so lacks flexibility of drag-and-drop once on WordPress.

Pros of Classic

Free & No Plugins

Classic is free and built into WordPress.

Easy & Familiar Installation

Installation is simple and familiar if you’ve ever installed a WordPress Theme.

Design Match

Since Classic uses standard HTML based templates so the design match is great from what you built in PressMeGPT.

Cons of Classic

Less Flexible

The classic WordPress theme format uses HTML and PHP-based templates so to modify your theme you must know some markup, coding and how themes are structured.

What WordPress format is best for you?

As you can tell, there are several decisions to make about your project to know what the best format for you is. Will your website be setup and not modified for months or years? If so, Classic would work fine. Do you prefer drag-and-drop? Gutenberg might be your answer. Or are you already an Elementor user? Then this might be the best format for you.

Each has pros and cons. Whatever format you choose, give PressMeGPT a try for free to accelerate your website development with WordPress.

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