Full Site Editing (FSE) didn’t appear overnight: its journey began with Gutenberg back in 2017, evolving to the Block Editor in 2018, and then on to a beta version in 2022. Since then, FSE features have progressed with regular updates. With FSE, WordPress users have been able to build blocks simply. Using customisable headers, footers, templates and global styling enables teams to collaborate better, gaining sleeker, more consistent website designs.
With leading page builders like Elementor, WPBakery and Beaver Builder dominating WordPress usage, it sparks the conversation – how do they compare, and should enterprise websites be making the shift to FSE?
We’re exploring the strategic benefits of FSE, and why enterprises should be considering a change, plus a handy comparison chart to differentiate the features and capabilities of FSE vs the leading page builders on the market.
The advantages of FSE over page builders
While traditional page builders have made it easier for non-technical users to build pages in WordPress, they also come with limitations, especially at scale. In some cases, these tools may require more resources, which can impact page load times and potentially influence SEO performance.
FSE is part of WordPress core. It is designed to work with modern theming practices, structured content, and native governance. For enterprise teams, this means fewer plugin dependencies, better performance, and more control over the editorial experience.
Here’s how FSE compares to the leading page builders:
Why this matters for enterprise
FSE is being developed as the long-term future of WordPress. It is standards-driven, open source, and fully integrated into WordPress’ roadmap. By contrast, page builders are third-party solutions that may limit flexibility, create performance bottlenecks, and introduce challenges around governance and maintainability at scale.
At Human Made, we’ve seen the shift from page builders to FSE bring real benefits for enterprise teams. It enables faster updates, more consistent user experiences, and reduced overhead by streamlining routine tasks that may have previously been handled by developers.
Security and maintenance
With FSE being part of WordPress core, it benefits from regular updates, long-term support, and consistent coding standards. Page builders, as third-party plugins, can offer rapid innovation and custom features, but they may also require active maintenance, particularly when experiencing conflicts with other plugins, which may require additional support.
Accessibility
FSE is built with accessibility in mind, helping teams meet compliance standards out of the box. Whilst possible with page builders, accessibility depends heavily on how each tool is used, and in some cases accessibility features are limited, which can require additional effort when working at scale.
Multi-language and multi-region support
FSE supports efficient management of multilingual and multi-region content. Structured content and reusable templates make it easier to roll out updates across markets, maintain localisation, and ensure consistency across sites, while reducing complexity.
Many page builders also support multilingual capabilities through popular plugins and add-ons, and can work well. However, achieving this at scale often requires additional configuration and setup to manage translations, regional variations, and consistency; something that can be difficult to maintain for enterprise platforms.
If you need enterprise grade workflows, robust design systems and scalable governance, FSE is the path forward.
Explore WordPress Full Site Editing: the definitive guide
In this guide, we take a practical look at how FSE is already powering enterprise-grade platforms, and what it means for the future of WordPress.
Ready to transition to FSE?
At Human Made, we’re here to make your migration to full site editing seamless and successful. Our proven processes and enterprise-grade expertise ensure that your site remains robust, performant, and future-ready.
Get in touch to find out how we can help your organisation implement FSE.