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How to Fix Elementor Section Not Full Width

Are you diligently designing your website with Elementor, only to find that your sections aren’t stretching across the entire browser window as intended? It’s a common and particularly frustrating issue when you’re aiming for that sleek, full-width design. Don’t worry, you’re not alone, and more importantly, this problem is usually quite fixable!

Achieving a truly stunning web design often hinges on precise layout control, and the “full width” setting in Elementor is a cornerstone of many modern, immersive experiences. When an Elementor section is not full width, it can disrupt your visual flow, create unwanted white space, and make your site look less professional. But what causes this hiccup, and how can you effectively troubleshoot and resolve it?

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll dive deep into the various reasons why your Elementor sections might not be behaving as expected and provide multiple, step-by-step solutions to ensure your designs stretch beautifully from edge to edge. We’ll cover everything from Elementor’s internal settings to theme conflicts, CSS tweaks, and crucial troubleshooting tips. Let’s get your Elementor layouts looking flawless!

Understanding Elementor Section Width Settings

Before we jump into the fixes, it’s helpful to understand how Elementor handles section width. Elementor offers two primary width settings for sections:

• Boxed: This is the default setting for new sections in Elementor. It means your content will be constrained to a maximum width (often 1140px or 1200px, depending on your theme and global Elementor settings), leaving space on either side.
• Full Width: This setting is designed to make your section stretch across the entire browser window, utilizing 100% of the available width. However, even with this setting chosen, sometimes content within the section might still appear “boxed.”

The key here is that “Full Width” for a section typically means the background of the section will go full width. For the content within the section (like columns and widgets) to also go full width, additional settings often need to be adjusted.

Primary Solutions: Ensuring Elementor Section Not Full Width Issues Are Resolved

Let’s tackle the most common reasons why your Elementor section might not be full width and how to fix them, starting with Elementor’s built-in options.

1. Adjusting Elementor Section Layout Settings

This is the most straightforward and often overlooked solution. Elementor provides direct controls for section width.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Open the page you want to edit with Elementor.
2. Click on the Six Dots icon (Section Handle) of the specific section you want to make full width. This will open the section settings in the left Elementor panel.
3. Go to the Layout tab.
4. Under the Layout section, find the Content Width setting.
5. Change it from Boxed to Full Width.
6. For the Stretch Section option, ensure it’s set to Yes. This is crucial for making the background stretch completely.
7. Finally, set the Columns Gap to No Gap. This prevents unwanted spacing between columns that could interfere with a true full-width appearance.

8. Update your page to save the changes.

   Tip: If you want the content within the section to truly go edge-to-edge without any padding or margin, you might also need to adjust the padding of the columns themselves. Click on each column, go to the Advanced tab, and set the padding to 0.

2. Checking Elementor Page Layout Settings

Even if your section is set to full width, your overall page layout might be overriding it. Elementor provides page-level templates that control the general structure.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. While editing your page in Elementor, click the Gear icon (Site Settings) in the bottom-left corner of the Elementor panel.
2. Under Page Layout, ensure you select Elementor Full Width or Elementor Canvas.
   • Elementor Full Width: This option will apply a full-width layout but will retain your theme’s header and footer.
   • Elementor Canvas: This option provides a completely blank canvas, removing your theme’s header and footer, allowing Elementor to control 100% of the page layout. This is often the best choice for landing pages or truly custom designs.

3. Update your page.

   Note: If you’re using a standard WordPress page without Elementor Canvas, your theme’s default page template might still introduce padding or content wrappers. We’ll address theme conflicts next.

3. Addressing Theme Conflicts

Your WordPress theme plays a significant role in how Elementor sections are rendered. Some themes have their own global content wrappers or design limitations that can prevent Elementor’s full-width settings from taking full effect. This is a common root cause for an Elementor section not full width.

Solutions for Theme Conflicts:

a. Using a Theme with Excellent Elementor Integration

The easiest solution is to use a theme specifically designed to work seamlessly with Elementor. Themes like Hello Elementor (official Elementor theme), Astra, OceanWP, Neve, and GeneratePress are known for their deep integration and flexibility, often providing page templates that perfectly support Elementor’s full-width capabilities. If you’re encountering persistent issues, consider switching to one of these recommended themes.

b. Utilizing Theme’s Customization Options

Many themes offer specific settings in the WordPress Customizer or theme options panel to control page widths, content areas, and sidebars. Check these settings for anything that might be confining your page content.

1. Go to Appearance > Customize in your WordPress dashboard.
2. Browse through sections like Layout, General, Page Settings, or Content Width.
3. Look for options related to “Container Width,” “Content Area Width,” or “Sidebar Layout” and ensure they are not set to restrict your main content area. Some themes offer a “Full Width” setting even at the theme level.

c. Custom CSS to Override Theme Styles

If your theme is particularly stubborn, you may need to apply custom CSS to override its default container styles. This requires a basic understanding of CSS but can be very effective.

Step-by-Step Instructions (Custom CSS):

1. Right-click on the area where your section is not full width and select Inspect (or Inspect Element). This will open your browser’s developer tools.
2. Identify the CSS classes or IDs of the container elements that are restricting the width of your Elementor section. Look for parent elements of your Elementor section (`.elementor-section`) that have properties like `max-width`, `width`, or `padding` that are causing the issue. Common culprits are `container`, `wrapper`, `site-content`, etc.
3. Once you’ve identified the culprit, you can add custom CSS to override it.
4. Navigate to Elementor > Custom Code (if using Elementor Pro) or Appearance > Customize > Additional CSS.
5. Add the following CSS, replacing `.your-theme-container-class` with the actual class you found:

   
   /* Target specific Elementor page or template if needed */
   .elementor-page .your-theme-container-class,
   .page-template-elementor_canvas .your-theme-container-class,
   body.elementor-page .your-theme-container-class {
       max-width: 100% !important;
       padding: 0 !important;
       margin-left: 0 !important;
       margin-right: 0 !important;
       width: 100% !important;
   }
   
   /* Also target the Elementor section directly to remove any default padding if not already done */
   .elementor-section.elementor-section-stretched {
       padding-left: 0 !important;
       padding-right: 0 !important;
   }
   
   /* For specific columns within a full-width section if they still have padding */
   .elementor-section .elementor-column-wrap,
   .elementor-section .elementor-container {
       padding-left: 0 !important;
       padding-right: 0 !important;
   }
   

6. Publish/Update your changes.

   Warning: Use `!important` sparingly as it can lead to CSS specificity issues, but it’s sometimes necessary for overriding theme styles. Always test thoroughly.

4. Clearing Caches and Browser Data

Sometimes, the changes you make in Elementor aren’t immediately visible due to caching. Your website might be using server-side caching, a caching plugin, or your browser might be serving an old version of the page.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Clear Elementor Cache: Go to Elementor > Tools > Regenerate CSS & Data and click “Regenerate Files.” Then go to Elementor > Settings > Advanced and set “CSS Print Method” to “External File” or “Internal Embedding” and save changes (sometimes toggling this helps).
2. Clear Caching Plugin Cache: If you use a caching plugin like WP Super Cache, WP Rocket, LiteSpeed Cache, or W3 Total Cache, clear all its cache. The option is usually prominent in your WordPress dashboard or under the plugin’s settings.
3. Clear Server/CDN Cache: If your hosting provider or CDN (like Cloudflare) offers caching, log into their respective dashboards and clear the cache.
4. Clear Browser Cache: Perform a hard refresh (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + R) or clear your browser’s cache and cookies. Try viewing the page in an incognito/private browsing window to bypass local browser cache entirely.

Advanced Solutions and Best Practices for Elementor Section Width

If the above solutions haven’t fully resolved your Elementor section not full width issue, it’s time to dig a little deeper.

5. Checking Global Settings in Elementor

Elementor has global settings that can influence section width and spacing.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Go to Elementor > Settings > Style Tab.
2. Check the default Content Width. While section-specific settings usually override this, ensuring it’s not set to an unusually small value globally can prevent issues.
3. Go to Elementor > Settings > Integrations. Sometimes third-party integrations can subtly affect layout, though this is less common for width issues.
4. Also, review Elementor > Settings > Advanced to ensure “Disable Default Colors” and “Disable Default Fonts” are set to Yes if you’re managing styles entirely through Elementor’s Global Styles or your theme. This reduces potential style conflicts.

5. Save Changes and clear your cache.

6. Investigating Plugin Conflicts

While less common for direct width issues, some plugins that modify output, styling, or performance can sometimes interfere with Elementor’s rendering.

Troubleshooting Plugin Conflicts:

1. Deactivate Plugins: Temporarily deactivate all plugins except Elementor and Elementor Pro.
2. Test: Check if your Elementor section now displays full width.
3. Reactivate One by One: If the issue is resolved, reactivate your plugins one by one, testing after each activation, until you identify the conflicting plugin.
4. Seek Alternatives or Support: Once identified, look for an alternative plugin, contact the plugin developer for support, or check their documentation for known Elementor compatibility issues.

7. Updating Elementor, WordPress, and Theme

Outdated software can lead to unexpected bugs and compatibility issues. Always ensure your core WordPress installation, Elementor plugins (Free and Pro), and your active theme are all up to date.

• Go to Dashboard > Updates in WordPress.
• Ensure all items are updated to their latest versions.
• Best Practice: Always back up your website before performing major updates!

Common Issues and Troubleshooting Elementor Section Not Full Width

Even with the primary solutions, sometimes specific scenarios can cause an Elementor section not full width. Here are some specific troubleshooting scenarios:

Issue: Elementor Section Not Full Width, but Background Fills

Problem: The section’s background stretches across the entire browser, but the content (text, images, widgets) within the section remains “boxed” or has white space on the sides.

Solution:

1. Click on the section handle (six dots).
2. Go to the Layout tab.
3. Ensure Content Width is set to Full Width.
4. Ensure Columns Gap is set to No Gap.
5. Click on each individual column within that section. Go to the Advanced tab and set its Padding (all sides) to 0. Sometimes columns themselves have default padding that limits content.
6. Also check the widgets inside the columns for any margin/padding settings.

Issue: Only Part of the Content is Full Width

Problem: You have an image or video that you expect to stretch full width, but it’s constrained, while other content might appear fine.

Solution:

1. Click on the specific image or video widget.
2. Go to the Style tab and look for width settings. Ensure they are set to 100% or that no maximum width is applied.
3. Check the column containing the widget (as above) to ensure it has 0 padding.
4. For images, ensure the Image Size is set to “Full” or “Large” resolution, as using smaller sizes might restrict its ability to stretch visually.

Issue: Elementor Section Not Full Width on Specific Devices (Responsive Issues)

Problem: Your section looks full width on desktop but is constrained or has unwanted padding on tablet or mobile devices.

Solution:

1. While editing in Elementor, click on the Responsive Mode icon at the bottom left (monitor icon).
2. Switch to