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Elementor Parallax Not Working? Fix It

Parallax scrolling is a fantastic design technique that adds depth and dynamism to your website, making foreground content move at a different speed than background images. When implemented correctly, it can create a truly immersive user experience. As an Elementor user, you’ve likely experimented with this feature, only to sometimes find your Elementor parallax not working as expected.

Frustrating, right? You’ve carefully selected your background image, set the parallax effect, and eagerly refreshed the page, only to see a static background. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Many Elementor users encounter this hiccup, and the good news is that most issues with Elementor parallax not working are easily fixable.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through common reasons why your Elementor parallax might not be working and provide multiple, step-by-step solutions to get it up and running smoothly. We’ll cover everything from basic checks to advanced troubleshooting, ensuring you have all the tools to resolve the problem and unlock the full potential of your Elementor designs.

Why Your Elementor Parallax Not Working: Common Causes

Before diving into the fixes, it’s helpful to understand what might be causing your Elementor parallax not to work. Identifying the root cause can help you pinpoint the most effective solution quickly. Here are some of the most common culprits:

1. Incorrect Elementor Settings: The most straightforward reason is often a simple misconfiguration within Elementor’s parallax options.
2. Caching Issues: Website caching (both server-side and browser-side) can prevent new changes from being displayed, making it seem like your Elementor parallax isn’t working.
3. Theme or Plugin Conflicts: Other WordPress themes or plugins, especially those that alter visual elements or scripts, can interfere with Elementor’s functionality.
4. Image Size and Optimization: Extremely large or unoptimized background images can sometimes hinder the parallax effect, especially on slower connections.
5. CSS Overrides: Custom CSS added to your site might be unintentionally overriding Elementor’s parallax styles.
6. Device Compatibility (Mobile/Tablet): Parallax effects are often disabled on mobile devices by default or due to performance considerations, leading to the perception that Elementor parallax is not working.
7. Browser Compatibility: While Elementor aims for cross-browser compatibility, specific browser versions or extensions might occasionally cause issues.
8. Broken HTML/CSS: Less common, but sometimes corrupted HTML or CSS can disrupt Elementor’s scripts.

Essential Checks: Before You Dive Deep

Before trying more complex solutions, let’s start with a few quick checks that often resolve the issue when Elementor parallax is not working.

1. Verify Elementor Parallax Settings

The first place to look is always the settings panel for the section or column where you’ve applied the parallax.

1. Edit the page with Elementor.
2. Select the Section or Column you’re trying to apply the parallax effect to.
3. Go to the Style tab.
4. Under the Background section, ensure you’ve selected Classic or Slideshow for your background type and uploaded an image.
5. Scroll down to the Background Overlay (if applicable) and then to the Scrolling Effects section.
6. Toggle Scrolling Effects ON.
7. Click on the Parallax effect.
8. Ensure the Direction (Up/Down) and Speed are set correctly. Start with a moderate speed (e.g., 5-7) to see the effect clearly.
9. Check the responsive options (desktop, tablet, mobile icons) to ensure the effect isn’t disabled for your current viewing device.
10. Hit Update and clear your browser cache before checking the live page.

For more detailed guidance, refer to the Elementor Documentation on Parallax Background Effect.

2. Clear Caches: Your First Line of Defense

Caching is a common culprit when Elementor parallax is not working because it serves an older version of your page. You need to clear all layers of cache.

2.1. Clear Elementor Cache

Elementor has its own cache that sometimes needs to be purged.

1. From your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Elementor > Tools.
2. Go to the General tab.
3. Click on the Regenerate CSS & Data button.
4. Then, go to Elementor > System Info and check the cache status.

2.2. Clear WordPress Plugin Cache

If you’re using a caching plugin like WP Super Cache, W3 Total Cache, or LiteSpeed Cache, you’ll need to clear its cache as well.

1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
2. Locate your caching plugin’s settings, usually found in a dedicated menu item or under Settings.
3. Look for options like “Clear All Cache,” “Purge Cache,” or “Delete Cache.”

2.3. Clear Browser Cache

Your web browser also stores cached versions of websites. This is often overlooked when Elementor parallax is not working.

• Chrome: Ctrl+Shift+R (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+R (Mac) for a hard refresh, or go to Settings > Privacy and security > Clear browsing data.
• Firefox: Ctrl+Shift+R (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+R (Mac) for a hard refresh, or go to History > Clear Recent History.
• Safari: Cmd+Option+E to empty caches, or go to Develop > Empty Caches.

Advanced Solutions to Fix Elementor Parallax Not Working

If the essential checks didn’t resolve your Elementor parallax not working issue, it’s time to dig a bit deeper. These solutions address more specific conflicts and configurations.

1. Check for Theme and Plugin Conflicts

Conflicts between your active theme or other plugins and Elementor are very common, especially when Elementor parallax is not working. The best way to diagnose this is through a process of elimination.

1.1. Temporarily Switch Theme

Switch to a default WordPress theme like Twenty Twenty-Four or Hello Elementor (Elementor’s own lightweight theme) to see if the problem persists.

1. From your WordPress dashboard, go to Appearance > Themes.
2. Activate a default WordPress theme.
3. Check your page where the Elementor parallax is not working. If it works, your original theme is likely causing the conflict. Contact your theme developer for support.
4. Remember to switch back to your original theme after testing.

1.2. Deactivate Plugins Strategically

This method involves deactivating plugins one by one to find the culprit.

1. From your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins.
2. Deactivate all plugins except Elementor and Elementor Pro.
3. Check your page. If the Elementor parallax now works, reactivate your plugins one by one, checking your page after each activation, until the parallax breaks again. The last activated plugin is the problem.
4. If Elementor parallax is still not working after deactivating all other plugins, the issue might be with Elementor itself, theme, or custom code.

Pro Tip: Use a staging environment for this process to avoid disrupting your live site. Hostinger provides easy staging site creation tools for many hosting plans, making this process much safer. See Hostinger Tutorials: How to Create a WordPress Staging Site.

2. Image Optimization and Sizing

Large, unoptimized background images can sometimes cause performance issues that prevent the parallax effect from rendering smoothly or at all, especially on slower connections or less powerful devices. When Elementor parallax is not working, consider your image assets.

1. Image Dimensions: For full-width background sections, use images that are wide enough (e.g., 1920px or more), but don’t go excessively large (e.g., 5000px).
2. File Size: Compress your images using tools like TinyPNG or image optimization plugins (e.g., Smush, Imagify) to reduce file size without significant loss of quality.
3. File Format: Use modern formats like WebP where supported, or JPG for photographs and PNG for images with transparency.
4. Test with a Smaller Image: Temporarily replace your background image with a smaller, highly optimized one to see if the parallax effect starts working. If it does, your original image’s size or optimization was the likely issue.

3. Addressing Custom CSS Overrides

If you or another developer has added custom CSS to your site, it might be unintentionally interfering with Elementor’s parallax styles. This is a common but tricky scenario when Elementor parallax is not working.

1. Inspect Element:
   • Right-click on the section where the parallax should be and select “Inspect” (or “Inspect Element”).
   • Look for CSS rules applied to the section’s background (e.g., background-attachment, background-position, background-size).
   • Specifically, look for background-attachment: fixed; or scroll;, as parallax effects often rely on modifying this property.
   • Identify the source of the CSS (e.g., theme stylesheet, custom CSS plugin, Elementor’s custom CSS).
2. Temporarily Remove Custom CSS:
   • If you have custom CSS in Appearance > Customize > Additional CSS or a custom CSS plugin, temporarily remove or comment out sections of it related to backgrounds or sections.
   • If the CSS is in your theme’s style.css (not recommended for direct editing), you’d need to create a child theme and override it there, or use a custom CSS plugin.
3. Use Elementor’s Custom CSS:
   • If you must apply custom CSS, try adding it directly within Elementor’s section/column custom CSS settings (Advanced tab > Custom CSS) rather than globally. This ensures it’s applied in context.

4. Check for JavaScript Conflicts or Errors

Parallax effects often rely heavily on JavaScript. If there’s a JavaScript conflict or error on your page, it can prevent the script responsible for the parallax effect from running. This can manifest as Elementor parallax not working for seemingly no reason.

1. Browser Console Check:
   • Open your browser’s developer tools (usually F12 or right-click > Inspect).
   • Go to the Console tab.
   • Look for any red error messages. These often indicate JavaScript issues.
   • If you see errors, try to identify the source (e.g., a specific plugin’s script file). This might lead back to a plugin conflict.
2. Disable Script Optimization:
   • If you’re using optimization plugins (like WP Rocket, Autoptimize) that minify or defer JavaScript, try temporarily disabling these features for JavaScript and recheck.
   • Sometimes, combining or deferring scripts can break dependencies needed for Elementor’s effects.

5. Ensure Elementor and WordPress are Up to Date

Running outdated versions of Elementor, Elementor Pro, or WordPress can lead to compatibility issues and bugs, often resulting in Elementor parallax not working. Always keep your core software updated.

1. Go to Dashboard > Updates in your WordPress admin area.
2. Update WordPress if a new version is available.
3. Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins.
4. Update Elementor and Elementor Pro if new versions are available.
5. Update your theme if a new version is available (from Appearance > Themes or your theme’s update mechanism).

Important: Always back up your website before performing major updates! You can use a plugin like UpdraftPlus or leverage your hosting provider’s backup features (Hostinger offers automated backups).

Common Issues and Troubleshooting When Elementor Parallax Not Working

Beyond the primary solutions, here are some specific scenarios and troubleshooting steps when Elementor parallax is not working in particular ways.

1. Parallax Not Working on Mobile or Tablet

This is extremely common and often not an “issue” but a default setting.

• Default Behavior: Elementor, by default, often disables scrolling effects like parallax on mobile and sometimes tablet devices for performance reasons.
• How to Check/Enable:
  1. Edit your section with Elementor.
  2. Go to Style > Scrolling Effects.
  3. Click the responsive icon next to Scrolling Effects (it looks like a desktop monitor).
  4. Ensure the desktop, tablet, and mobile icons are all activated (light blue) if you want the effect on all devices. Sometimes, the mobile icon is intentionally grayed out by Elementor due to performance warnings.
  5. If you force it on mobile and experience performance issues, it’s best to leave it disabled or use a simpler mobile background.

2. Background Image Not Showing, Let Alone Parallax

If your background image itself isn’t appearing, the parallax effect obviously won’t work.

• Path Check: Ensure the image path is correct in Elementor. Sometimes copying sections from other sites can break image paths.
• Visibility: Check if there’s an overlay covering the image (Style > Background Overlay).
• Minimum Height: Ensure your section or column has enough content or a minimum height set (Layout tab) for the background to be visible. If the section is empty, the background might not show.
• Z-index Conflicts: Rarely, another element might have a higher z-index and is covering your section. Check the Advanced tab > Z-index for your section and any overlying elements.

3. Parallax Effect is Choppy or Jittery

If your Elementor parallax is not working smoothly, it’s often a performance issue.

• Image Size & Optimization: Revisit image sizes and ensure they are well-optimized (as discussed above).
• Browser Extensions: Temporarily disable browser extensions to see if any are interfering.
• Conflicting Scripts: Use the browser console to check for JavaScript errors.
• Hosting Performance: On very slow hosting, complex animations can struggle. While likely not the primary cause for Elementor parallax not working entirely, it can affect smoothness. Consider a faster hosting provider like Hostinger for optimal performance.

4. Elementor Parallax Not Activated on a Specific Page/Section

Sometimes, the issue is isolated.

• Individual Section Settings: Double-check the specific section or column settings in Elementor (Style > Scrolling Effects > Parallax) to ensure it’s enabled for that particular element.
• Templating Issues: If you’re using Elementor templates, ensure the parallax settings were correctly saved within the template and that the template is applied correctly to the page.
• CSS ‘background-attachment: fixed;’ Conflict: Some themes or custom CSS might apply background-attachment: fixed; globally to backgrounds, which can conflict with Elementor’s parallax, which often uses scroll combined with JavaScript-driven positioning. Check for this using browser inspector tools and override with Elementor’s custom CSS if found necessary.

Tips and Best Practices for Elementor Parallax