How to Fix Elementor Loop Grid Not Working

The Elementor Loop Grid widget is a powerful tool for displaying dynamic content in beautiful, flexible layouts. Whether you’re showcasing blog posts, products, portfolios, or custom post types, the Loop Grid helps you create engaging design patterns that automatically update. But what happens when your Elementor Loop Grid is not working as expected? It can be frustrating when your carefully crafted dynamic content fails to appear or displays incorrectly. You might see an empty grid, placeholder content, or a layout that just isn’t right.

Don’t worry, you’re not alone! Many Elementor users encounter hiccups with the Loop Grid. This comprehensive guide from Hostinger is designed to help you diagnose and resolve the most common issues, ensuring your dynamic content shines. We’ll walk you through common problems, provide multiple solutions, and offer step-by-step instructions to get your Elementor Loop Grid back in perfect working order.

By the end of this article, you’ll have a clear understanding of why your Elementor Loop Grid might not be working and how to fix it, drawing on best practices and insights from Elementor’s official documentation.

Understanding the Elementor Loop Grid Widget

Before diving into troubleshooting, let’s quickly review how the Elementor Loop Grid widget functions. It essentially allows you to define a single layout for an item (e.g., a blog post, a product) and then dynamically repeat that layout across a grid, pulling content from your WordPress database.

Key components include:

• Loop Template: This is an Elementor template that defines the design for a single item within the grid.
• Query: This determines which content (posts, products, CPTs) is pulled from your WordPress database to populate the grid.
• Grid Options: These control the layout of the grid itself, such as columns, rows, spacing, and pagination.

When your Elementor Loop Grid is not working, the problem usually lies in one of these three areas, or a combination of them.

Initial Checks Before Deeper Troubleshooting

Sometimes, the simplest solutions are the most effective. Before digging into complex fixes, perform these quick checks when your Elementor Loop Grid is not working:

1. Clear Caches (WordPress, Elementor, Browser)

Caching can often prevent you from seeing the most recent changes. If your Elementor Loop Grid is not working or displaying outdated content, clearing all relevant caches is a crucial first step.

Step-by-step:

1. Elementor Cache:
   • Go to your WordPress dashboard.
   • Navigate to Elementor > Tools > Regenerate CSS & Data. Click “Regenerate Files & Data”.
   • Then, go to Elementor > System Info and click the “Clear Cache” button (if available for older Elementor versions).
2. WordPress Cache Plugin: If you’re using a caching plugin like WP Super Cache, WP Rocket, or LiteSpeed Cache:
   • Find the plugin’s settings in your WordPress dashboard (often under a dedicated menu item or in “Settings”).
   • Look for an option to “Clear All Cache,” “Purge All Cache,” or similar.
3. Browser Cache:
   • Hard refresh your page (Ctrl + F5 on Windows, Cmd + Shift + R on Mac).
   • Alternatively, clear your browser’s cache and cookies manually via its settings.

2. Update Everything (Elementor, WordPress, Theme, Plugins)

Outdated software can lead to compatibility issues and unexpected bugs. Ensure all components are up-to-date.

Step-by-step:

1. Backup Your Site: Always create a full backup of your WordPress site before performing any major updates.
2. Update WordPress: Go to Dashboard > Updates and update WordPress if a new version is available.
3. Update Elementor & Elementor Pro: Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and update Elementor and Elementor Pro if available.
4. Update Theme: Go to Appearance > Themes and update your active theme if available.
5. Update Other Plugins: Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and update all other plugins.

3. Check for Plugin Conflicts (Classic Method)

A common cause for any Elementor widget not working is a conflict with another plugin. This is especially true if your Elementor Loop Grid is not working after installing a new plugin.

Step-by-step:

1. Deactivate All Plugins (Except Elementor & Elementor Pro): Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins. Select all plugins except Elementor and Elementor Pro, then choose “Deactivate” from the bulk actions dropdown and click “Apply.”
2. Check Loop Grid: Refresh the page where your Elementor Loop Grid is located. If it starts working, you know a plugin conflict is the cause.
3. Reactivate Plugins One by One: Reactivate your plugins one by one, checking the Loop Grid after each activation. The plugin that breaks the Loop Grid is the culprit.
4. Report to Developers or Find Alternative: Once identified, report the issue to the plugin developer or seek an alternative plugin.

Advanced Solutions for Elementor Loop Grid Not Working

If the basic checks didn’t resolve the issue, it’s time to dive deeper into the Elementor Loop Grid’s settings and configurations.

1. Verify Your Loop Template Configuration

The Loop Template is the blueprint for each item in your grid. Errors here will cause your Elementor Loop Grid not to work correctly or display empty.

Common issues:

• Empty template.
• Incorrect dynamic tags.
• Missing content.

Step-by-step:

1. Locate Your Loop Template:
   • Edit the Loop Grid widget on your page.
   • In the Content tab, under “Layout,” verify that the correct “Choose a Template” is selected.
   • Click the “Edit Template” button (pencil icon) next to the template name, or go to Templates > Theme Builder > Loop Item (or Saved Templates if an older method).
2. Check Template Content:
   • Ensure the template isn’t empty. Add at least a Post Title and Post Content/Excerpt widget.
   • Verify all dynamic tags are correctly applied. For example, if you’re showing a post title, the “Post Title” widget should be used, or a heading widget with a dynamic tag for “Post Title.”
   • Ensure images are set to dynamic “Featured Image” and links are dynamic “Post URL.”
3. Preview the Loop Template:
   • In the Loop Template editor, click the eye icon (Preview Changes) or the settings cog at the bottom left panel.
   • Under “Preview Settings,” choose a specific post or product to see how it renders within the template. This helps you debug template-specific display issues.
4. Save and Re-Check: After making any changes, save your template and refresh the page with the Loop Grid.

2. Troubleshoot the Query Settings

The query determines which content gets pulled into your Loop Grid. If your Elementor Loop Grid is not working, an incorrect query is a prime suspect.

Common issues:

• No posts matching the query.
• Incorrect post type or category selected.
• Excluding necessary content.

Step-by-step:

1. Edit Loop Grid Widget: Open the page with your Loop Grid in Elementor editor.
2. Navigate to Query Section: In the widget settings, go to the “Content” tab and expand the “Query” section.
3. Verify Source: Ensure the “Source” is correctly set (e.g., “Posts,” “Products,” “Custom Query,” etc.). If it’s “Posts,” the grid will display blog posts. If it’s “Products,” it will display WooCommerce products.
4. Check Include/Exclude:
   • If you’ve set “Include By” to specific terms or authors, ensure those terms/authors actually have content.
   • If you’ve set “Exclude By,” double-check that you’re not accidentally excluding the content you want to display.
5. Refine Terms & Categories:
   • If you’re filtering by Categories, Tags, or other Taxonomies, ensure you’ve selected the correct ones and that content exists within those categories/tags.
   • Double-check for typos if you’re manually entering IDs.
6. Offset and Limit: Check if “Offset” is pushing your content off the screen or if “Items Per Page” is set to 0 or a very low number, making it seem like your Elementor Loop Grid is not working.
7. Test Dynamic Query: If you’re using a “Custom Query” via a plugin or custom code, ensure the code is correct and returning valid post IDs. Elementor’s official documentation provides guidance on creating custom queries.

3. Review Display Conditions and Visibility Settings

Your Loop Grid might be configured perfectly, but if its display conditions or visibility settings are preventing it from showing, your Elementor Loop Grid will not work.

Step-by-step:

1. Elementor Section/Column Visibility:
   • Select the section or column containing your Loop Grid.
   • Go to Advanced > Responsive. Ensure “Hide On Desktop,” “Hide On Tablet,” or “Hide On Mobile” are not accidentally checked if you want it to appear.
2. Dynamic Visibility (Elementor Pro Feature):
   • If you’re using Elementor Pro’s Dynamic Visibility features (e.g., from JetEngine or other addons), check these settings on the Loop Grid widget itself or its parent column/section.
   • Go to Advanced > Dynamic Visibility. Ensure the conditions are met or remove them for testing.
3. Page Builder Conditions: If you’ve set entire page sections or templates to display based on specific conditions in Elementor’s Theme Builder, ensure those conditions are currently being met on the page where your Loop Grid is intended to appear.

4. Theme Compatibility and CSS Issues

While Elementor aims for universal compatibility, some themes (especially heavily customized or older ones) can introduce conflicts, making your Elementor Loop Grid not work or appear incorrectly due to theme CSS or JavaScript.

Step-by-step:

1. Switch to a Default Theme:
   • Go to Appearance > Themes.
   • Activate a default WordPress theme like Twenty Twenty-Four or Hello Elementor.
   • Check if the Loop Grid now works correctly. If it does, the issue is with your theme.
2. Contact Theme Support: If your theme is the problem, reach out to the theme developer for support. Provide them with details about your issue and the steps you’ve taken.
3. Inspect with Browser Developer Tools:
   • Right-click on your page and select “Inspect” (or “Inspect Element”).
   • Look for any CSS errors (often highlighted in red in the Console tab) or elements that are hidden by CSS properties like display: none; or visibility: hidden;. This can help identify CSS conflicts that prevent your Elementor Loop Grid from working or showing.

5. PHP Version and Server Requirements

Elementor, like WordPress, has minimum server requirements. An outdated PHP version can cause various issues, including your Elementor Loop Grid not working.

Step-by-step:

1. Check PHP Version:
   • Go to Elementor > System Info in your WordPress dashboard.
   • Look for “PHP Version.” Elementor generally recommends PHP 7.4 or higher for optimal performance and compatibility. WordPress recommends PHP 7.4 or greater for WordPress 6.x. See WordPress requirements.
2. Update PHP Version (if necessary):
   • Contact your web host (e.g., Hostinger support) to request an upgrade of your PHP version. Hostinger’s hPanel typically allows you to change this yourself.
   • Always backup your site before a PHP upgrade.

Common Issues and Troubleshooting Elementor Loop Grid Not Working

Let’s consolidate some of the most frequent scenarios where users find their Elementor Loop Grid not working.

Elementor Loop Grid Showing Nothing

• Loop Template is Empty: Ensure your Loop Template has actual Elementor widgets (e.g., Post Title, Featured Image).
• Query Returns No Results: Double-check your query settings (Source, Include/Exclude, Terms). Make sure there are posts that match your criteria.
• Post Visibility: Are the posts you expect to see published and not set to draft, private, or password-protected?
• Items Per Page set to 0: In the Layout tab of the Loop Grid settings, ensure “Items Per Page” is greater than 0.
• Dynamic Content Field Empty: If your template relies on custom fields that are empty for all queried posts, it might appear blank.

Elementor Loop Grid Showing Incorrect Content

• Wrong Loop Template Selected: Verify you’ve selected the correct Loop Template in the Loop Grid widget settings.
• Incorrect Dynamic Tags: Inside your Loop Template, ensure that widgets use the correct dynamic tags (e.g., “Post Title” for the title, not just a static heading).
• Query Issues: Your query might be pulling content from the wrong categories, tags, or post types.
• Custom Field Misconfiguration: If you’re displaying custom fields, ensure the field keys are correct and the data exists for the queried content.

Elementor Loop Grid Styling Is Broken

• CSS Conflicts: As discussed, theme or plugin CSS can override Elementor styles. Use browser developer tools to inspect.
• Custom CSS Errors: If you’ve added custom CSS to your Elementor sections, columns, or the Loop Template, check for syntax errors.
• Template Layout Issues: The layout within your Loop Template might be causing overflow or alignment problems, especially if responsive settings are not configured.
• Global Styles Interference: Check your Elementor Global Styles (Site Settings) to ensure they aren’t inadvertently affecting your Loop Grid.

Elementor Loop Grid Not Loading on Frontend

• Server Resource Limits: If you have a very large number of posts or complex Loop Templates, low PHP memory limits or execution time can cause the grid to fail loading. Check your php.ini settings (e.g., memory_limit, max_execution_time). Hostinger’s guides on <a href="https://www.hostinger.com/tutorials/php-memory-limit" target="_blank" rel