Elementor Grid Not Working? Fix It Now

There’s nothing quite as frustrating as meticulously designing your website with Elementor, only to find that your beautiful grid layout isn’t behaving as expected. Whether it’s a dynamic Post Grid, a Gallery Grid, or even a custom layout made with columns and sections, an Elementor grid not working can throw a major wrench in your design plans. But don’t worry, you’re not alone, and more importantly, this problem is usually fixable!

As experts in all things WordPress and Elementor, we’ve encountered countless grid-related headaches. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through a series of proven troubleshooting steps, from the simplest checks to more advanced diagnostics. Our goal is to equip you with the knowledge and actionable solutions to get your Elementor grid back on track, looking exactly how you envisioned.

Let’s dive in and fix that pesky Elementor grid not working issue once and for all!

Understanding Why Your Elementor Grid Not Working

Before we jump into solutions, it’s helpful to understand the common culprits behind an Elementor grid not working. Identifying the root cause can often expedite the troubleshooting process. Here are some of the most frequent reasons:

• Plugin Conflicts: Other WordPress plugins can interfere with Elementor’s functionality, especially those that modify front-end styles or scripts.
• Theme Conflicts: Your WordPress theme might have conflicting CSS or JavaScript that overrides Elementor’s styling for grids.
• Caching Issues: Old cached versions of your page can prevent the latest changes to your grid from appearing.
• Outdated Software: An outdated Elementor, WordPress, or theme version can lead to compatibility problems.
• CSS/JS Errors: Custom CSS or JavaScript added to your site can accidentally break grid layouts.
• Incorrect Widget Settings: Simple misconfigurations within the Elementor grid widget itself.
• Server-Side Issues: Less common, but sometimes hosting environment limitations can affect rendering.

Step-by-Step Solutions: Fixing Your Elementor Grid Not Working

We’ll tackle these solutions from the most common and easiest to the more technical and involved. Follow these steps systematically to diagnose and fix your Elementor grid not working issue.

1. Basic Checks and Elementor Settings Review

Sometimes, the fix for your Elementor grid not working is surprisingly simple.

Clear Elementor Cache & Regenerate CSS

Elementor has its own cache system that can sometimes hold onto outdated styles. This is a common first step for any Elementor-related visual issue.

1. From your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Elementor > Tools.
2. Go to the General tab.
3. Click the Regenerate Files & Data button.
4. Under the Sync Library tab, click Sync Library (optional, but good practice).
5. Once done, clear your browser cache (Ctrl+F5 or Cmd+Shift+R) and check your page.

For more details, see the official Elementor documentation on Regenerating CSS & Data.

Review Grid Widget Settings

Before assuming a deeper problem, double-check that your Elementor grid widget is configured correctly.

1. Edit the page with Elementor.
2. Click on the grid widget (e.g., Post Grid, Gallery Grid, or the Section containing your columns).
3. Go through all the settings tabs (Content, Style, Advanced).
4. Pay special attention to columns, spacing, item per page, image sizes, and responsive settings. For dynamic grids like Post Grids, ensure the query is pulling the correct content.
5. Experiment with different column counts or spacing to see if it affects the layout.
6. Update the page and check the front end.

Check Responsive Settings

An Elementor grid not working might only appear broken on specific devices. Elementor has excellent responsive controls.

1. While editing in Elementor, click the Responsive Mode icon at the bottom of the panel (looks like a desktop and mobile icon).
2. Toggle between Desktop, Tablet, and Mobile views.
3. Check the column settings for your grid widget or the section containing your columns for each device. Ensure the column widths add up correctly (e.g., 100% for single column, 50% for two columns, etc.).
4. Adjust column widths or hide/show elements as needed for different breakpoints.
5. Update and preview on actual devices if possible.

2. Address Caching and Optimization Problems

Caching plugins and optimization tools are fantastic for performance, but they can often be the reason your Elementor grid not working appears broken.

Clear Server and Plugin Caches

Beyond Elementor’s cache, you likely have other layers of caching.

1. Hosting Cache: Many hosting providers (like Hostinger) offer server-level caching. Log into your hosting control panel (e.g., hPanel) and clear the cache. Refer to your host’s documentation for exact steps (e.g., Hostinger’s guide on clearing cache).
2. Caching Plugins (e.g., WP Super Cache, WP Rocket, LiteSpeed Cache): Locate the settings for your caching plugin in your WordPress dashboard and clear all caches.
3. CDN Cache (e.g., Cloudflare): If you use a Content Delivery Network (CDN), log into its dashboard and purge the cache for your site.

Clear all these caches, then clear your browser cache, and recheck your grid.

Temporarily Disable Optimization Plugins

Minification and concatenation of CSS/JS files, while good for speed, can sometimes break Elementor’s styling.

1. Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins in your WordPress dashboard.
2. Deactivate any optimization plugins (e.g., Autoptimize, WP-Optimize, Asset CleanUp).
3. Clear all caches (browser, server, plugin).
4. Check if the Elementor grid not working issue is resolved. If it is, reactivate your optimization plugins one by one, clearing cache after each activation, to identify the culprit. You may need to adjust the settings of the conflicting plugin to exclude Elementor’s files from optimization.

3. Investigate Plugin & Theme Conflicts

This is a very common scenario for an Elementor grid not working.

Switch to a Default Theme

Your theme’s CSS or JavaScript could be overriding Elementor’s styles.

1. Go to Appearance > Themes in your WordPress dashboard.
2. Activate a default WordPress theme like ‘Twenty Twenty-Four’ or ‘Twenty Twenty-Three’.
3. Important: Check your grid immediately after switching themes. If the grid works, your theme is the issue.
4. If the grid works, switch back to your original theme. You may need to contact your theme developer for support or look for custom CSS within your theme that might be interfering. You could also try reproducing the grid in a safe environment (staging site) using the theme’s default settings.

Note: Switching themes temporarily might affect your site’s appearance, so it’s best to do this on a staging environment first, or during off-peak hours if on a live site.

Temporarily Deactivate Plugins

A conflicting plugin is a frequent cause of an Elementor grid not working.

1. Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins.
2. Deactivate ALL plugins except Elementor and Elementor Pro (if you have it).
3. Clear all caches (browser, server, plugin).
4. Check your grid. If it’s now working, reactivate your plugins one by one, checking the grid after each activation, until you find the plugin that causes the problem.
5. Once the conflicting plugin is identified, you have several options:
   • Look for alternative plugins.
   • Contact the plugin developer for support.
   • Check if there are settings within the plugin to prevent conflicts (e.g., an “exclude from optimization” option).

4. Update Software and Check for Compatibility

Running outdated software is a recipe for an Elementor grid not working and other issues.

Update WordPress, Elementor, and All Plugins/Themes

Always keep your WordPress core, Elementor, Elementor Pro, theme, and all other plugins updated to their latest versions. Developers regularly release updates to fix bugs and improve compatibility.

1. Go to Dashboard > Updates in your WordPress admin.
2. Update everything listed.
3. After updating, clear all caches and recheck your grid.

Pro Tip: Always back up your website before performing major updates! Hostinger offers convenient automatic backups and manual backup options.

Check Elementor’s System Info

Elementor provides a system information report that can highlight potential issues with your server environment or plugin configuration.

1. Navigate to Elementor > System Info.
2. Scroll through the report. Look for anything highlighted in red or orange, especially related to PHP version, memory limit, Elementor version, or conflicting plugins/themes.
3. A common recommendation is to increase PHP memory limit if it’s below 256M. You can usually do this via your host’s control panel or by editing your wp-config.php file.

define( 'WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M' );

4. Consult the Elementor System Requirements for optimal settings.

5. Advanced Troubleshooting for Elementor Grid Not Working

Inspect Element with Developer Tools

Your browser’s developer tools (usually F12 or right-click > Inspect) are invaluable for diagnosing front-end issues, including an Elementor grid not working.

1. Open the page with the broken grid in your browser.
2. Right-click on an area near the grid and select “Inspect” or “Inspect Element.”
3. Console Tab: Look for any red error messages, especially JavaScript errors. These can indicate a script conflict preventing Elementor from loading correctly.
4. Elements Tab (CSS): Hover over the grid elements (sections, columns, widgets). In the Styles panel, see if any custom CSS or theme CSS is overriding Elementor’s default grid styles (e.g., display: flex, display: grid, or width properties). Look for strikethrough styles, which indicate they’ve been overridden.
5. This can point you to the specific stylesheet or conflict causing the issue.

Review Custom CSS/JS

If you’ve added any custom CSS or JavaScript, it could be interfering with your Elementor grid not working.

1. Check Elementor’s custom CSS areas (Page/Post settings > Advanced > Custom CSS, or Elementor > Custom Code).
2. Check your theme’s custom CSS sections (Appearance > Customize > Additional CSS).
3. Temporarily remove any recently added custom code line by line and refresh the page to see if the grid issue resolves.
4. A common mistake is forgetting to close a bracket or having an incorrect selector, which breaks subsequent CSS.

Enable Elementor Safe Mode

Elementor’s Safe Mode is designed to help you identify conflicts by temporarily disabling your theme and plugins (except Elementor) for the current user session.

1. From your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Elementor > Tools.
2. Go to the Safe Mode tab.
3. Click Enable Safe Mode.
4. Open the page with the grid issue in a new tab. If the grid works correctly in Safe Mode, you have a plugin or theme conflict. This confirms you need to go through the plugin/theme conflict resolution steps mentioned earlier.

Learn more about Elementor Safe Mode.

Check for PHP Errors in Debug Log

If the above steps don’t reveal the problem, PHP errors on the server could be at play.

1. Enable WordPress Debugging: Add the following lines to your wp-config.php file (preferably at the end, before the /* That's all, stop editing! Happy publishing. */ line):

   define( 'WP_DEBUG', true );
   define( 'WP_DEBUG_LOG', true );
   define( 'WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false );

2. Visit the page with the broken grid.
3. Check your wp-content/debug.log file (you can access this via FTP/SFTP or your host’s file manager). The log file will contain any PHP errors, which might point to a specific plugin or theme causing the issue.
4. Remember to disable debugging by setting WP_DEBUG to false once you’re done, as keeping it enabled can impact performance.
5. More info on Debugging in WordPress.

Common Issues and Troubleshooting Elementor Grid Not Working Scenarios

Issue: Grid Items Are Stacked Vertically Instead of in a Grid

• Likely Cause: CSS issue (display: flex or display: grid not applied or overridden), incorrect column settings, or spacing issues.
• Troubleshooting:
  1. Check Elementor widget/section column settings for responsive breakpoints.
  2. Inspect element to see if display: flex or display: grid is being applied to the parent container, and if not, what CSS is overriding it.
  3. Clear all caches (Elementor, plugin, server, browser).
  4. Temporarily deactivate optimization plugins that minify CSS.

Issue: Images in Grid Are Not Displaying or Are Broken

• Likely Cause: Incorrect image paths, server-side permissions, image optimization plugin conflict, or lazy loading issues.
• Troubleshooting:
  1. Check your Elementor image gallery/post grid settings for chosen image sizes.
  2. Clear all caches.
  3. Temporarily disable lazy loading plugins or options within optimization plugins.
  4. Inspect element: Look at the image src attribute to ensure the path is correct. Check the console for image loading errors.
  5. Verify file permissions for the image folders (usually